NFC Forum Publishes Candidate Specification For Sustainability Data Management

Technical body calls for industry feedback on emerging DPP Work Items

NFC Forum, the global standards body for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, has published its NFC Digital Product Passport (NDPP) Candidate Specification. The new proposal enables NFC Forum tags already in use for other applications to also store sustainability data. The ability for this information to coexist with existing NFC applications lays the foundation for an accessible, interoperable sustainability data management ecosystem that can vastly accelerate the advancement of the circular economy.

Led by its Board members, including representatives from Apple, Google, Huawei, Identiv, Infineon, NXP, Sony, and ST Microelectronics, the NFC Forum and its community, are working to help product and component manufacturers meet impending global regulatory requirements for green manufacturing began in 2023.

The new NFC Forum Standard defines a flexible, data agnostic framework to allow a single NFC tag embedded in a product to store and transmit both standard and extended DPP data using common NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) records. As being discussed by ecosystem stakeholders and regulators, the overall Digital Product Passport architecture is expected to include both cloud-based systems for online data storage and methodologies to connect products to these systems which are known in the industry as DPP Data Carriers. These new standards from the Forum extend the capability of using NFC Forum technologies as data carriers.

Unlike other expected data carrier solutions, these Candidate Specifications allow static and dynamic data to be hosted and accessed offline using non-volatile memory stored on the product itself. Other unique advantages for using NFC Forum technology as a data carrier include, consumers ownership and familiarity NFC-capable handsets for other use cases like payment and access control, product design flexibility, higher durability, and the ability to be read in harsh environments. Additionally, and most critically, by embedding DPP data directly into products, manufactures can ensure the data is available for the life of the product while also providing additional anti-tampering capabilities.

“With multiple data models for sustainability under discussion and development by various organizations globally, NFC Forum has created a universal, interoperable, framework that can work seamlessly with any format and field requirements,” comments Klaus Roehrle, Chair of the NFC Forum Devices and Applications Working Group. “With NFC-enabled smartphones already in the hands of most consumers and able to read the NFC-based data, we can foresee that full scale deployment of product sustainability data could be achieved in many products with simply a software update.”

“The publication of the NDPP Candidate Specification marks the latest step in NFC Forum’s ongoing commitment to creating a more sustainable future,” adds Mike McCamon, Executive Director of NFC Forum. “It follows the launch at our Vision NFC event in October last year of a Proof-of-Concept Mobile Reader application for Android and iOS that can read on-product DPP data. As work in this area gains momentum, we call on the NFC and Sustainability communities to participate and provide feedback on the development of this draft standard to help ensure reliability, interoperability, and compatibility across NFC chips, tags and devices to store and provide access to sustainability data across products and services.”

To download the new draft standard visit: https://nfc-forum.org/build/specifications. Current members are invited to participate in the open feedback process on our Member Website and non-member industry contributions can be provided via our public website.

Learn more about its work and how your organization can get involved here.

About the NFC Forum

The NFC Forum, established in 2004, is a non-profit industry association comprised of leading mobile communications, semiconductor, and consumer electronics companies. Its mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability, and educating the market about NFC technology.

The NFC Forum's global member companies share skills, technical expertise and industry knowledge to develop specifications and protocols for interoperable data exchange, device-independent service delivery, and device capability. Forum’s supporting certification program and user marks enhance and promote a consistent, reliable, seamless and secure NFC user experience. To learn more about joining the Forum, visit https://nfc-forum.org/engage/join.

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Unlike other expected data carrier solutions, these Candidate Specifications allow static and dynamic data to be hosted and accessed offline using non-volatile memory stored on the product itself.