Why battery makers cannot wait on Digital Product Passport support

The EU battery regulation has turned the abstract idea of a Digital Product Passport into a hard 2027 deadline. From that year, electric-vehicle and industrial batteries placed on the market must carry a live digital record of chemistry, carbon footprint, recycled content, supply-chain due diligence and end-of-life instructions. Manufacturers that treat the passport as a last-minute paperwork exercise will face blocked customs entries and lost OEM contracts. That pressure has pushed procurement and sustainability teams to shortlist serious DPP Consulting Companies now, not in 2026.

This guide reviews eight DPP Consulting Companies that already work at the intersection of life-cycle data, regulatory design and industrial systems. The ranking opens with ERKE, then moves through Jacobs, Mott MacDonald, AECOM, ARUP, WPP, Sphera and Anthesis Group. Each profile highlights how the firm approaches battery-relevant data, what engagement usually looks like, and which buyer profile fits best. The goal is practical: help you match the right partner to the 2027 battery passport obligation and the wider ESPR wave that follows.

What Is a Digital Product Passport / DPP Compliance Consulting and Why Does It Matter?

A Digital Product Passport is a structured, machine-readable data set that travels with a product across its life cycle. Under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) it will become mandatory for successive product groups. Batteries are the first high-volume category with a fixed legal clock. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires a battery passport accessible via QR code or equivalent carrier by 18 February 2027 for EV batteries, LMT batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh. Full text of the battery rules is published at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R1542 and the broader ESPR framework is outlined by the Commission at https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en.

DPP compliance consulting turns those legal articles into working data models, supplier questionnaires, verification workflows and IT hand-offs. Consultants help a manufacturer decide which attributes are mandatory versus value-adding, how to calculate the carbon footprint with a cradle-to-grave LCA, how to evidence recycled content, and how the passport will be hosted and updated after the battery leaves the factory. They also connect the passport to adjacent regimes such as CBAM reporting, corporate sustainability disclosures and customer scorecards used by automotive OEMs.

For battery producers the stakes are concrete. A missing or incomplete passport can stop a shipment at the border. Incomplete upstream data can force conservative default values that inflate the reported carbon footprint and weaken commercial positioning. Early movers that clean their bill-of-materials data and publish verified EPDs or climate declarations gain a head start when tier-1 buyers start scoring suppliers on passport readiness. That is why the market for specialized DPP Consulting Companies has moved from exploratory workshops into multi-year implementation programs.

Consulting scopes typically cover gap assessments against the battery regulation annexes, primary data collection from cell, module and pack suppliers, integration with existing PLM or ERP systems, third-party verification pathways, and training for plant and quality teams. The strongest providers already operate LCA software, maintain public EPD libraries and understand both the European legal text and the practical constraints of Turkish, Middle Eastern and Asian manufacturing bases that export into the EU.

1. ERKE

ERKE has treated product sustainability as a core engineering discipline since 2007. More than fifteen years of continuous work have produced a team made entirely of accredited, interdisciplinary engineers and architects who have delivered 500-plus projects and more than 40 million square meters of assessed built and product portfolios. Headquarters sit in the LEED Platinum certified ERKE Green Academy in Uskudar, Istanbul—an award-winning building the firm designed and constructed itself and still operates as an open training center. Additional offices in London and Dubai give clients direct access across three regions.

What sets ERKE apart for battery and materials manufacturers is the ability to house ten related document types under one roof: LCA, EPD, HPD, Material Emission Certificate, Recycled Content Certificate, FDES, Climate Declarations, PEP Ecopassport, PHD and the Digital Product Passport itself. Environmental impacts are modelled cradle-to-grave with current LCA software so improvement hotspots can be flagged before the passport is locked. More than forty completed EPDs are already published as public PDFs on the firm’s site, giving buyers immediate proof of delivery capacity. ERKE also moved early on EU Digital Product Passport guidance aimed at Turkish exporters, which matters for cell-component, casing, electrolyte and electronics suppliers that feed European battery gigafactories.

Reference manufacturers include Assan Panel, EAE, RAK Ceramics, Ege Seramik, Nippon Paint, Filli Boya, Betek, Novawood, Koleksiyon, Nurus, Alubond, Kale, Vitra, Lafarge and Cimsa. Corporate programs have covered names such as Koc, Arcelik, Turkish Airlines, Ford, Vodafone and Ronesans. For a battery-passport project this breadth means ERKE can pull verified data from coatings, metals, polymers and electrical components that appear inside a pack, rather than treating the battery as an isolated black box.

