UK label manufacturer UPM Raflatac (Scarborough; www.upmraflatac.com) said assurance service provider Dekra (Stuttgart, Germany; www.dekra.com) has issued a certificate of validity for its Label Life service, recognising the company’s entire process for generating life cycle assessments (LCA) at scale.

With the EU in the process of developing a digital product passport (DPP) for all products on the market, UPM has designed its product passport prototype (PPP) based on existing standards and norms.

The European Union’s DPP is aimed at setting standards for the transparency of an item’s ecological footprint to enable sharing of important product information along the value chain and to help customers make informed decisions regarding the sustainability of an item. It also makes it easier for authorities to verify compliance with legal requirements.

Related: Digital Product Passport could be EU's next “greening” tool

Label Life, which has been available for 10 years, generates the PPP that enables companies to communicate their labeling’s potential environmental impact over various life-cycle stages: cradle-to-gate, transport-to-customer, printing, and end-of-life.

UPM Raflatac said the Dekra validation confirms the credibility of the company’s LCA calculations and supports customers to make better informed choices, bringing them closer to their own sustainability goals.

Related: UPM Raflatac uses PP made from ocean-bound plastics

Dekra noted that the validation found UPM Raflatac’s process for generating results for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) appropriate for the intended goals and approved the quality checks put in place consistent with the relevant international standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.