The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)

Contents

• Introduction
• Sustainable Products Initiative
• Where are we currently?
• What’s new for Ecodesign?
• Unsold consumer products
• Impacts to businesses
• How to prepare
• Anthesis support
• Contact us

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[This article was updated 30.07.2024]

The proposal for the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) has finished its journey and entered into force as an EU regulation on the 18^th July 2024. This means brands all over the world must grapple with the need to understand and then implement a raft of new requirements.  

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ESPR: How the Regulation Will Make Products More Sustainable in the EU and Beyond

What is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation?

It is a proposed piece of legislation in the European Union (EU) 2024/1781 that will set ecodesign requirements for a wide range of products. The EU ESPR is a significant piece of legislation that will have a major impact on the way products are designed, manufactured, and marketed in the EU. The regulation is expected to lead to a significant reduction in the environmental impact of products and make the EU more resource efficient.

Key Aspects of the EU ESPR

The ESPR will cover an incredibly broad scope of products with only a few being excluded from the scope of the framework regulation. The timing for product groups addressed by secondary legislation will be determined in a 3-year working plan.

• The first working plan will be adopted by 19th April 2025 and is expected to include (exclusion of any of these must be justified):
  • End use products: Textiles (in particular garments & footwear), furniture including mattresses, tires, detergents, lubricants, paints, energy-related products, information and communication technology products and other electronics.

• Intermediary products: Iron & steel, aluminium and chemicals

Building on the Sustainable Products Initiative

Presented as a proposal by the European Commission on 30th March 2022, the ESPR forms part of the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI), which includes a range of proposals released in support of the European Green Deal. 

Originally announced in March 2020, as part of the package of measures in the Circular Economy Action Plan (one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal, Europe’s agenda for sustainable growth), the goal of the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) is to “make sustainable products the norm in the EU” by increasing their durability, reusability, repairability, recyclability and energy efficiency.  

The ESPR was published in June 2024 in the Official Journal. It sets out a general framework imposing ecodesign requirements on products intended for sale on EU markets. Any organisation placing goods for sale on the European market, whether or not they are based within Europe, will be required to comply with the requirements set by Delegated Acts covering specific product groups of horizontal measures. Up to 30 new delegated acts are anticipated by 2030. 

The proposed ESPR, and specifically the ESPR delegated acts that will follow it, will have a significant impact on the way in which products are designed in the future.  

Where are we currently?

The use of a variety of products is part of everyday life for all of us. Although consumers are now paying more attention to how they recycle products, there is less focus on the wide-ranging and significant negative impacts associated with the production, consumption, and eventual disposal of such products. Negative environmental impacts arise across the lifecycle of a product, from the initial extraction of raw materials, through energy-intensive manufacturing, global distribution, and the generation of waste at the end of life. 

By addressing design, which determines up to 80% of the environmental impact of a product across its lifecycle, the ESPR forms the bedrock of the SPI. 

The ESPR’s proposed performance requirements for products can address the following product aspects

(a) durability;

(b) reliability;

(c) reusability;

(d) upgradability;

(e) repairability;

(f) the possibility of maintenance and refurbishment;

(g) the presence of substances of concern;

(h) energy use and energy efficiency;

(i) water use and water efficiency;

(j) resource use and resource efficiency;

(k) recycled content;

(l) the possibility of remanufacturing;

(m) recyclability;

(n) the possibility of the recovery of materials;

(o) environmental impacts, including carbon footprint and environmental footprint;

(p) expected generation of waste.

So, what’s new for Ecodesign? 

The ESPR expands the scope of its predecessor, the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125, by including products of “the broadest possible range”, rather than just energy-related products. It also covers component parts and intermediary products (food, feed and medicinal products will however be exempt). 

The proposed ESPR approach is three-pronged:  

• Firstly, the design of products will need to be reviewed to address ecodesign requirements (performance and information), which are being introduced in response to the environmental and sustainability concerns created by products.  
• To support sustainable production and the transition to a circular economy, the long anticipated Digital Product Passport (DPP) will be introduced, helping to allow easy and convenient access to and sharing of product data. This will require all obligated products placed on the market to be equipped with a machine-readable passport and to be uniquely identified.   
• Finally, in addition to the proposal, there is only an imposed prohibition on the destruction of unsold goods specifically for apparel and footwear products. It introduces significant transparency requirements for unsold goods throughout the value chain and paves the way for further Delegated Acts to prohibit this destruction. Companies will have to report the quantities of unsold goods that are discarded and take measures to prevent their destruction. The ban will start from 2026 for large enterprises and from 2030 for medium-sized enterprises. Small and micro enterprises are exempted from the ban.
• A ban on the destruction of (some categories of) unsold goods is already in place in Germany through its Recycling Act and in France through its anti-waste law. In addition, the same has recently been tabled in Scotland as part of its proposed Circular Economy Bill.

