Standards
We implement standards. We do not publish them.
Every layer of a CirculeID passport is somebody else's open specification, linked here so you can check the claim yourself. That is not modesty — it is the only mechanism that makes passport data portable.
- Identity
- GS1 Digital Link
- Events
- GS1 EPCIS 2.0
- Claims
- W3C VC 2.0
Definition
Which standards does a Digital Product Passport use?
GS1 Digital Link provides resolvable product identity, GS1 EPCIS 2.0 provides supply chain events, W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 and Decentralized Identifiers provide tamper-evident claims, and CIRPASS with CEN-CENELEC JTC 24 provides the data model. ISO 14040 and 14067 govern the footprint methodology behind the figures.
The ESPR names none of these directly. It requires a unique identifier, a data carrier and interoperable access, and leaves realisation to standardisation — which is why knowing which specifications a vendor implements matters more than a compliance claim.
Architecture
Six layers, none of them ours
Regulatory reporting
ESPR · Battery Regulation · CSRD · EUDR · PPWREach regulation is a projection of the record below it, not a separate dataset to collect.
Passport data model
CIRPASS · CEN-CENELEC JTC 24The field definitions the delegated acts are converging on, so a new requirement is a mapping rather than a rebuild.
Verifiable claims
W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0Recycled content, chain of custody and conformity signed by the party asserting them. Verifiable without trusting CirculeID.
Supply chain events
GS1 EPCIS 2.0What happened, to which object, where, when and why — the interoperable event vocabulary the industry already uses.
Issuer identity
W3C Decentralized IdentifiersEach issuing party has a resolvable identity, so a signature can be checked years after the product was made.
Product identity and carrier
GS1 Digital LinkA QR code, NFC tag or RFID that resolves to the passport — one identifier that works in retail, logistics and the web.
Reference
Every standard we implement
| Standard | Publisher | Its role in the passport |
|---|---|---|
| GS1 Digital Link | GS1 | Expresses a product identifier as a resolvable web URL on the carrier |
| GS1 EPCIS 2.0 | GS1 | The event vocabulary for what happened, to what, where, when and why |
| W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 | W3C | Signed, tamper-evident claims that verify without trusting the platform |
| W3C Decentralized Identifiers | W3C | Issuer identity that resolves independently and outlives the contract |
| CIRPASS · CEN-CENELEC JTC 24 | EU project · CEN-CENELEC | The passport data model the delegated acts are converging on |
| ISO 14040 / 14044 / 14067 | ISO | How a life cycle assessment and a product carbon footprint are produced |
| ISO 59004 / 59010 / 59020 | ISO | Circular economy vocabulary, implementation and performance measurement |
| GHG Protocol | WRI · WBCSD | The accounting basis most CSRD-reported emissions figures use |
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Does the ESPR require any particular standard?
No. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation sets requirements for a unique product identifier, a data carrier and interoperable access, and leaves the technical realisation to standardisation. CEN-CENELEC JTC 24 is developing the European standards, and the CIRPASS work informs the data model. GS1 and W3C specifications are the leading candidates for the layers beneath.
What is GS1 Digital Link?
A GS1 standard that expresses product identifiers such as GTINs as resolvable web URLs. A single QR code can then serve a checkout scanner, a logistics system and a consumer’s phone, each resolving to what it needs — which is what makes one carrier serve both retail operations and a public passport.
Why not just build a good proprietary data model?
Because a passport has to remain meaningful for the product’s life, which can exceed the life of any vendor relationship. A record expressed in published standards can be served by another conforming resolver and verified by systems that never integrated with us. That is the practical definition of not being locked in.
Do Verifiable Credentials require a blockchain?
No. This is the most common misconception in the category. A W3C Verifiable Credential is a signed document; verification requires the issuer’s public key, resolved through a Decentralized Identifier method. Some DID methods use a ledger, others use DNS or web hosting, and the credential model does not care which.
How do LCA standards fit in?
ISO 14040 and 14044 define how a life cycle assessment is conducted, and ISO 14067 how a product carbon footprint is quantified. The passport does not perform those calculations; it records the resulting figure together with the methodology used, so a reader can tell whether two figures are comparable.
Next step
Check the implementation, not the claim
Bring your architect. We will walk each layer, show the wire format, and answer what happens to your data if you leave.