Project

Political context of this study:

•  The Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) (ED)
• The Energy Labelling Framework Regulation ((EU) 2017/1369) (EL)
• The Circular Economy Action Plans (December 2015 and March 2020) (CEAP)
• ·The Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) and the proposal on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)
• The Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024 and specifically the horizontal aspect of recycled content and of scarce, environmentally relevant and critical raw materials, including the technical study behind the Working Plan (Preparatory study for the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2020-2024)

The Ecodesign Directive establishes a framework for setting requirements for energy-related products with the aim of ensuring their free movement within the internal market of the European Union. The Energy Labelling Regulation complements Ecodesign by enabling end-users to identify the better-performing products, via the well-known A-G labelling grading.

The Circular Economy Action Plan targets how products are designed, promotes circular economy processes, encourages sustainable consumption, and aims to ensure that waste is prevented, and the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible. It announces a sustainable product policy legislative initiative to make products fit for a climate neutral, resource efficient and circular economy, reduce waste and ensure that the performance of frontrunners in sustainability progressively becomes the norm.

The aim of the SPI (Sustainable Products Initiative) is to revise the Ecodesign Directive to set out the EU policy framework necessary to achieve the circular economy objectives. A proposal for Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation was published by the Commission on 30 March 2022.

The purpose is of the study is to conduct an Ecodesign preparatory study on potential product-specific requirements on recycled content and on scarce, environmentally relevant and critical raw materials, and to propose possible implementing measures under the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulatory Framework.

The study objectives are:

• investigating in more detail the materials and the products that could be subject to these requirements;
•  investigating the technical, economic, environmental, market and societal impacts of these potential requirements; and
• providing the elements needed for the identification of policy options in the subsequent impact assessment.

If, on the basis of the study findings, the Commission finds it appropriate to develop an implementing measure under the Ecodesign Directive and/or the Energy Labelling Regulation, working documents will be drafted.

Two phases to be carried out:

• Phase 1: Prioritization of materials and product groups
• Phase 2: Execution of the preparatory study. Phase 2 contains 5 mini Ecodesign studies focusing on recycled content and on scarce, environmentally relevant and critical raw materials for the products and materials selected in Phase 1. The studies will be based on the revised MEErP (Methodology of Ecodesign for Energy-related Products) and revised EcoReport Tool. For relevant measures draft working documents will be pepared. 

Reports and other related documents are available on the project website at https://www.ecodesignmaterials.eu/documents. 

July 2023 until December 2024

• European Commission (DG GROW)

• VITO (Belgium) (Framework contract manager)
• Viegand Maagøe (Denmark)
• VHK (Netherland)