The new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation builds on the existing Ecodesign Directive, which currently only covers energy-related products. It aims to significantly improve the circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects of products placed on the EU market.
Ecodesign concerns the integration of environmental considerations into all stages of product development. It is crucial, in a world where there is such a high demand for efficient and sustainable products as a way of reducing energy and resource consumption.
The EU has long been active in this area. You may recognise the energy label that comes on your washing machine or fridge, for example, which we have thanks to the EU. But environmental sustainability is about more than just energy efficiency. With the passing of the regulation, a sustainable product will have to display one or more of the following characteristics:
- uses less energy
- lasts longer
- can be easily repaired
- parts can be easily disassembled and put to further use
- contains fewer substances of concern
- can be easily recycled
- contains more recycled content
- has a lower carbon and environmental footprint over its lifecycle
The Regulation also introduces measures to ban the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear and opens a way to extend similar bans on other sectors, if evidence shows they are needed. Companies will also be required to publicly disclose on their websites annual information, such as the number and weight of products they discarded, as well as the reasons for doing so. Finally, it also enables mandatory Green Public Procurement criteria to spend public funding in a more sustainable direction. Public authorities in the EU in fact spend around € 1.8 trillion purchasing works, goods and services.
With this new law, the EU looks to build on its long track record of delivering benefits to businesses, consumers and the environment. After all, in 2021 alone, the impact of the current ecodesign measures, covering 31 product groups, saved EUR 120 billion in energy expenditure for EU consumers and led to a 10% lower annual energy consumption by the products in scope.
