Sustainable Products Initiative
Governmental Agency: European Commission
Jurisdiction: European Union
Ref no: COM(2022)142
Status: In Review
The Sustainable Products Initiative revises the Ecodesign Directive and proposes additional legislative measures aiming to make all products placed on the EU market more sustainable - starting with how the products are designed. Products would be expected to comply with minimum ecodesign requirements in areas such as durability, reusability, repairability, recyclability, and energy efficiency, among others.
The initiative will also address the presence of hazardous chemicals in products. Finally, the Sustainable Products Initiative would allow for the introduction of Digital Product Passports. The initial product groups the European Commission will focus on include textiles and apparel, electronics and ICT equipment, furniture, steel, cement, and chemicals.
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The Sustainable Products Initiative would apply to all products placed onto or put into service in the EU market.
It should create more opportunities for the repair, reuse, remanufacture, and recycling sectors, and best position those businesses that already had the foresight to build sustainable design principles, leading environmental practices, and after-sales services into their products and business models.
Additionally:
Transparency requirements would be introduced for companies that discard unsold consumer products.
Online marketplaces would be required to cooperate with the market surveillance authorities and remove products that do not comply with the ecodesign requirements.
