By proposing the long-awaited regulatory framework for sustainable products on Wednesday 30 March, the European Commission has paved the way for a cleaner and more resource-efficient European Union, in line with the ambition of the European Green Deal and that of greater strategic autonomy, the institution hopes.
The proposal for an EU regulation it presented on Wednesday is the centrepiece of the ‘Circular Economy’ legislative package EUROPE had detailed in its columns (see EUROPE 12921/12) and whose strategy for sustainable and circular textiles focuses on one of the priority product categories given its high environmental impact and current recyclability of only 1% in the EU (see other news).
“We want sustainable products to become the norm. It is time to end the model of ‘take, make, break and throw away’ that is so damaging to our planet, our health and our economy”, said the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, in presenting the Commission’s proposal.
The product group regulations that will flow from this framework - four per year, according to the institution - will not come into being until 2024. However, the Commission will publish the list of priority products again this year.
The future framework regulation, which will repeal the Ecodesign Directive, extends the approach to almost all products, except food, feed and medicines. It will allow for the setting of criteria not only for energy efficiency, but also for eco-design, circularity (durability, re-use, energy consumption, recycled content, reparability, re-manufacturability) and the overall reduction of the environmental and climate footprint of products placed on the EU market, irrespective of their origin.
Detailed requirements by delegated acts. The detailed ecodesign requirements and these criteria will be established by the European Commission by delegated acts, after consultation with all stakeholders. A Digital Product Passport will ensure their traceability and that of the chemical substances they contain, and will inform the consumer about the reparability score. In addition, provisions for green public procurement criteria would be included for certain product categories.
The proposals in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan “kick off an era where products will be designed in a way that brings benefits to all, respects the boundaries of our planet and protects the environment. Giving a longer lifespan to the phones we use, to the clothes we wear and to many other products will save money for European consumers. And at the end of their life, products will not be a source of pollution, but of new materials for the economy, decreasing the dependency of European businesses on imports”, said the Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
A ban on destroying unsold products is not immediately forthcoming, but is not excluded, he told the press. The regulation foresees that, as a first step, companies will be required to publish information on what they throw away.
In addition to the environmental benefits and the expected savings in energy and for consumers, the regulation should strengthen the Single Market by avoiding divergent legislation in each Member State and create economic opportunities for innovation and job creation, notably in remanufacturing, maintenance, recycling and repair, the Commission hopes.
In parallel to this proposal, the institution adopted a working plan on ecodesign and energy labelling 2022-2024 to cover new energy-related products and to update and increase the ambition for products already regulated, as a transitional measure until the new regulation enters into force. This includes consumer electronics (smartphones, tablets, solar panels) - the fastest growing waste stream.
In the European Parliament, the Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, Germany), sees this text as a hopeful first step.
“We have been talking about the circular economy for years, but the mountains of waste continue to grow. The European Commission’s proposal for a sustainable product policy can finally be the beginning of the end of the throwaway society. With mandatory sustainability standards for all products on the European internal market, more transparency along the supply chain with a product passport and labels that tell the truth, we save resources, the climate and consumers’ wallets”, she commented. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)