Beyond Bar Code

Beyond Bar Code (Belgium) is a Digital Product Passport (DPP) platform that helps manufacturers and brands meet EU product rules and sell with confidence in the European market.

Under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the Battery Regulation and related EU legislation, more and more products will need a digital passport to be placed on the EU market. Batteries come first, followed by textiles, iron and steel, construction products, electronics and other product groups. The rules apply to manufacturers inside and outside the EU alike.

Beyond Bar Code acts as the data carrier layer of the passport. It collects product and supply chain data scattered across ERP systems, suppliers and documents, and structures it according to open standards such as UNTP, UN/CEFACT and CIRPASS-2. It then links that data to the physical product through a QR code or another data carrier. Consumers, business partners, recyclers and authorities each see the information they are entitled to, from origin and materials to compliance evidence and end-of-life instructions.

The platform supports verifiable credentials for supplier claims, connects to data spaces through FIWARE, Eclipse EDC and Gaia-X, and works alongside qualified trust service providers in line with eIDAS 2.0. An AI-driven regulatory engine tracks new delegated acts and standards and maps them to existing product data, so passports stay compliant as the rules change.

Beyond Bar Code covers the full journey: readiness assessment, data modelling, supplier data collection, pilot, system integration and ongoing regulatory monitoring. It has run pilots in batteries, textiles and electronics.

Beyond Bar Code is co-owned by Artech International, a Brussels-based company active in EU data space and DPP standardisation through BDVA, the FIWARE Foundation and the UN Transparency Protocol.