Standards on Ecodesign and Resource Efficiency
European and international standards supporting Ecodesign of energy-related products and Ecodesign for sustainable products. CEN and CENELEC standards
European and international standards supporting Ecodesign of energy-related products and Ecodesign for sustainable products. CEN and CENELEC standards
A new Regulation has been published in Europe to improve the environmental sustainability and making sustainable products mandatory in the European Union: Regulation 2024/1781 of 13 June 2024 which establishes a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. This regulation will soon replace the current European legal framework for Ecodesign and Energy-related products is based on the Directive 2009/125/EC establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. This Directive establishes a framework for the setting of Community ecodesign requirements for energy-related products, which are further covered by implementing measures (for instance, implementing regulations for specific families of products). This Directive and accompanying measures contribute to sustainable development by increasing energy efficiency and the level of protection of the environment while at the same time increasing the security of the energy supply by lowering the unnecessary energy consumption.
In addition to energy consumption and efficiencies, there is a significant evolution between the current Ecodesign Framework Directive (supported by various implementing regulations), as it mainly covered energy-related products and aspects, and the current proposal for a framework regulation setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. The current definition of sustainable products has been built on several concepts that have been included in the concept of ecodesign beyond energy considerations. This is the case for concepts such as resource efficiency, product durability (and avoiding planned obsolescence), reusability, upgradability and reparability/right to repair, retrofit, recyclability/circularity, digital products passport, etc., that have been shaped during the last years of experience with the Ecodesign legislation.
The proposal also builds on the European ambitious commitments towards a Net Zero Europe and supporting climate action and the radical reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions in support of the Paris Agreement, the energy transition, and other environmental footprint measures.
This new concept of Ecodesign somehow bridges the green transition and green deal with the digital transition, as there is a potential for improvements in the sustainability of products placed in the European market and the use of digital technologies such as distributed ledger, intelligent products, etc. We see the first example of this bridge between the sustainable and digital worlds in the draft standardisation request covering the Digital Products Passport, which refers to and is based on both worlds. The proposal for the Regulation of ERSP is full of references to European digital leadership and technologies applied in Europe.
The proposal for a Regulation on ERSP also aims at maximising the effectiveness of the Ecodesign concept by covering the broadest range of products possible when prioritising the establishment of ecodesign requirements, whilst minimizing regulatory duplication and administrative burden for the private sector.
The proposal is really ambitious both in the aspects to be covered as well in the range of products to be subject to the reshaped Ecodesign requirements. As a result, our proposal is fully aware of the challenges and aims at supporting the European Commission on the necessary regulatory, standardization, assessment and other steps that have to be taken to contribute to the above-explained objectives.