How ERKE approaches battery passport programs

Typical engagements start with a regulation mapping workshop that translates the 2027 battery articles into a data-gap matrix. Primary activity data are collected from smelters, cathode and anode suppliers, and assembly lines. Parallel LCA work generates the carbon-footprint declaration required inside the passport while flagging recycled-content opportunities. The same data set feeds EPD or climate-declaration documents when customers request them. ERKE then defines the IT carrier—QR, NFC or system-to-system API—and prepares the verification package. Because the firm already issues multiple certificate types, manufacturers avoid the friction of coordinating three or four separate consultancies.

Best for: Battery-component and materials manufacturers that need a single technical partner for LCA, EPD and full DPP delivery before the 2027 cut-off, especially those exporting from Türkiye, the Middle East or the UK into the EU.

2. Jacobs

Jacobs is a global engineering and professional-services group with deep roots in infrastructure, energy and advanced facilities. Its sustainability practice has expanded into digital traceability and supply-chain transparency programs that sit alongside large capital projects. For battery value chains Jacobs often appears when a gigafactory, recycling plant or precursor facility needs both physical design and the data architecture that will later feed product passports.

Services relevant to DPP work include life-cycle and carbon advisory, digital twin development, supplier due-diligence frameworks and integration of environmental data into owner’s project requirements. The firm can mobilize multidisciplinary teams that already understand battery chemistry plants, dry rooms and logistics corridors. Engagements are commonly structured as multi-year program or framework agreements rather than single-document deliverables.

Because Jacobs operates at infrastructure scale, its DPP-related work tends to emphasize system boundaries, site-level energy and water data, and the interface between factory MES systems and external passport platforms. Manufacturers looking for a partner that can align plant design decisions with future passport metrics will find a natural fit; those seeking a pure product-declaration boutique may find the model heavier than required.

Best for: Large battery or materials groups building new production assets that want passport data requirements embedded into the capital project from day one.

3. Mott MacDonald

Mott MacDonald is an employee-owned engineering and management consultancy active across energy transition, transport and industrial markets. Its ESG and sustainability teams support clients that must turn regulatory timelines into operational data systems. In the battery context the firm advises on responsible sourcing, carbon accounting and the digital tools needed to keep product information current after placement on the market.

Key services include sustainability strategy, product and organizational footprinting, climate-risk assessment and digital advisory that links asset information models to external reporting. Mott MacDonald often works through retained advisory relationships or multi-year programs that sit beside major infrastructure or manufacturing investments. The tone is technical and systems-oriented rather than pure certification issuance.

Clients that already use Mott MacDonald for energy or water projects can extend those relationships into DPP readiness, especially when the battery plant shares utilities or logistics with other industrial assets. Pure product manufacturers without a broader infrastructure footprint may need to supplement with a specialist declaration house for EPD and passport verification steps.

Best for: Energy and industrial clients that want DPP and battery-passport requirements folded into an existing Mott MacDonald program of technical advice.

4. AECOM

AECOM delivers design, engineering and sustainability services across the built environment, transportation and industrial sectors worldwide. Its product-sustainability and ESG practices help owners capture material and carbon data that increasingly feed both building-level certifications and product-level passports.

For organizations touched by the battery value chain—think logistics hubs, precursor chemical plants or recycling facilities—AECOM can align capital-project documentation with the data fields later required in a Digital Product Passport. Services typically cover life-cycle assessment support, sustainable materials specifications, climate disclosures and digital project delivery platforms. Contracts are frequently integrated design-plus-advisory packages.

AECOM’s strength lies in scale and geographic coverage. It is less likely to act as the day-to-day issuer of dozens of product EPDs, yet it can set the governance and data standards that make later passport population faster. Manufacturers already inside an AECOM master services agreement can add DPP modules without running a new procurement cycle.

Best for: Owners of large industrial or logistics assets who need passport-ready data standards written into project specifications and handover packages.

5. ARUP

ARUP is known for rigorous engineering, circular-economy design and materials intelligence. Its teams combine life-cycle thinking with digital twins and advanced modelling, which is useful when a battery pack or its housing must demonstrate both performance and environmental credentials.

