Digital Electronic Facility Record
🚧 The RBTP credential model is actively under development, and the following guidance will be updated as the project evolves. The Digital Electronic Facility Record (DEFR) was developed as an extension of the core UNTP Digital Facility Record to address the unique requirements of the electronics industry.
Digital Electronic Facility Record (DEFR): Overview and Use Cases​
📣 If you're looking for Implementation instructions, go to Digital Electronic Facility Record Implementation Guide
The Digital Electronic Facility Record (DEFR) is an electronics-specific implementation of the Digital Facility Record (DFR), as defined by the United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP). It is issued by the owner or operator of a production or manufacturing facility and serves as a verifiable, structured record of facility identity, operations, and sustainability claims within electronics supply chains.
While a Digital Product Passport (DPP) describes a product and its transformation, a DEFR describes the facility at which those transformations occur. DEFRs are discoverable via resolvable facility IDs, enabling DPPs, Digital Transformation Events (DTEs), and other credentials to reference them as the authoritative facility of record.
DEFR is one of several credential profiles in the RBTP ecosystem, extending the DFR structure with optional fields tailored for electronics manufacturing, firmware handling, and circularity assurance.
Key Characteristics​
- Cryptographically Verifiable: Issued as a W3C Verifiable Credential (VC) by the facility’s owner/operator
- Resolvable: Facility IDs can be resolved to retrieve current metadata and sustainability declarations
- Electronics-Focused: Adds optional fields for electronics-specific workflows (e.g., component-level traceability, firmware installation)
- Sustainability-Linked: Supports annual, facility-wide sustainability metrics and conformance claims
- Composable: Can be referenced in DPPs, DEGPs, DBPs, and DTEs to validate the facility involved in a product’s lifecycle
When Should a DEFR Be Issued?​
A DEFR is issued when an electronics facility is onboarded into the RBTP ecosystem and becomes a recognized actor in digital traceability workflows. It provides a verifiable identity for the facility and serves as a required reference in any DPP or DTE that needs to document where a transformation or production step occurred.
While Digital Transformation Events (DTEs) are recorded within the DPP (since the product is what’s being transformed), the DEFR is cited within that DTE to identify which facility performed the action and to supply any relevant conformance declarations or ESG credentials.
A DEFR should be issued when:
- A facility performs a key transformation step, such as:
- Surface-mount assembly or PCB integration
- Firmware flashing or software configuration
- Quality control or emissions testing
- Repair, rework, or refurbishment
- The facility needs to document regulatory, ESG, or circularity conformance
- The supply chain demands resolvable and verifiable facility identity to meet due diligence or compliance requirements
Unlike DPPs, which describe products, DEFRs describe facilities and their verified roles. They can be used independently of a DPP or alongside it, and are critical for enabling mass balance, origin verification, and conformance validation across the electronics supply chain.
Who Uses DEFRs?​
| Role | Use Case Example |
|---|---|
| Facility Operators / Manufacturers | Issue DEFRs to document their process categories, sustainability declarations, and operational activities |
| OEMs / Brands | Reference DEFRs in product passports to show verified sources of manufacturing or refurbishment |
| Third-Party Auditors | Use DEFRs to validate ESG and quality conformance at the facility level |
| Regulators | Assess DEFR data to verify compliance with environmental and sourcing standards |
Example Scenario​
A contract manufacturer operates a facility that:
- Installs firmware on PCBs
- Performs environmental testing to meet EU green compliance
- Assembles subcomponents into finished laptops
The facility owner issues a DEFR that includes:
- A resolvable facility ID, geo-location, and industry classification
- Conformance declarations linked to emissions reporting and audit evidence
- Process category data aligned with UN-CPC or ISIC classification codes
This DEFR is then referenced in the DPP of each laptop as the facility of record for the final assembly and emissions certification.
Later, if the same facility begins refurbishment services, an updated DEFR can be issued to reflect the expanded scope of operations.
Summary​
- DEFRs are UNTP-compliant Digital Facility Records tailored for electronics supply chains
- They provide structured, resolvable, and verifiable facility identity and conformance data
- A DEFR is issued when a facility joins the RBTP protocol and is required for anchoring transformation events in DPPs
- DEFRs are a key credential in RBTP, enabling traceability, ESG validation, and mass-balance checks across complex electronics lifecycles