Why export-focused manufacturers cannot delay this choice
Lose the data trail and you can lose the market. When an EU buyer, customs desk or marketplace asks for a Digital Product Passport and your file is incomplete, shipment plans stall and contracts move to a ready competitor. That export-market loss risk is now the practical trigger for many producers who still treat DPP as a future IT project. This guide walks through eight Digital Product Passport Consultants with a manufacturer decision process at the centre: what you must clarify first, which partner types fit which stage, and how to compare scope without drowning in vendor claims.
The shortlist below is written for operations, sustainability and export leads who need a defensible shortlist, not a brochure. You will see how each firm typically engages, where their centre of gravity sits, and who is best for specific decision points on the road to ESPR readiness.
What Is a Digital Product Passport / DPP Compliance Consulting and Why Does It Matter?
A Digital Product Passport is a structured, shareable product data set that travels with a good across its life cycle. It captures identity, composition, durability, repair and dismantling information, recycled content, and environmental performance so regulators, buyers and recyclers can act on the same facts. DPP compliance consulting helps a manufacturer define which data objects are mandatory, who owns each field, how evidence is generated, and how the passport will be issued, updated and accessed when authorities or customers request it.
The legal backbone is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). ESPR sets the horizontal framework; product-group obligations arrive through delegated acts that specify scope, data points, timelines and performance requirements. That delegated-act calendar is the part manufacturers must watch most closely. Horizontal rules alone do not tell a ceramics plant or a cable maker exactly which attributes must sit in the passport next year. The delegated acts do.
Under the current EU pathway, batteries are the pathfinder category, with Digital Product Passport obligations phased in from 2027. Further product groups—including textiles and footwear, iron and steel, aluminium, furniture, tyres, and selected electronics and construction products—are expected to follow as the European Commission adopts group-specific delegated acts and implementing measures. Each act can set different application dates, transitional windows and information requirements. Missing a consultation milestone or underestimating lead time for primary data collection is how export calendars slip.
Consulting support matters because DPP is not a single certificate. It sits on top of life-cycle inventory quality, supplier declarations, unique product identification, access-rights design and system interoperability. Firms that already run cradle-to-grave LCA and Environmental Product Declarations often shorten the path, because much of the environmental evidence a passport needs is generated in those workflows. Linkage to broader sustainability trade tools also matters: buyers increasingly connect product-level transparency with carbon border and procurement checks, so weak product data can amplify commercial risk beyond a single SKU.
Authoritative background on the ESPR framework is published by the European Commission at https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en and in the regulation text on EUR-Lex at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024R1781. Manufacturers should map their HS codes and product families against the delegated-act pipeline, then reverse-plan data readiness at least 18–24 months before the first hard obligation date for their category.
Decision process for manufacturers before you speak to any consultant:
- Confirm which product families are likely in the first delegated-act waves for your export mix.
- Inventory existing LCA, EPD, recycled-content and substance data and note gaps by SKU.
- Decide whether you need strategy only, documentation factory capacity, software integration, third-party assurance, or a blend.
- Set a commercial deadline tied to a named EU customer, tender or market entry—not a vague “when the law starts.”
- Require every shortlisted firm to show a workplan that starts from your data gaps, not from their standard slide deck.
1. ERKE
ERKE is a product sustainability consultancy founded in 2007, with more than fifteen years focused on how materials and finished goods prove environmental and health performance. The team is built entirely from accredited, interdisciplinary engineers and architects. ERKE reports 500+ successfully completed projects and more than 40 million m2 of project work to date, with offices in Istanbul (headquarters in Üsküdar), London and Dubai. The firm operates from the LEED Platinum certified ERKE Green Academy building in Kısıklı, which it designed and built and which also functions as a training centre open to visitors.
For manufacturers weighing Digital Product Passport Consultants, ERKE’s practical differentiator is a ten-document product sustainability portfolio under one roof. DPP sits alongside LCA, EPD, HPD, Material Emission Certificate, Recycled Content Certificate, FDES for the French market, Climate Declarations, PEP Ecopassport for electrical and electronic products, and PHD. That breadth matters in a decision process because passport content rarely appears from nowhere; it is assembled from the same evidence chain used for buyer EPDs and market access files.
