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DRAFT REPORT (COM(2022)0143 – C90128/2022 – 2022/0092(COD))

On the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on amending Directives 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU as regards empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and better information

IMCO-PR-736537

Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection · Rapporteur: Biljana Borzan

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The draft report proposes Parliament's position on a directive amending Directives 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU to protect consumers in the green transition. It bans unfair environmental claims, requires pre-approval of sustainability labels, and introduces a guaranteed lifespan label and repair information duties. It prohibits claims based solely on carbon offsetting, claims of neutral or positive greenhouse gas impact, and marketing of goods that limit durability or cannot be repaired. It also bans bundling security updates with other updates. Traders must inform consumers about software update periods, spare parts availability, and repair tools. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts setting minimum requirements for sustainability labels.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes to strengthen the Commission proposal by banning carbon-offsetting-based and carbon-neutral claims, introducing pre-approval of sustainability labels, a guaranteed lifespan label, repair information duties, and a ban on premature obsolescence practices.

Key points

  1. Prohibits environmental claims based solely on carbon offsetting schemes, and requires other future performance claims to have clear reduction commitments, a detailed implementation plan, and independent monitoring.
  2. Bans claims that a good has a neutral or positive greenhouse gas emissions impact, such as 'carbon neutral' or 'climate neutral', and prohibits sustainability labels containing such claims.
  3. Requires sustainability labels and sustainability information tools to be pre-approved by a national competent authority under minimum requirements set by the Commission in a delegated act.
  4. Introduces a guaranteed lifespan label showing the legal guarantee of conformity period and any voluntary extension provided without additional cost, to be displayed before contract conclusion.
  5. Requires traders to inform consumers about the minimum period during which producers will provide software updates, including security updates, for goods with digital elements and digital content or services.
  6. Requires traders to provide information on the availability and affordability of spare parts, the period they are available, ordering procedure, and availability of repair manuals, tools and services.
  7. Prohibits bundling security updates with other software updates, and bans supplying updates that negatively impact goods even if they improve other features.
  8. Prohibits introducing features that limit a good's durability, practices that shorten product lifespan and stimulate new purchases, and marketing goods without fixing design issues causing early failure.
  9. Prohibits marketing goods that do not allow repair in accordance with legal requirements, and requires informing consumers about unavailability of spare parts and other repair restrictions.
  10. Prohibits marketing goods that require replacing consumables earlier than technically necessary, and marketing goods designed to limit functionality when using non-original consumables, spare parts or accessories.
  11. Requires comparability tools to disclose whether they have been pre-approved and their method, and empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts on minimum requirements for sustainability labels.
  12. Prohibits marketing goods not compliant with ecodesign requirements under Directive 2009/125/EC.

Who is affected

  • Traders and producers of goods, digital content and services, who must provide new information and avoid banned practices.
  • Consumers, who gain rights to information on durability, reparability and software updates, and protection from misleading green claims.
  • National competent authorities, which will pre-approve sustainability labels and maintain a public register.
  • The Commission, which is empowered to adopt delegated and implementing acts on sustainability labels and approval procedures.

Figures and deadlines

  • 6 years, the period for which the power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission from entry into force.
  • two months, the period for Parliament or Council to object to a delegated act after notification.
  • 2 years, the length of the legal guarantee period that 41% of respondents knew in a 2015 Commission study.
  • more than 80 percent of EU consumers are interested in the durability of products.

Legal basis: Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.