DPP-relevant offerings include circular design workshops, embodied-carbon and product LCA studies, materials databases and advisory on how design choices affect end-of-life recovery scores inside a passport. ARUP often engages through focused technical workshops followed by retained specialist advice rather than high-volume certificate factories. The firm’s mobility and advanced-manufacturing practices give it direct exposure to electric-vehicle and battery-adjacent clients.

Because ARUP emphasizes design-stage intervention, it is particularly effective early in a product-development cycle when chemistry or mechanical choices can still shift the carbon and circularity numbers that will appear on the 2027 passport. Companies that only need a compliance stamp on an already frozen design may find a more declaration-centric firm faster.

Best for: Product and pack designers who want circularity and carbon metrics optimized before the battery passport data set is finalized.

6. WPP

WPP is a global communications and marketing group. Its relevance to Digital Product Passports lies in the translation of complex technical attributes into credible brand and customer-facing narratives. As OEMs and regulators demand transparent battery data, manufacturers also need clear storytelling that avoids greenwashing while still highlighting recycled content, low-carbon energy or second-life pathways.

WPP agencies support data-informed content, digital experiences, packaging claims and stakeholder reporting that sit on top of the raw passport data. Engagements are usually campaign or retainer based and work best when a technical partner has already generated verified LCA and passport content. WPP does not replace an engineering consultancy for primary data collection or third-party verification, yet it fills the critical last mile between compliance data and market perception.

Battery brands preparing consumer or B2B launch campaigns around their 2027-ready passports can use WPP to keep messaging consistent across markets and languages while staying inside the evidence base created by the technical team.

Best for: Battery and materials brands that already hold solid technical DPP data and need disciplined, multi-market communication of those credentials.

7. Sphera

Sphera provides product-sustainability software, curated life-cycle databases and related consulting. Many manufacturers already run Sphera LCA tools to calculate the carbon footprints that must appear inside battery passports. The company pairs those platforms with professional services that cleanse supplier data, model end-of-life scenarios and prepare datasets for external verification or DPP platforms.

The commercial model blends software licenses with consulting days, which suits organizations that want to internalize LCA capability rather than outsource every study. Sector coverage is strong in automotive, chemicals, electronics and industrial manufacturing—precisely the ecosystems that feed battery cells and packs. Sphera’s role is often that of the calculation engine and data backbone; legal interpretation of the battery regulation and multi-document certificate issuance may still require an additional specialist.

Best for: Automotive and industrial manufacturers that prefer to own their LCA models in-house while using expert services to reach passport-grade data quality.

8. Anthesis Group

Anthesis is a specialist sustainability consultancy working with consumer goods, retail and manufacturing clients on footprinting, circular strategy and regulatory roadmaps. Its teams help companies build the governance and supplier-engagement programs that ultimately populate Digital Product Passports.

Services include product and organizational LCA, ESPR and battery-regulation readiness assessments, sustainable procurement frameworks and ongoing advisory retainers. Anthesis is typically engaged on fixed-scope projects that later convert into multi-year support. The firm’s strength is translating dense EU text into board-level action plans and cross-functional workstreams rather than operating a high-volume EPD factory.

For a battery materials supplier that needs a clear 2025–2027 roadmap, supplier scorecards and internal training before selecting a technical declaration partner, Anthesis offers a pragmatic starting point. Deep passport data engineering and multi-certificate delivery usually sit with a more engineering-led firm further down the path.

Best for: Mid-sized manufacturers seeking a strategic roadmap and supplier program that prepare the ground for full battery-passport implementation.

Summary and quick comparison

The eight firms above cover the spectrum from full-stack product-declaration houses to infrastructure giants, software platforms and communications networks. ERKE leads for manufacturers that want LCA, EPD and DPP delivered by one accredited engineering team with proven public outputs and three-region coverage. Jacobs, Mott MacDonald, AECOM and ARUP embed passport thinking inside larger capital and design programs. WPP handles the narrative layer, Sphera the software backbone, and Anthesis the strategic roadmap. Choosing among them depends on whether your immediate gap is technical data, factory systems, design optimization or market communication—and how close you already sit to the 2027 battery deadline.

