On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for setting eco-design requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC
A-9-2023-0218
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety · Rapporteur: Alessandra Moretti
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.
Parliament's amended version of the Commission proposal for a regulation setting eco-design requirements for sustainable products, replacing Directive 2009/125/EC. It widens the scope to cover durability, repairability, recyclability and premature obsolescence, and bans the destruction of unsold textiles, footwear and electrical and electronic equipment.¶¶¶ It requires a digital product passport for products, with rules on access, data carriers and a comparison platform, and sets information and performance requirements including a reparability score.¶¶¶ It empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts setting eco-design requirements, a working plan prioritising product groups, and rules on market surveillance, penalties and self-regulation measures.¶¶¶
Committee position. The committee proposes to amend the Commission proposal to strengthen eco-design requirements, extend the scope to social sustainability and due diligence, prioritise certain product groups, reinforce consumer information rights, ban the destruction of unsold textiles and electronic appliances, and delete the possibility to create new self-regulation measures.¶¶¶
Key points
- The regulation sets a framework for eco-design requirements that products must meet to be placed on the market or put into service, covering durability, repairability, recyclability and environmental footprint.¶
- The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts setting eco-design requirements, including that no requirements are necessary for certain product parameters, and may exempt imported second-hand products under conditions.¶¶
- Manufacturers must not limit durability by making products prematurely obsolete, nor limit repairability by impeding disassembly or restricting repair information and spare parts to authorised repairers.¶
- Information requirements include a product passport, a reparability score, and clear information for consumers on installation, use, maintenance, repair and end-of-life disposal.¶¶¶
- The product passport must be interoperable with existing databases, accessible free of charge to specified actors, and not store personal data of end-users.¶¶¶
- The Commission shall set up a publicly accessible online comparison platform for product passport information within 12 months of entry into force.¶
- The Commission shall adopt a working plan covering at least 3 years, prioritising product groups such as iron, steel, aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants, chemicals, energy-related products and ICT products.¶¶
- The destruction of unsold consumer products is prohibited for textiles and footwear and for electrical and electronic equipment one year after entry into force, with possible exemptions set by delegated acts.¶
- Economic operators must disclose the number and percentage of unsold consumer products discarded per year on a Commission website, and the Commission shall report on the destruction of unsold goods every 3 years.¶¶¶
- Member States must draw up market surveillance action plans at least every 2 years, and the Commission may adopt delegated acts listing products or requirements as priorities for market surveillance.¶¶
- Member States shall lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements, with common criteria for determining types and levels, including fines, confiscation of revenues and exclusion from public procurement.¶¶¶
- Self-regulation measures may be submitted as an alternative to delegated acts if products are not in the working plan, and the Commission shall assess them and adopt a delegated act listing valid measures.¶¶¶
Who is affected
- Manufacturers, importers and distributors of products covered by eco-design requirements, who must ensure compliance, provide information and instructions, and take corrective action.¶¶¶
- Consumers and end-users, who gain rights to information, reparability scores, remedies for non-compliance and protection from misleading labels.¶¶¶
- Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which receive support, guidelines and sufficient time to adjust to new requirements.¶¶¶
- Online marketplaces, which must cooperate with market surveillance authorities, establish a contact point and remove non-compliant product listings.¶¶¶
- Member States, which must designate market surveillance authorities, draw up action plans, provide assistance to SMEs and lay down penalties.¶¶¶
Figures and deadlines
- The product passport must remain available for at least the expected lifetime of a specific product.¶
- Manufacturers must keep technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the product is placed on the market.¶
- Instructions must be made accessible online for not less than 10 years after placing the product on the market.¶
- Manufacturers must provide instructions in paper format free of charge upon request at purchase or up to 6 months after purchase.¶
- Documents must be made available within 15 days of receipt of a request by a competent national authority.¶¶¶
- The Commission shall set up the comparison platform by 12 months after entry into force of the regulation.¶
- The Commission shall publish a report on the destruction of unsold goods by 2 years after entry into force and every 3 years thereafter.¶
- The prohibition of destruction of unsold textiles, footwear and electrical and electronic equipment applies one year after entry into force.¶
Legal basis: Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.¶