EU’s Ecodesign Regulation a cornerstone in its green transition strategy

The Council of the European Union has given its final approval to the Ecodesign Regulation (ESPR), a cornerstone in the EU's green transition strategy.

The regulation replaces the existing ecodesign directive and enlarges its scope, beyond energy products, to all kinds of goods placed in the EU market. This is the last step in the decision-making procedure.

“With the ecodesign regulation we create the right incentives for the industry to think circular from the very design conception of the products they plan to produce and sell in the EU,” said Pierre-Yves Dermagne, the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Employment.

Green requirements for sustainable products

The regulation affects all kinds of products, with only a few exceptions (i.e. cars or defence and security related products). The new regulation introduces new requirements such as product durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability, rules on the 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 Commission will be empowered to set ecodesign requirements by delegated acts and the industry will have 18 months to comply with them.

Ecodesign criteria will be applicable in public procurement to incentivise the public purchase of green products. The new regulation introduces a direct-ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear (SMEs will be temporarily excluded) and empowers the Commission to introduce similar bans for other products in the future. The ecodesign regulation will be aligned to the digital services act, when it comes to products sold online.

Next steps

Following the Council’s approval, the legislative act has been adopted. After being signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council, the regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication. It will apply from 24 months after the entry into force.

(Source: consilium.europa.eu)