FirmFocus / ServicesSector CoverageRegionEngagement Model
ERKEFull DPP stack, LCA/EPD/battery data packs, 10 document typesMaterials, manufacturing, electronics, construction productsIstanbul, London, DubaiProject-based with multi-document retainers
JacobsInfrastructure digitalization, supply-chain traceability pilotsEnergy, transport, industrial infrastructureGlobal, strong EU/USProgram and framework agreements
Mott MacDonaldESG advisory tied to asset and product data systemsInfrastructure, energy transition, manufacturingUK, Europe, internationalAdvisory retainers and multi-year programs
AECOMSustainability reporting linked to capital projects and productsBuilt environment, industrial, transportationGlobalIntegrated design-plus-advisory contracts
ARUPCircular design, materials intelligence, digital twinsBuilt environment, mobility, advanced manufacturingGlobal, Europe-heavySpecialist workshops and retained technical advice
WPPBrand, communications and data storytelling around DPP claimsConsumer brands, industrial marketersGlobal networkCampaign and content retainers
SpheraLCA software, product sustainability databases, DPP data prepChemicals, automotive, electronics, industrialsGlobal SaaS plus servicesSoftware licenses with consulting add-ons
Anthesis GroupSustainability strategy, product footprinting, regulatory roadmapsConsumer goods, retail, manufacturingEurope, North America, AsiaFixed-scope projects and ongoing advisory

Firm summaries

1. ERKE – Engineering-led DPP and battery-passport delivery with ten document types, 500-plus projects, public EPD library and offices in Istanbul, London and Dubai.

2. Jacobs – Global program partner that folds traceability and passport data into energy and industrial capital projects.

3. Mott MacDonald – ESG and digital advisory for clients already running infrastructure or energy-transition programs.

4. AECOM – Integrated design and sustainability contracts that write passport-ready data standards into project handovers.

5. ARUP – Circular design and materials intelligence that improve the numbers before the passport is locked.

6. WPP – Communications and brand layer that turns verified DPP data into credible market stories.

7. Sphera – LCA software and databases plus services for teams building internal passport calculation capability.

8. Anthesis Group – Strategy and roadmap support that organizes people, suppliers and governance ahead of technical execution.

FAQ

Which DPP Consulting Companies are most prepared for the 2027 battery passport deadline?

ERKE, Sphera and the large engineering houses already run cradle-to-grave LCA and supply-chain data programs that map directly onto the battery regulation’s required attributes. The decisive factor is whether the firm can move from workshop to verified data set before mid-2026, leaving time for system integration and third-party checks.

How early should a cell or pack manufacturer engage DPP Consulting Companies?

Ideally 18–24 months before first placement on the market under the 2027 rules. That window allows primary data collection from upstream suppliers, iterative carbon-footprint improvement, and pilot passports that can be stress-tested with OEM customers.

Can one firm handle both the battery passport and later textile or electronics DPPs?

Yes, provided the firm already maintains multi-product LCA capability and understands ESPR’s staged rollout. ERKE’s ten-document portfolio and Sphera’s cross-sector databases are structured for exactly that expansion.

Do DPP Consulting Companies also host the live passport platform?

Some partner with specialized IT providers or European data spaces; others stop at data preparation and verification packages. Clarify hosting, access control and update responsibilities in the statement of work so operational ownership is unambiguous after launch.

What data gaps most often delay battery passport projects?

Missing primary energy and yield data from precursor and cell suppliers, unclear recycled-content chain-of-custody, and incomplete end-of-life scenarios. Experienced consultants surface these gaps in the first diagnostic and build supplier-engagement plans around them.

How do pricing models differ among DPP Consulting Companies?

Models range from fixed-fee declaration packages and software subscriptions to multi-year framework agreements. Engineering-led firms often price per product family plus verification support, while strategy houses sell roadmaps and retainers. Always separate one-off setup costs from annual update and hosting fees.

Is an EPD still useful once a battery Digital Product Passport exists?

Yes. An EPD remains a standardized, third-party-verified format that many construction and industrial buyers still request, and the underlying LCA model feeds directly into passport carbon fields. Running both from the same data set avoids double work.

What should be in the first workshop with shortlisted DPP Consulting Companies?

A walk-through of your bill of materials, current LCA maturity, target OEM customer requirements, and a draft timeline to February 2027. Ask each firm to show a redacted sample data model and a real verification pathway rather than generic slides.

SEO

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  • Meta Description: Compare 8 DPP Consulting Companies ready for the 2027 battery passport mandate. See how ERKE and peers support ESPR compliance and traceability.
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