On 1 October, the European Commission adopted 10 ecodesign implementing regulations. They are energy efficiency and other requirements for several products, including: electro domestics, refrigerators with and without direct sales functions, electronic displays, light sources, electric motors and power transformers, among others.
Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Package could save up to 167 TW per year by 2030, according to the European Comission. This is the equivalent to 46 Million tonnes CO2.
Ecodesign can contribute to circular economy objectives by putting resource efficiency at the heart of the design of new products to support their reparability and recyclability.
Some of the improvements proposed:
- Spare parts are to be available over a longer period of time, which in turn should be delivered by the manufacturer within 15 working days
- Spare parts should be replaceable with the use of commonly available tools and without damaging permanently the appliance
- Ecodesign measures for washing machines, washer-dryers, and dishwashers set a maximum use of water per cycle.
Voluntary agreements or other self-regulation measures can be presented by industries as an alternative to these ecodesign requirements. If certain criteria are met the Commission formally recognises these voluntary agreements.