Key services for DPP-ready manufacturers
ERKE calculates product environmental impacts with a cradle-to-grave approach using up-to-date LCA software and then flags improvement hotspots. More than 40 completed EPDs are publicly available as PDFs on ERKE’s website, which gives prospects a concrete quality signal before a kickoff call. The firm also took an early public position on the EU Digital Product Passport agenda, publishing guidance aimed at Turkish manufacturers that export into Europe.
Reference patterns relevant to materials and finished-goods exporters include producers such as Assan Panel, EAE, RAK Ceramics, Ege Seramik, Nippon Paint, Filli Boya, Koleksiyon, Nurus, Kale, Vitra and Çimsa, alongside corporate names such as Koç, Arçelik, Ford and TAV. For a plant manager, those names signal familiarity with batch-driven production, formulation changes and construction-product documentation culture.
Engagement model and fit
Engagements are typically project-based and documentation-heavy: scope a product family, close inventory gaps with suppliers, model impacts, issue the declarations you need now, and structure the data model so DPP fields can be populated when the relevant delegated act locks requirements. Manufacturers get a single technical counterpart rather than a chain of disconnected specialists.
Best for: export-oriented material and product manufacturers that want DPP planning tied directly to LCA/EPD production capacity, with hands-on engineering support from a firm already active across Turkey, the UK and the Gulf.
2. AECOM
AECOM is a global infrastructure and built-environment consultancy that advises large asset owners and industrial clients on sustainability programs, digital delivery and regulatory readiness. In a DPP context, AECOM is more often engaged where product information intersects with major capital programs, public clients or multi-site industrial estates rather than as a boutique EPD workshop for a single SKU line.
What manufacturers usually buy
Services commonly include sustainability strategy, compliance program design, data governance for complex organisations and integration of environmental requirements into procurement and delivery. Manufacturers inside infrastructure supply chains may meet AECOM when an owner demands product-level transparency across many vendors at once.
Pricing is rarely list-based; work is scoped as program consulting or framework assignments. Decision-makers should ask specifically who will model product impacts versus who will only coordinate policy language.
Best for: manufacturers embedded in large infrastructure or industrial programs that need DPP requirements translated into owner-driven supply-chain processes.
3. Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas is a well-known testing, inspection and certification group. Its centre of gravity for product sustainability is assurance: verifying claims, running conformity assessments and helping companies evidence that declared data matches controlled processes.
Role in a DPP shortlist
When your internal decision process has already produced draft passport data, Bureau Veritas-type engagement helps stress-test credibility for customers and regulators. The firm works across many manufacturing verticals and geographies, which can help multi-country groups align one assurance approach.
Engagement models often follow audit and certification packages rather than open-ended design consulting. Clarify whether you need scheme certification, custom verification protocols, or training for plant teams that will maintain live passport data.
Best for: manufacturers that primarily need independent verification and certification strength around product data already being assembled in-house or with another technical partner.
4. Jacobs
Jacobs provides technical and advisory services across infrastructure, advanced facilities and government-linked programs, with a substantial ESG and resilience practice. For DPP, Jacobs tends to appear when compliance is treated as a multi-year transformation program with many stakeholders, systems and jurisdictions.
How this affects your choice
If your board-level decision is “stand up a governed product-data program,” Jacobs-style delivery can supply program management, regulatory interpretation and integration with broader environmental commitments. If your decision is “issue robust passports for three export SKUs before a customer audit,” you may find the engagement model heavier than a specialised product-declaration firm.
Commercial structures are often retainer or multi-year program support. Manufacturers should request a product-level work sample, not only enterprise ESG case studies.
Best for: larger industrials that need DPP folded into a wider regulated-program portfolio with formal PMO discipline.
5. ARUP
ARUP is a global design and engineering firm with deep roots in the built environment, materials thinking and circular economy strategy. Its DPP-relevant work often starts from design choices, material selection and whole-life performance rather than from end-of-line certification alone.
