EU Nears Adoption of Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) might happily put an end to wasteful practices. We all have heard how some brands, especially luxury brands, tend to destroy unsold merchandise rather than sell it off-season or offer it at a reduced price. The idea is to maintain the sense of exclusivity and the brand’s heritage. The provisional agreement between the EU Parliament and the Council on the ESPR contains a novel measure prohibiting economic operators from destroying unsold consumer products in the Union, where their destruction has a significant environmental impact – most of the discarded products are burnt!

And if you are thinking this is far away from my purchasing habits, this has nothing to do with me, think again. We have all experienced a situation in which is harder and more expensive to repair a product than to replace it. The very welcomed regulation will also address this. It aims to revolutionize the EU market by making changes through the life cycle of products, making them durable, reusable, upgradable, easily repairable, and environmentally friendly.

Since eco-design and circular economy are a cornerstone of sustainability, some EU members have already drafted national requirements. The harmonized requirements proposed at the EU level aim to reduce overall compliance costs, replacing multiple existing or planned requirements at the national level. 

SMEs need and the negative impacts they will face in the short run have been taken into consideration. Regulators believe that the short-term negative impacts can be offset and bring added value over time. The Commission has looked specifically at ways to mitigate the negative impacts on SMEs, like providing some exceptions for them and longer periods for implementation.

Also, not all products will have to comply with this new regulation at once. The Regulation will be implemented in phases, prioritizing products that have a higher potential contribution to achieving Union climate, environmental and energy efficiency objectives. Once the ESPR enters into force, the first working plan will look into which products will be the first ones to be covered by it. Some industries have already been identified: textiles (especially garments and footwear), furniture (including mattresses), iron and steel, aluminum, tires, paints, lubricants and chemicals, energy-related products, ICT products and other electronics.

The Regulation also includes means to provide better information for consumers. Sometimes consumers do not buy the most sustainable products because they cannot easily identify them. The ESPR envisages a “product passport” which will be a tag on products that will give instant free access to information on the product's sustainability. Different actors will have different access rights; therefore the passport will also be useful for economic operators and customs and market surveillance authorities, making it easier for them to verify product compliance and improve traceability of products along the value chain.

How can your company prepare for ESPR? by measuring the environmental footprint of your products and using a life cycle assessment (LCA). For this you can use several standards such as those comprised in the  ISO family 14000 standards such as  ISO 14044:2006 Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines.

The ESPR is still to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. It will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal.