In brief

On 28 June 2024, the European Ecodesign Regulation (2024/1781/EU) (“Ecodesign Regulation“) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force on 18 July 2024. This Regulation means a radical change in the manufacturing method of a wide variety of products and directly affects the supply chain of all those companies that intend to introduce products into the European Union. Its fundamental aim is to make products more sustainable by introducing a series of requirements and prohibitions that will be adapted to each product group by means of delegated acts of the European Commission. This Regulation is a framework legislation, which means that concrete product rules will be decided progressively over time, product by product, or horizontally, on the basis of groups of products with similar characteristics.

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Up until now, the set of ecodesign requirements set out in the Ecodesign Regulation were only foreseen in the Directive 2009/125/CE for energy related products. However, the Ecodesign Regulation replaces the above-mentioned directive and extends this approach to the widest possible range of products.

In general, the Ecodesign Regulation establishes a set of ecodesign requirements that may consist of performance requirements, information requirements or both.

In this sense, the performance requirements set out in the Ecodesign Regulation refer to the product’s aspects, namely their durability, reliability, repairability, upgradeability, reusability and recyclability, the presence of substances of concern, resource and energy efficiency, the expected generation of waste, and their environmental impact, including carbon footprint and environmental footprint. These requirements will be determined and specified for each product group by means of delegated acts adopted by the European Commission.

On the other hand, the information requirements aim to generate a change in consumer behavior. One of the most important novelties introduced by this Ecodesign Regulation is the digital product passport, which will summarize the main characteristics of the products, allowing economic operators and consumers to access such information. This passport will be publicly available online because it will be registered in a digital register that will be available by 19 July 2026.

Moreover, the regulation also establishes restrictions on the destruction of unsold products. In this regard, the following measures are foreseen:

1. By 19 July 2025 for large companies, and from 19 July 2030 for medium-sized companies, they will have to report annually on unsold consumer products that are discarded via their website.
2. From 19 July 2026 for large companies, and from 19 July 2030 for medium-sized companies, the Ecodesign Regulation prohibits the destruction of unsold consumer products listed in Annex VII of the Ecodesign Regulation, which relate to certain articles of clothing, clothing accessories and footwear.

The European Commission will prioritize the adoption of the above-mentioned delegated acts for products such as iron and steel, aluminum, textiles, furniture, tires, detergents, paints, chemicals, lubricants, energy-related products and electronic goods. Each delegated act shall establish the date of application of the ecodesign requirements for the relevant product group. Except in duly justified cases, this date of application shall not be less than 18 months. The first delegated act to be adopted shall not enter into force before 19 July 2025.

For more information, or if you need individual advice for your company, please contact our team of experts.