After a night of negotiations, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) on Dec. 5.
First proposed in March 2022, the ESPR is a revamp and extension of the existing Ecodesign and energy labelling framework, which only applies to electrical appliances. The new regulation will put in place minimum requirements such as efficiency, reusability, durability, and recyclability for almost any product on the EU market. Its requirements also cover the presence of chemical substances that inhibit reuse and recycling of materials, recycled content, carbon and environmental footprints, and digital product passports.
The Commission will adopt and regularly update a list of products to be covered by the regulation, identified on the basis of the EU’s climate, environment, and energy efficiency objectives. Priority will be given to highly impactful products, including textiles (especially garments and footwear), furniture (including mattresses), iron and steel, aluminium, tyres, paints, lubricants and chemicals, as well as energy related products, ICT products and other electronics.
New measures agreed on this week introduce bans on destroying unsold consumer products, in particular unsold textiles and footwear products, with derogations for small companies and a transition period for medium-sized ones. The ban will be effective 24 months after the law comes into force, assuming the European Parliament and Council, which has welcomed the agreement, formally adopt the ESPR.
The ban excludes the destruction of unsold electronics, but the Commission said other sectors could be covered by such bans ‘over time’, if needed. Failing to ban the destruction of unsold electronics was strongly criticised by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), which called it a ‘rampant market practice and one of the most environmental harmful in Europe’ in a statement.
“The agreement on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation represents a significant step towards the Green Deal objective to make sustainable products the norm,” said Jean-Pierre Schweitzer, policy manager of circular economy at the EEB. “However, it is illogical that harmful practices like the destruction of unsold goods will still be permitted, and that imported products sold online will be easily able to ignore the rules,” he added, referring to the fact that the ESPR measures do not address online products imported from outside the EU.
The objective of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is to make sustainable products the norm on the EU market and reduce their overall environmental and climate impacts.
“Ecodesign’s success has already brought billions of euros in consumer savings,” said Kadri Simson, the EU’s Commissioner for Energy. “The agreement ensures that we continue the highly effective product requirements concerning their energy use – directly visible on consumer bills. The energy efficiency of products adds up to around half of the EU’s energy savings. I am looking forward to continuing our cooperation with the industry, NGOs and citizens. This agreement is crucial for our citizens to play an active role in the clean energy transition, and directly benefit from it,” she concluded.