Product passport, repair index: EU Ecodesign Regulation can come into force

Many everyday products in the EU are to become more sustainable. A new Ecodesign Regulation, which has now been finally adopted by the EU member states, is intended to ensure this. It can be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force on the 20th day thereafter. It provides for a transitional period of 24 months. The EU Commission expects the first product regulations to implement the new provisions by the end of 2025.

The product regulations will replace the previous Ecodesign Directive, which only affected energy-related products such as washing machines and dishwashers. Now it concerns almost all everyday products, including televisions, telephones, laptops, windows and chargers, household appliances, textiles, furniture and chemicals. Only products that have been manufactured in a resource-saving, durable and energy-efficient manner will be allowed to enter the EU internal market. Cars or defense and security-related products are exempt from the regulation.

Entire life cycle

The future product requirements will cover their entire life cycle. They can specify aspects of material, energy and resource efficiency, for example durability, reparability, reusability or water, soil and air pollution. The new rules also apply to online trade and imported goods. They are intended to prevent a product from becoming non-functional or less efficient due to design features, unavailable consumables and spare parts or a lack of software updates, for example.

"The German government has successfully campaigned to strengthen the circular economy, to improve the recovery of raw materials, for an ambitious ban on the destruction of unsold goods, for a technology-open digital product passport and to ensure appropriate participation by the member states," writes the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The product passport, which can be accessed via a QR code, for example, is intended to provide information on the sustainability of goods. There will also be a new ecodesign label and a reparability index.

The EU Council reached a provisional agreement with the EU Parliament on the new regulation on December 4, 2023. This was proposed by the EU Commission at the end of March 2022. The previous Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC set energy efficiency requirements for 31 product groups. According to the Commission's calculations, these have saved energy expenditure of 120 billion euros and led to a 10 percent reduction in annual energy consumption. In contrast to EU directives, regulations are directly effective in the EU member states.

(anw)