Eco–design soon required for all products

European Commission is working on extending the requirements to most goods

The eco-design requirements, which set minimum standards for the design of certain products, could soon apply to almost all physical goods placed on the market in the European Union.

This is according to the European Commission’s proposal for a “regulation establishing a framework for setting eco-design requirements for sustainable products”, which was presented at the end of March (see previous article here). Only a few product groups such as food or medicinal products are to be excluded.

The new regulation is to lay down requirements for the following design aspects, which are to be specified by the Commission in delegated acts:

• product reusability
• product upgradability, reparability, maintenance, and refurbishment
• the presence of substances of concern in products
• product energy and resource efficiency
• recycled content in products
• product remanufacturing and recycling
• products’ carbon and environmental footprints
• products’ expected generation of waste materials

The new regulation shall also introduce a digital product passport, establishing green criteria for public procurement and preventing unsold consumer products from being destroyed.