ISO/IEC JTC 5: International Standardisation of the Digital Product Passport Kicks Off in Berlin
ISO/IEC JTC 5 held its inaugural meeting in Berlin on 7-9 September 2026 to build the international DPP framework. Here is how it relates to CEN-CLC/JTC 24 and what it means for companies.
ISO/IEC JTC 5, the international Digital Product Passport committee, started work in Berlin on 7-9 September 2026. It takes JTC 24's European work global, with first results expected from 2028.
Related documents
Official press release on the inaugural meeting of ISO/IEC JTC 5 in Berlin.
Official ISO directory and scope of the international standardisation committee.
Overview of European standardisation under ESPR (JTC 24) and global alignment.
On 7 September 2026, more than 220 experts from over 30 countries opened the work of ISO/IEC JTC 5 in Berlin, the committee tasked with building the international framework for the Digital Product Passport (DPP). It picks up where the European committee JTC 24 is finishing its first series of standards, taking that work to the global level. Here is what that means for companies.
A committee to prevent incompatible DPPs
The DPP was born in Europe with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), but value chains do not stop at the EU border. A supplier in Asia feeding a European DPP should be able to use the same protocols as a supplier in Germany. Without a common framework, every market risks producing its own passport.
That is the purpose of ISO/IEC JTC 5 "Digital Product Passport". Its mission is to develop deliverables for the deployment of DPPs that ensure interoperability across sectors and across systems, so that information can flow along supply chains. It covers the framework of the DPP system and of the DPP ecosystem, as well as the basics underpinning both.
Its scope is deliberately limited. JTC 5 does not develop sector-specific standards, nor standards already covered by other ISO and IEC technical committees.
From JTC 24 to JTC 5: passing the baton, in complementary roles
JTC 24 has essentially completed its first series of standards just as JTC 5 gets under way. In that sense, JTC 5 takes up the baton at the international level. The two committees are also complementary: CEN-CENELEC describes ISO/IEC JTC 5 as the international mirror committee of its own CEN-CLC/JTC 24, and the two are meant to collaborate.
CEN-CLC/JTC 24 | ISO/IEC JTC 5 | |
|---|---|---|
Level | European | International |
Framework | ESPR, standardisation request M/604 | Global DPP ecosystem |
Secretariat | DIN (Germany) | DIN (Germany) |
Status | Eight European standards developed and available, six already cited in the Official Journal | Work started in September 2026, first results expected from 2028 |
JTC 24 has developed a first series of eight European standards covering the technical building blocks of the European DPP, as presented in CEN-CENELEC's article on the eight DPP standards. All eight are now available. Six of them have already been cited in the Official Journal of the European Union, which gives a DPP built on them a presumption of conformity with the corresponding ESPR requirements. The last two are available but not yet cited.
The European system is a hybrid. The European Commission operates a registry holding the identifiers of products, manufacturers and facilities, while the product data itself is managed and stored by third-party service providers. For more on the registry, read our article on the EU DPP Registry.
JTC 24 therefore remains the operational reference for ESPR compliance. JTC 5 aims to bring these efforts into line with the rest of the world.
How JTC 5 came about
2024-2025: the ISO 25534 project ("Digital product passport") is launched jointly by UNECE and ISO. It was registered in October 2024 and held its kick-off in Geneva in February 2025.
September 2025: DIN submits the proposal for a new joint ISO/IEC committee, and ANSI opens a consultation in the United States.
March 2026: the committee is formed, with the secretariat assigned to Germany (DIN).
20 April 2026: DIN and DKE officially launch JTC 5, announcing that work will begin in the third quarter of 2026.
7-9 September 2026: inaugural meeting in Berlin.
National bodies are mobilising in parallel. The UK's BSI, for example, is setting up a dedicated mirror committee (IST/47/1) to follow both JTC 24 and JTC 5.
Berlin, 7-9 September: the first decisions
According to DIN, the meeting took place at DIN's premises in Berlin and online, with more than 220 participants from over 30 countries, spanning industry, research, standardisation bodies and public institutions. Three decisions stand out:
A new Working Group 1 "Foundations" is created to develop the first core standards of JTC 5.
The ISO 25534 project is taken over and developed in two parts, one on concepts and terminology and the other on the overview and fundamental principles. The project currently listed by ISO is ISO/AWI 25534-1, "Overview and fundamental principles".
A Chair Advisory Group and a broad network of liaisons with other ISO and IEC committees are set up, to connect expertise and standardisation work across sectors.
The name "Foundations" matters: the first deliverables will be foundation standards (vocabulary, principles, reference architecture) rather than detailed technical specifications.
What this changes in practice
In the short term, almost nothing. The first JTC 5 results are expected from 2028. Until then, the European standards developed by JTC 24 remain the reference for ESPR compliance.
In the medium term, stability of your technical choices. JTC 24 and JTC 5 share a secretariat and coordinate their work, which reduces the risk of divergence. DIN itself warns about the friction that late harmonisation would create. Companies aligning with European standards today therefore have good reason to expect their choices to remain compatible.
For fashion and textile. JTC 5 will not define DPP content by sector. The data required for textile products will depend on the corresponding ESPR delegated act, expected around 2027, with mandatory obligations realistically not before 2028. To prepare now, see our guide to the Digital Product Passport for textiles and fashion, our article on DPP data requirements and its application to fashion and textile.
What to watch
The first documents from WG 1 and the progress of ISO 25534.
The liaisons established with other committees. CEN, for instance, signed a liaison agreement with the OPC Foundation in February 2026, and the OPC Foundation contributes directly to JTC 24.
How European harmonised standards will articulate with the future ISO/IEC standards.