Sustainable construction: ESPR and the Digital Product Passport for material traceability and transparency

In the construction sector, sustainability is now joining the traditional criteria of safety and material quality. In this context, the new ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation) and the introduction of the Digital Product Passport are becoming essential tools to ensure transparency, traceability, and environmental compliance throughout the entire life cycle of construction materials.

The European Union, through the ESPR and the update of the Construction Products Regulation, is redefining industry standards: every material must be designed, tracked, and communicated according to stricter and more digitized criteria.

Among the most relevant innovations is the Digital Product Passport (DPP), a sort of digital “identity card” that accompanies every building component. This document will include all relevant information: declared performance, regulatory compliance, safety data, usage instructions, and environmental indicators. Thanks to this data, it will be possible, for example, to precisely calculate the carbon footprint of a building by aggregating the characteristics of the individual materials used.

For manufacturers and builders, this means a significant shift: every type of concrete, brick, steel beam, or window frame placed on the EU market will need to be accompanied by its own digital passport, easily accessible, typically through a scannable code on the product. On the construction site, an architect or engineer can scan that QR code and instantly obtain all the material details — from certified resistance to recycled content — ensuring that it meets the required design and environmental standards. This transparency helps all stakeholders in the supply chain, from designers to regulatory authorities, make informed choices based on the performance and sustainability of each construction product.

The current challenge is to effectively manage this volume of data and make it usable throughout the building’s life cycle. A building can last for decades: digital information on materials must remain available and intact even many years later, for instance when renovation or selective demolition is needed. Moreover, the system must ensure that the passport data is authentic and tamper-proof, since safety and environmental impact assessments will rely on it.

In this context, advanced digital solutions like Certiblok offer concrete support for complying with DPP regulations. Through the Certiblok platform, a construction material manufacturer can upload their data and documents (e.g., the Declaration of Performance, environmental certifications, technical sheets) to a decentralized blockchain-based cloud. A public QR code is automatically generated for each product, to be applied on the component or its packaging. By scanning this code, anyone — from the end customer to the site inspector — can immediately access the product’s updated digital passport, viewable online. The decentralized cloud ensures that the information remains always available and protected: the data, distributed across multiple nodes, is not at risk of loss and cannot be modified without authorization. This means that a conformity certificate or recyclability information, once published, remains intact and trustworthy over time.

Let’s imagine a real example: a prefabricated concrete panel installed in a building today carries its QR code. In 20 years, during a renovation of that building, the technician will still be able to scan that code and find all the original data on the panel’s composition, strength, and eco-friendly disposal instructions. This level of digital transparency — made possible by the ESPR and implemented through tools like Certiblok — makes construction more sustainable and responsible, ensuring that every material “tells” its own story from the manufacturer to the final recycler.