The Henry Royce Institute has responded to the UK Government’s call for evidence on Digital Product Records, drawing on consultation with industry and academic stakeholders from the UK materials community.
This engagement highlighted broad support for the principle of Digital Product Records (DPRs), particularly where they can improve materials and supply-chain transparency, support circularity and simplify existing regulatory and compliance processes. Stakeholders also stressed that successful implementation will depend on proportionality, common standards and a practical approach that works for organisations of different sizes and levels of digital maturity.
DPRs could create a persistent digital connection between products and trusted information about their materials, components, provenance and environmental characteristics. This could support better decisions across the product lifecycle, from procurement and compliance through to maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling.
The Government’s call for evidence closed on 21 September 2026. Responses will inform its consideration of future DPR policy.
What are Digital Product Records?
A Digital Product Record (DPR) is a way of linking a product to information about it in a digital format. This could include what materials it contains, where they came from, its environmental impact, and how it can be maintained, repaired or recycled.
The aim is to make relevant information easier to access and share throughout a product’s life. For example, knowing which materials a product contains could help a recycler identify what can be recovered, while repair information could help keep a product in use for longer.
For the materials community, this offers opportunities to retain the value of materials beyond their first use and support a more circular economy, where products and resources remain in use for as long as possible.
Supporting a digitally connected materials sector
Royce’s engagement on Digital Product Records aligns with its wider work on Materials 4.0: the use of data, digital tools, modelling, automation and AI across the materials lifecycle.
Royce’s A National Framework for Materials 4.0: Pathways to Implementation report identifies the infrastructure, shared standards and skills needed to connect materials information across research, manufacturing, use and recycling.
