Brussels, 15/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - As part of its energy summer package unveiled on Wednesday 15 July, the European Commission is proposing a revision of the energy efficiency labelling system that was introduced in 1995 and an online database of new products.
To provide consumers with clearer information on the energy efficiency of products, which are currently classified in different scales (from A to G, from A+++ to D, etc.), and to improve compliance for producers and retailers, the European Commission is proposing a return to the well-known single energy labelling scale from “A” to “G” for energy efficient products. This system will include a process for rescaling existing labels.
The Commission is proposing, too, to set up an online database on new energy efficient products placed on the EU market, allowing greater transparency and easier market surveillance by national authorities. The aim is to resolve the problem of the failure by the estimates 10-25% of products on the market to comply with energy efficiency labelling requirements. Around 10% of envisaged energy savings are lost due to non-compliance.
Once approved by the co-legislators the proposal will be implemented thus: - products already on the market will be sold with no change; - new products will be sold with the new scale and old labels, such as those with the A+ to A+++ scales, will be removed by retailers; - producers will register their products and, to facilitate compliance checks and increase transparency, the information will be accessible to member state authorities. Finally, member states, in cooperation with retailers, will launch information campaigns to inform consumers.
The new system is expected to bring additional energy savings of 200 TWh per year by 2030, which is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of the Baltic countries combined, the Commission points out. Furthermore, all players - consumers, producers and retailers - will benefit, it states.
By providing clearer information on the energy efficiency of products and making it possible for consumers to compare the performance, water use or noise of products, the new system will save consumers a further €15 per year, in addition to the current savings of €465 per year per household.
The revised energy labelling system will bring manufacturers and retailers an overall revenue increase of over €10 billion per year through the reinforcement of a popular marketing tool, which is taken into account by more than 85% of consumers when purchasing, along with reduced risk of confusion, better compliance and a reduced administrative burden, thanks to product registration and the digitalised label download. This will be in addition to the current €55 billion per year in extra revenue.
Member states will also have tangible benefits, including time savings, with a reduction of 10-15% of their market surveillance time thanks to the product registration database, and a reduced administrative burden, since the proposal is for a regulation, which is directly applicable.
Lastly, the new system will bring benefits to the environment: the current energy efficiency labelling measures deliver about 175 million tonnes of oil equivalent of savings in primary energy every year, equating to the annual primary energy consumption of Italy or the yearly consumption of about 60 million households, revision of the A to G energy label is expected to bring additional savings of around 17 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year in primary energy, or the annual energy consumption of all the Baltic countries combined. (Emmanuel Hagry)