How credible are companies' sustainability claims today? Studies show that only around 25 per cent of consumers believe environmental or transparency claims. This alarming figure reveals a massive lack of trust. From 2026 onward, this trust crisis will be addressed through regulation and will become an existential challenge for many manufacturers, as the EU gradually mandates the introduction of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Batteries are just the beginning, to be followed by textiles, electronics, construction materials, and many other sectors.
In the future, manufacturers will be legally responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the data in their product passports, and could even face prison sentences under consumer protection law. This is despite the fact that more than half of the required information comes from external suppliers over whom they have no direct control. The paradox becomes tangible: How can companies take responsibility for data that they do not control?
Supply Chain Challenges: Over 60 percent of German companies still exchange supplier data on paper. Opaque processes, manual transfer errors, inconsistent formats, and incompatible IT systems render the prospect of a seamless digital data chain fragile. At the same time, the use of artificial intelligence increases the risk of realistic forgeries. Without automated control mechanisms, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulation risks becoming a toothless exercise despite the significant effort involved. A patchwork of individual case reviews for up to one million manufacturers and an estimated 10 to 20 billion products in the EU is simply not scalable.
Individual industries rely on blockchain technology to secure data. However, blockchains only work when all participants actively collaborate - a scenario rarely realistic in global supply chains. Technical tamper-proofing alone is not enough; it must also be legally recognized.
Tim Schojohann, co-founder of Cryptar GmbH, puts it succinctly:
"Getting everyone onto the same system, decentral or not, is like trying to build a world government."
Anyone attempting to solve the authenticity problem solely at the network level will fail against the reality of fragmented supply chains.
A Paradigm Shift – Decentralized Evidence: Against this backdrop, a paradigm shift is necessary. Instead of decentralized infrastructures, what matters is decentralized evidence. The partnership between Swisscom Trust Services and Cryptar GmbH offers this approach. It combines Swisscom's pan-European eIDAS expertise with Cryptar's patented protocol to create a solution that respects existing infrastructures while establishing a tamper-proof basis for digital collaboration. This solution is modular and can be integrated as a component into existing solutions.
The principle is simple yet powerful. All compliance-relevant information created or modified within a company is cryptographically documented locally. This evidence is then published in multiple independent trust environments, such as government systems, blockchains, central platforms, and qualified trust service providers. Recipients can independently verify the authenticity of the information in their preferred infrastructure, whether digital or paper-based. This creates a distributed chain of evidence that enables automated validations, audits, and regulatory controls that hold up in court.
The role of Swisscom Trust Services: As the only pan-European qualified trust service provider, Swisscom is certified under Swiss ZertES regulations and EU eIDAS. Qualified Electronic Seals (QES) offer the highest legal security level for digital transactions and legally shift the burden of proof. In practice, this means: Supplier data for the digital product passport is provided with QES that guarantees its authenticity. Manufacturers, who would otherwise have to bear the liability risk alone, thereby gain transparency and the legal basis to distribute risks back to the source. Responsibility becomes tangible - manipulation loses its threat - even without expanding quality assurance departments.
Swisscom complements its regulatory expertise with robust infrastructure: highly secure data centers in Switzerland, regular audits, and proven integration in sensitive industries such as financial services or healthcare. Partnerships with iText, Autenti, or Signicat demonstrate seamless integration into existing processes. Millions of documents have already been legally secured digitally. This ensures scaling to billions of DPP data points.
Core Benefits for Companies: The synergy of Cryptar's evidence protocol and Swisscom's eIDAS-compliant trust services creates the foundation for trustworthy digital collaboration and thus competitive advantages through:
- Legally Secure Automation: Qualified seals are integrated into the protocol, and validity and integrity checks occur in real-time.
- Cost-Efficient Scaling: Publication Seals bundle multiple signatures and validity states into a single seal.
- Proactive Security: Signature histories are monitored, compromised signatures can be revoked in case of identity theft - currently around 30% of attacks are based on stolen identities (IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2025).
- Offline Trust: Even printed documents are verifiable for logistics partners or customs authorities.
This creates an ecosystem of tamper-proof transparency that minimizes regulatory risks and makes trust tangible throughout the entire supply chain.
Practical Applications Demonstrate Value: Battery passports in the automotive industry document components throughout their entire lifecycle and second-life applications. In the textile industry, paper mountains caused by system breaks are overcome, origin, working conditions, and ecological impacts are transparently documented - an effective means against greenwashing. The construction industry benefits from tamper-proof materials and environmental certifications, while luxury goods manufacturers secure the authenticity of their products, and digital services enhance the customer experience.
Beyond this, the technology opens perspectives far beyond DPP: ESG reporting, financial reporting, AI governance, and traceability in pharmaceutical supply chains benefit from the same principles.
Studies predict that the volume for software solutions in the digital product passport sector will rise from $213.9 million in 2024 to $1.23 billion in 2030 (annual growth rate of 34.9%). However, this market is not a sure thing. Companies must ensure data quality, integrate legacy systems, manage organizational change, adapt to rapidly evolving regulations such as eIDAS 2.0, and scale beyond pilot projects. The Swisscom-Cryptar solution addresses all these points: modular, flexible, legally compliant, and deployable as a building block for existing DPP solutions. Thus, the digital product passport transforms from a cost factor into an effective digital "supply chain compliance tool."
Shaping the Future of the Trust Economy: The digital product passport is more than a regulatory requirement - it catalyzes the transformation of transparency, sustainability, and trust. Swisscom and Cryptar demonstrate how technological innovation, regulatory compliance, and economic reality converge. Those who act now secure compliance and become pioneers of a new trust economy, rather than constantly chasing ever-growing requirements.
The critical question is no longer whether digital product passports are coming - that's been decided. It is: Who defines the standards that the industry will follow tomorrow? The time for experiments is over. The time for solutions has begun. Swisscom and Cryptar invite companies to become part of this transformation - through pilot projects, strategic partnerships, or dialogue about the future of authentic digital information.
About the Partnership
Swisscom Trust Services and Cryptar GmbH are jointly developing the next generation of digital trust solutions. By combining pan-European eIDAS expertise and patented decentralized evidence technology, they create solutions that overcome technical challenges and set new standards for trustworthy digital collaboration.
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