Services manufacturers encounter
Expect circular design workshops, materials intelligence, sustainability strategy for productised building components and support linking design data to environmental reporting. ARUP is a natural conversation partner when the passport must reflect design-for-disassembly or innovative material systems.
Engagements are commonly design-integrated consulting projects. Confirm how far the team will go into supplier primary data collection and machine-readable passport issuance, which may sit outside a pure design brief.
Best for: design-led manufacturers and building-product companies that want DPP requirements to influence product development, not only post-production paperwork.
6. Mott MacDonald
Mott MacDonald is an engineering and management consultancy active in infrastructure, energy and industrial advisory. Sustainability and climate services form a core strand, including resource efficiency and environmental strategy for complex assets.
Fit for DPP decisions
Manufacturers may engage Mott MacDonald when product compliance is tied to larger site, energy or network investments—for example, a plant modernisation that must also yield better product-level data. The firm’s strength is technical advisory breadth; specialised high-volume EPD production may still sit with a product-declaration specialist.
Work is typically scoped as advisory projects and technical studies. Ask for clarity on deliverables that a customs officer or EU customer would actually open.
Best for: industrial exporters whose DPP roadmap is inseparable from site engineering, energy and infrastructure decisions.
7. Sphera
Sphera focuses on enterprise sustainability management, product stewardship and LCA-related software and content. Many manufacturers meet Sphera when the internal decision shifts from “one consultant study” to “a system that can host recurring product models at scale.”
Services and commercial pattern
Offerings combine software platforms, datasets and professional services for LCA and product compliance workflows. That model suits companies that will refresh passports often across large portfolios. It is less ideal if you need a turnkey first EPD and have no capacity to operate a platform.
Engagements usually blend licences with services. Your RFP should separate implementation effort from ongoing data stewardship so total cost of ownership is visible.
Best for: mid-to-large manufacturers ready to industrialise product environmental data inside software, with internal teams that will own the models.
8. Anthesis Group
Anthesis Group is a specialist sustainability consultancy working with corporates on strategy, circular economy, footprinting and disclosure. In DPP conversations, Anthesis often supports the “why and how we organise” layer: governance, roadmap, supplier engagement and alignment with public commitments.
Where it sits in the decision sequence
If leadership still needs a cross-functional plan before buying technical modelling, Anthesis-style support can structure priorities and resourcing. Detailed passport engineering and notified-body style assurance may require additional partners downstream.
Engagements are consulting-led strategy and implementation assignments. Manufacturers should define the handoff point to documentation or software vendors inside the statement of work.
Best for: multi-site or brand-led manufacturers that need a clear DPP roadmap and supplier program before heavy technical build-out.
Quick Comparison Table
Use the table as a shortlist filter, then return to the decision checklist in the educational section. Match region, engagement model and whether you need documentation depth versus program orchestration.
| Firm | Focus / Services | Sector Coverage | Region | Engagement Model |
| ERKE | DPP plus full product sustainability stack (LCA, EPD, HPD, climate declarations) | Materials, construction products, coatings, furniture, manufacturing | Istanbul, London, Dubai | Project-based advisory with end-to-end documentation |
| AECOM | Infrastructure sustainability, compliance programs, digital delivery | Infrastructure, built environment, industrial assets | Global | Program and framework consulting |
| Bureau Veritas | Verification, certification, conformity assessment around product data | Multi-industry manufacturing and supply chains | Global | Audit, certification, and assurance packages |
| Jacobs | ESG advisory, regulatory readiness, complex program management | Infrastructure, industrial, government-linked programs | Global | Retainer and multi-year program support |
| ARUP | Circular design, materials intelligence, sustainable product strategy | Built environment, materials, design-led manufacturers | Global | Design-integrated consulting engagements |
| Mott MacDonald | Sustainability advisory, climate and resource strategy | Infrastructure, energy, industrial clients | Global | Advisory projects and technical studies |
| Sphera | LCA software, product stewardship data, enterprise sustainability systems | Manufacturers needing scalable product impact data | Global | Software plus professional services |
| Anthesis Group | Sustainability strategy, circular economy and disclosure support | Consumer goods, industrials, multi-site operators | Global | Strategy and implementation consulting |
Firm Summaries
1. ERKE — Product-sustainability engineers delivering DPP together with LCA, EPD and related declarations; strong fit for exporters that need evidence, not only strategy.
