Brussels, 5 December 2023, 02:05
The Council and the Parliament have today reached a provisional political agreement on the proposed regulation establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. The new regulation replaces the existing 2009 directive and enlarges the scope of the current legislation (up to now limited to energy-related products) to set the performance and information requirements for all kind of goods placed in the EU market.
The provisional agreement frames the scope of the regulation, empowers the Commission to set, when necessary, the conditions for the destruction of unsold goods and clarifies several dispositions of the regulation in the areas of penalties and online marketplaces.
The first element that makes a product green is the brain that designs it. With the agreement reached today we want to make sure that all the sustainable dimensions of product manufacturing are taken into consideration from the very first stage of its conception.
Jordi Hereu i Boher, Spanish Minister for Industry and Tourism
Eco-requirements and digital passport
The ecodesign regulation would be applicable to almost all categories of products (i.e. dishwashers, televisions, windows, car chargers, etc). It establishes a harmonised framework for setting of requirements for specific product groups to make them not only energy and resource-efficient (as it was the case in the existing 2009 directive) but also more durable, reliable, reusable, upgradable, reparable, recyclable and easier to maintain. The Commission will be able to propose new requirements by delegated acts when new kinds of products or technologies call for it.
The regulation also aims at facilitating the movement of such products in the Single Market. A new “Digital Product Passport” will provide information about products’ environmental sustainability. It will help consumers and businesses to make informed choices when purchasing products and help public authorities to better perform checks and controls. The proposal also establishes provisions regarding transparency and prevention of destruction of unsold consumer products.
Main elements of the agreement
Scope
The provisional agreement excludes motor vehicles from the groups of products covered by this regulation when those are already regulated in other pieces of legislation. Products that have an impact on defense or national security will also be out of scope in line with the treaties.
Empowerment of the Commission
The agreement empowers the Commission to adopt ecodesign requirements for products to improve their environmental sustainability, by delegated acts. The industry, as well as national administrations, will have 18 months, after the adoption of the delegated act, to adapt to the new the eco-design requirements. However, in some duly justified cases, the Commission can set an earlier date of application.
Co-legislators have also agreed that the Commission will be able to adopt, by implementing acts, mandatory requirements for public procurement contracts to incentivise the supply and demand for environmentally sustainable products.
Destruction of unsold goods
The General approach introduces a direct-ban on the destruction of textiles and footwear. Small and micro companies will be exempted of this ban, while medium size companies will benefit of a 6-year exemption. This ban will be applicable two years after the entry into force of the regulation. The Commission will also be empowered to introduce new bans for to the destruction of other unsold products by delegated acts.
Evaluation
The provisional agreement calls the Commission to evaluate the improvements in the environmental sustainability of the requirements adopted, together with other criteria like their life-cycle or environmental, carbon and material footprints.
Penalties
The provisional agreement establishes some harmonization criteria for penalties in case of non-compliance of the Ecodesign requirements, but it will be for the competent authorities of the Member States to determine which penalties should be imposed in the event of an infringement.
Online marketplaces
The provisional agreement aligns the obligations of online marketplaces to the Digital Services Act, in terms of cooperation with member state’s market surveillance authorities to make sure that the European legislation is respected in the products sold online.
Background
The current Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC has established energy efficiency requirements covering 31 product groups. According to Commission’s calculations this saved EUR 120 billion in energy expenditure and led to a 10% lower annual energy consumption by the products in scope.
The new proposal, presented by the Commission on 30th March 2022, builds on the existing Ecodesign Directive, but propose new requirements such as product durability, reusability, upgradability, and reparability, presence of substances that inhibit circularity; energy and resource efficiency; recycled content, remanufacturing, and recycling; carbon and environmental footprints and information requirements, including a Digital Product Passport.
The Council adopted its general approach on 23 May 2023.
Next steps
The provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament now needs to be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions.
- Commission Proposal
- Council’s general approach/negotiating mandate
- Circular economy (background information)
- EU single market (background information)
EU Parliament on the Ecodesign deal: New EU rules to make sustainable products the norm
On Monday night, Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on revising the EU’s ecodesign framework for sustainable products.
Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on an update to the so-called “ecodesign” regulation that aims to improve various aspects of products throughout their lifecycle to make them more durable and reliable, easier to reuse, upgrade, repair and recycle, use less resources, energy and water. Specific product requirements will be outlined by the Commission through secondary legislation.
Negotiators also agreed that ecodesign requirements should also address practices associated with premature obsolescence (when a product becomes non-functional or less performant due to, for example, product design features, unavailability of consumables and spare parts, lack of software updates).
Priority products
At Parliament’s initiative, negotiators agreed that the Commission should prioritise a number of product groups in its first working plan to be adopted no later than nine months after the entry into force of the new legislation. These priority products include iron, steel, aluminium, textiles (notably garments and footwear), furniture, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants and chemicals.
Better-informed consumers
Digital “product passports” containing accurate and up-to-date information will enable consumers to make informed purchasing choices. According to the agreed text, the Commission will manage a public web portal allowing consumers to search and compare information included in product passports.
Reporting and bans on the destruction of unsold consumer products
Economic operators that destroy unsold goods would have to report annually the quantities of products they discarded as well as their reasons why. Negotiators agreed to specifically ban the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear, two years after the entry into force of the law (six years for medium-sized enterprises). In the future, the Commission may add additional categories to the list of unsold products for which a destruction ban should be introduced.
Quote
Rapporteur Alessandra Moretti (S&D, IT) said:
“It is time to end the model of “take, make, dispose” that is so harmful to our planet, our health and our economy. New products will be designed in a way that benefits all, respects our planet and protects the environment. Sustainable products will become the norm, allowing consumers to save energy, repair and make smart environmental choices when they are shopping. Banning the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear will also contribute to a shift in the way fast fashion manufactures produce their goods.”
Next steps
Following the completion of work at technical level, Parliament and Council need to formally approve the agreement before it can come into force.
Background
On 30 March 2022, the Commission put forward a proposal for a regulation to establish a general framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and to repeal current rules which focus on energy-related products only. The revised rules, part of a circular economy package, would apply to almost all products on the internal market (except food, feed, medicinal products, living organisms).