The European Green Deal launched at the end of 2019 brings together measures aimed at kick-starting the EU’s ecological transition, the end objective being to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. It has already generated over 150 legislative proposals, strategies and action plans, many of which were adopted during the first half of 2024. In particular, the launched in December 2020 to promote the circular economy has seen numerous advances made.
Key elements of the European Green Deal
– The European Climate Law, which came into force in July 2021
– The “Fit for 55” legislative package, adopted in October 2023
– Numerous EU strategies: biodiversity, “Farm to Fork”, sustainability of chemical and industrial products, adaptation, forests and deforestation
– The CEAP launched in December 2020
– A Just Transition Mechanism (€55 billion actioned for 2021-2027 through a €19.2 billion fund, an InvestEU programme tool, and a public sector loan facility through the European Investment Bank).
As of today, production processes and consumption patterns remain too linear and dependent on the flow of newly-extracted materials that are commercialised and transformed into goods which ultimately end up as waste or emissions. Faced with this, the European Green Deal prioritises the urgency of moving to a circular economic model, emphasising that there remains a great deal still to do. As part of this, a CEAP was launched in December 2020.
An Action Plan becomes reality
This thirty-point Action Plan has gained significant momentum in the first half of 2024. A Directive that targets improved decision-making for consumers was adopted in February. With respect to secondary raw materials, a Regulation addressing critical raw materials was adopted in March. Tackling the circularity of production processes, the revision to the Directive on industrial emissions was adopted in April. In the area of sustainable product design, new requirements around ecodesign were adopted in May. Looking at waste reduction, a revision to the framework Directive was launched in June addressing, in particular, waste from food and textiles. A draft Directive is also being drawn up for matters involving environmental claims.
The Action Plan also concerns sustainability in chemicals (see the strategy of October 2020) and waste transfer. Among other things, this develops a number of sector focuses (electronic and IT equipment, batteries, packaging, plastic materials, textiles, construction and building, food products, water).
Rolling out an internal market for sustainable products
For the initiators of the European Green Deal, rolling out a fully-operational internal market for sustainable products is a pre-requisite to the establishment of a circular economy in the EU. In fact, setting community requirements for ecodesign at EU level would enable new economic models, based on the circular economy, to be developed across the whole internal market. This would also help lighten the burden on companies. Plus, it would help with the provision to industry and consumers of clear and reliable data, allowing them to make more sustainable choices. These observations have between them resulted in the development of a new Regulation on ecodesign.
Much broader regulation
Proposed by the European Commission at the end of March 2022 and adopted on 27 May 2024 by the European Council following provisional agreement with the Parliament at the start of December 2023, the Ecodesign Regulation(1) sets out the applicable requirements for sustainable products. It replaces the current Ecodesign Directive from 2009 (see box) and enlarges its scope beyond just energy products. In fact, as from now, all types of goods entering the EU market are affected, excepting food, animal feed, medicinal products (including veterinarian), living plants, animals and organisms, products of human origin and vehicles.
The Ecodesign Directive: tangible results in 15 years
The current Directive 2009/125/EC on ecodesign sets out the requirements for energy efficiency applicable to 31 groups of products. According to the Commission, this saved €120 billion in energy costs and reduced annual consumption by 10% for products falling within its scope.
What are the new requirements for ecodesign?
The 2024 Regulation introduced new requirements, such as durability, reliability, the possibility of re-use, the possibility of improving and repairing the products, rules relating to the presence of substances that may hinder circularity, energy efficiency and the efficient use of water and resources, recycled content, the possibility of re-manufacturing, recyclability, the possibility of recovering materials, environmental impacts including the carbon and the environmental footprints, and the expected waste generation. It also sets out requirements in terms of performance and information, including the obligation for a “digital passport” for each product put onto the market or entering service (see section III). The question of labelling is also restated (section IV).
This new requirement stipulates that the Commission will be empowered to set requirements for ecodesign through delegated acts and that industry will be given a six to eight month timescale to comply. Ecodesign criteria will be applied in public sector tenders to encourage the public sector to purchase environmentally-friendly products. In addition the Regulation – which introduces a general principle of preventing the destruction of unsold product – bans the destruction of unsold fabrics and shoes (a temporary exemption is granted to SMEs), imposes a series of obligations on manufacturers, agents, importers, distributors and other re-sellers and empowers the Commission to introduce similar bans for other products in the future. The ecodesign Regulation will also be aligned to the Regulation governing digital services regarding products sold online.
The Regulation was published in OJEU (the official journal of the EU) on 28 June 2024, coming into force twenty days later on 18 July. It becomes applicable twenty-four months after coming into force, so on 18 July 2026.
Note
The new Regulation defines ecodesign as the integration of considerations relating to environmental sustainability in a product’s characteristics and in the processes implemented throughout the product’s value chain.
1) Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and Council of 13 June 2024 establishes a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, modifying Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repealing Directive 2009/125/C – OJEU of 28 June 2024.
