EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation Proposal

On 30 March 2022, the European Commission published the proposal for a new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. The proposal builds on the existing Ecodesign Directive, which currently only covers energy-related products and establishes a framework to set ecodesign requirements for specific product groups to improve their circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects.

Bitkom welcomes the European Commission's intention to work towards products that are as sustainable, environmentally conscious, and circular as possible. With the revision of the existing Ecodesign Directive, the European Commission is taking an important step towards a sustainable and climate-neutral Europe/EU.

To strengthen the objective of the Regulation while ensuring its practical feasibility, we provide some comments on its elaboration. Our key points are:

• Strengthen the internal market, avoid market fragmentation: Implement a horizontal EU ecodesign framework with a sector-/product-specific approach.
• Harmonisation of ecodesign requirements: Ensure complementarity of the ESPR and focus on significant environmental impacts.
• Lay the foundation for a sustainable and climate-neutral economy and society: Shape the Digital Product Passport (DPP) to be dynamic, verifiable, and enforceable.