The European Commission is due to publish its Sustainable Products Initiative today as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan to make products placed on the EU market more sustainable, durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable, energy efficient and reduce the use of hazardous chemicals
This much awaited initiative will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures. The measures will make products placed on the EU market more sustainable to benefit consumers, the environment, and the climate.
The initiative includes electronics & ICT equipment, including printers (more on printers below), furniture, textiles, steel, cement & chemicals.
The initiative will ensure that products are more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable, and energy-efficient and address the presence of harmful chemicals.
A crucial part of the initiative is circularity – products must be easier to refurbish, repair and maintain.
Enter the Digital Product Passport that will contain information about products’ components and include information on the recyclability of products.
The wide-ranging change is expected to include a Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products. The proposed new regulation will widen the existing rules and increase the number of products covered and expand the rules themselves, including plans to introduce new ecodesign requirements.
The current Ecodesign Directive is expected to be repealed and replaced with a new framework that will set out a broad range of ecodesign principles. A working plan will be published that sets out the target product groups over the coming years.
Printers: These are currently the subject to discussions on a Voluntary Agreement between the printer OEMs and the EU. While the latest draft of the VA has been submitted, the silence on the VA is almost deafening. The big question will be: Will the EU reject the VA and include printers in the new legislation or accept the VA and include printers in a future revision?