The ESPR’s proposed information requirements require amongst other provisions that companies generate and maintain a product Digital Product Passport (DPP). The DPP may include the following information:

• Information on the sustainability performance of the product e.g.,
  • The carbon, environmental and material footprint
  • Substance of Concern present in the product
  • Recycled content in a product
• Various id’s
• Instructions on installation, use, maintenance, and repair of a product in order to minimise its impact on the environment
• Instructions on disassembly, recycling, or disposal of a product for treatment facilities

Destruction of unsold consumer products

The ESPR’s proposed disclosure requirements also states that any economic operator that discards unsold consumer products shall disclose:

• The number, weight, or percentage or unsold consumer products discarded per year, differentiated by type or category of products;
• The reasons for discarding of products and, where applicable, the relevant exemption;
• The proportion of the delivery of discarded products to preparing for re-use, re-manufacturing, recycling and energy recovery, and disposal operations;
• Measures taken and measured aimed at preventing the destruction of unsold goods.

 The annual report must be made public and easily available.

What impact will ESPR have on my business?

The ESPR details the general framework imposing ecodesign requirements on products intended for sale on EU markets. However, it is the additional delegated acts that will contain specific requirements for a particular product or group of products; or introduce horizontal requirements applicable across several product groups (durability, recyclability and recycled content are examples of potential horizontal requirements). Although the first delegated act will not come into effect earlier than 12 months from the entry into force of the regulation, the preparatory work for the first delegated acts is already underway by the Commission and its scientific body, the Joint Research Centre. The first Working Plan is expected to be published by 19^th April 2025. This plan will identify the first round of priority products for which delegated acts will be adopted. 30 new delegated acts are expected to be created by 2030.  

Of highest importance will be those products that can positively contribute to the EU’s climate, environmental and energy objectives. The initial list of identified products for the first working plan includes textiles, furniture, mattresses, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants amongst others.  

Once any product specific delegated acts are in place, the performance and product information requirements for obligated products can be extensive. 

To comply with the information requirements, relevant products placed on the market will need to be supplied with detailed information giving the consumer visibility under each of the performance requirement topic areas and even for parameters where no performance requirement is established. This information shall be included in the DPP and might also be required to be physically displayed on the product or its packaging, on a label, use manual or through a website. 

The degree to which the proposed regulations could impact individual businesses and the products they manufacture will vary. For those organisations whose products are captured under the current Ecodesign Directive, preparations may take a similar format, although the sustainability requirements under the ESPR go beyond energy efficiency. 

The best way to prepare for the EU ESPR changes

• Stay up to date on the scope and progress of priority product groups, take part in the preparatory work of the Commission and submit your comments to consultations.
• Consider engaging a specialist to help you identify your risks and opportunities.
• Conduct lifecycle assessments of your product portfolio.
• Prepare to change the way you make, manufacture, and market your products.
• Prepare to change the existing processes for collecting, managing, and transferring product-related information within your business and across the supply chain.

It is clear that we need to rethink how we produce and consume goods if we are to move away from the traditional linear economy of take-make-dispose and implement a truly circular economy in the Decisive Decade. Part of this journey will be streamlining the regulatory framework, so it is fit for a sustainable future.  

While the ESPR will move us a step closer to making sustainable products the norm at a European level, the reality of what this will mean in practice will be determined by the subsequent delegated acts and their enforcement. It is, however, clear that the ESPR will have a significant impact on the way products are designed and managed in the future. To ensure compliance with the requirements in the regulations, businesses should consider how they start preparing for and embracing the changes. 

How can Anthesis support you to prepare for the ESPR?

Our team combines extensive industry knowledge with a forward-thinking approach, tailoring solutions to align with each organisation’s unique goals. We help you transform the products you create to drive better environmental and social impact, while expanding market opportunity and business resilience. Anthesis can support you to navigate the ESPR by:  

• Understanding the proposed regulation and potential impacts to your business by conducting a readiness assessment.  
• Developing and implementing a Design for Sustainability program the helps your organisation stay ahead of the proposed ESPR regulation and other drivers.  
• Conducting a lifecycle assessment to understand existing impacts of your product portfolio.  
• Developing strategies to reduce the impacts of your organisation’s product portfolio and meet corporate regulatory requirements and business objectives.  
• Liaising with industry organisations and mediate with regulators during the policy development process. 
• Developing waste minimisation strategies and implement circular business models across your products and packaging portfolio.