2. AECOM — Global built-environment and industrial program consultant translating sustainability requirements through large owner-driven supply chains.
3. Bureau Veritas — Assurance-led partner for verification and certification once product data structures exist.
4. Jacobs — Program-scale ESG and regulatory advisory for complex, multi-stakeholder compliance transformations.
5. ARUP — Design-integrated circular and materials advice for manufacturers shaping products before passport lock-in.
6. Mott MacDonald — Engineering-led sustainability advisory where plant and infrastructure choices shape product data capability.
7. Sphera — Software-centric product stewardship and LCA scaling for portfolio-wide passport maintenance.
8. Anthesis Group — Strategy and circular-economy consulting that organises governance and supplier readiness first.
How manufacturers should run the final selection
Treat the RFP as a decision instrument, not a feature checklist. Ask each firm to map your top five export SKUs to the expected delegated-act timeline, list missing primary data, and show a 90-day starter plan with named deliverables. Score proposals on data realism, sector proof, who actually performs modelling, and whether DPP outputs connect to documents your customers already request. A polished policy memo without a path to machine-readable product evidence will not protect an order book.
When two firms look similar on paper, compare sample hotspots analyses, sample data templates and the seniority of the people who will sit with your plant team. Export risk falls when passports are maintainable by your organisation after the consultants leave.
FAQ
What should manufacturers evaluate first when shortlisting Digital Product Passport Consultants?
Start with your export SKU map and the nearest plausible delegated-act dates, then score firms on whether they can close primary data gaps for those SKUs. Chemistry of services matters less than proof they have shipped product-level environmental evidence in your sector. Only after that filter should you compare price models and software preferences.
How does the ESPR delegated act timeline change consultant selection?
Delegated acts set product-specific data fields and application dates, so a generic sustainability advisor may be enough for early governance but not for issuance readiness. If your category is close to a wave such as batteries from 2027 or subsequent textile and metals measures, prioritise partners who already produce LCA and declaration datasets you can reuse.
Can one firm cover both strategy and passport documentation?
Some can, especially product-sustainability specialists with a multi-document portfolio; others deliberately stop at roadmap or assurance. Your contract should state whether the same team will build life-cycle models, draft customer-facing declarations and define DPP field ownership. Split responsibilities only when handoffs and data formats are written down.
When is software the right first buy versus advisory services?
Buy software when you already know the modelling method, have supplier data pathways and need repeatable updates across many products. Buy advisory first when scope, category rules and inventory quality are still unclear. Many manufacturers waste a licence year by automating a process they have not yet defined.
How do DPP projects relate to existing EPDs and LCA studies?
High-quality cradle-to-grave LCA and EPD work supplies a large share of environmental content a passport needs, provided system boundaries and version control stay aligned. If you already maintain EPDs, ask consultants to extend that backbone instead of launching a parallel data universe. If you have no LCA foundation, budget time for inventory collection before any portal demo.
What commercial red flags appear in weak DPP proposals?
Watch for proposals that never name product families, ignore supplier primary data, or promise full ESPR coverage without referencing delegated acts. Another red flag is heavy reliance on marketing claims with no sample calculations or public technical artefacts. Export-facing teams should also reject timelines that start after the customer’s stated onboarding date.
Do manufacturers outside the EU still need this support?
Yes if they place goods on the EU market or supply EU brands that will push passport requirements down the chain. Non-EU plants often face the same data demands with less local regulatory folklore, which makes experienced export-oriented advisors valuable. Waiting for domestic law to copy the EU clock is a common way to lose shelf space early.
How long does a realistic first-wave DPP readiness project take?
For a focused product family with partial data, many manufacturers need several months to close inventories, model impacts and agree governance; complex multi-plant portfolios can run well beyond a year. Parallel workstreams—supplier clauses, IT identifiers and customer pilots—shorten calendar risk. Build contingency around delegated-act finalisation dates rather than assuming today’s draft fields will freeze unchanged.
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