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The texts related to green consumption are making progress, with a focus on ecodesign and repair of certain goods
Article | 28/07/23 | 4 min. |
Currently, several texts related to green consumption are undergoing legislative discussions. Two key proposals are the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which focuses on eco-design for durable products, and the Directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods, aiming to encourage product repairability.
Regarding the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the European Parliament has adopted its negotiating position, and interinstitutional negotiations with the Council can now commence. The Parliament has strengthened the measures proposed by the Commission in several ways:
- Extending product lifespan: The Parliament suggests prohibiting planned obsolescence, preventing manufacturers from deliberately equipping products with features that limit their lifespan.
- Improving consumer information: A "product passport" will be implemented, containing accurate and up-to-date information, enabling consumers to make more informed choices.
- Defining sustainability requirements: The Parliament demands that the Commission sets sustainability requirements for priority products, such as iron, steel, aluminum, textiles, furniture, tires, detergents, paints, lubricants, and chemicals. The Commission's decision-making process on these product groups should be made public and presented to the European Parliament before adoption, with justifications for any exclusions.
- Enhanced transparency on product destruction: Economic operators destroying unsold products will need to declare the number and proportion of rejected products and provide relevant reasons. This information will enable the Commission to identify products for which destruction would be prohibited.
- Specific ban on product destruction: The Parliament calls for a specific ban on the destruction of certain products, including textiles, shoes, and electrical and electronic equipment.
The next step involves negotiations with the Council, which finalized its position on May 22nd.
Furthermore, in March 2023, the European Commission proposed a directive with the objective of facilitating the repair of certain goods, including laptops, phones, and washing machines, to prevent them from being discarded and contributing to the growing electronic waste problem.
On July 18th, discussions on this directive progressed within the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, focusing on the draft report by Member of the European Parliament René Repasi. The report suggests that consumers should have the option to choose repair instead of replacement for their products, except when repair is "materially or legally impossible." If repair is chosen, it should be conducted as quickly as possible, within a maximum period of 15 days. During this time, businesses would provide consumers with a replacement product to encourage the repair process. The draft report also demands that all repair-related information and spare parts should be available for at least the expected lifetime of the product. However, concerns have been raised about the objectivity and rationality of this approach, considering the challenge of accurately assessing the lifespan of certain products, which can also depend on individual consumer usage. Non-compliance with the new obligations could result in fines ranging from a minimum of 4% of the seller or producer's annual turnover, up to a maximum of two million euros.
While the proposed report in the committee received positive feedback from its members, the final version is still under development. The European People's Party (EPP) has expressed reservations, stating that it will not support extending the scope of this text beyond the product groups already covered by the "Ecodesign for Sustainable Products" regulation (mentioned earlier).