On May 27, 2024, the Council has adopted the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which sets requirements for sustainable products. After the approval by Parliament on 23 April 2024 this was the final hurdle before publication as both the EU Parliament and the Council needed to adopt the ESPR.
The regulation replaces the existing ecodesign directive and enlarges its scope, beyond energy products, to all kind of goods placed in the EU market. This is the last step in the decision-making procedure.
With the ecodesign regulation we create the right incentives for the industry to think circular from the very design conception of the products they plan to produce and sell in the EU.
Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Employment
A 'delegated act' will be derived from this, which will outline, among other aspects, the digital product passport and influence the regulation of textile composition.
Green requirements for sustainable products
The regulation affects all kinds of products, with only a few exceptions (i.e. cars or defense and security related products). The new regulation introduces new requirements such as product durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability, rules on the presence of substances that inhibit circularity; energy and resource efficiency; recycled content, remanufacturing and recycling; carbon and environmental footprints; and information requirements, including a Digital Product Passport. The Commission will be empowered to set ecodesign requirements by delegated acts and the industry will have 18 months to comply with them.
Ecodesign criteria will be applicable in public procurement to incentivise the public purchase of green products. The new regulation introduces a direct-ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear (SMEs will be temporarily excluded) and empowers the Commission to introduce similar bans for other products in the future. The ecodesign regulation will be aligned to the digital services act, when it comes to products sold online.