Ecodesign & Energy Labelling

Among its Horizon 2020 objectives, the European Union aims at reducing the energy consumption by 20%. As a contribution to those efforts, a number of product specific regulations imposing minimum values for the energy efficiency of products through their whole life cycle are being adopted by the European Commission.

The EU legislation on ecodesign and energy labelling is an effective tool for improving the energy efficiency of products. Its aim is to help eliminating the least performing products from the market, helping meeting the  EU’s 2020 energy efficiency objective. The EU Commission also wants to improve industrial competitiveness and innovation by promoting the better environmental performance of products throughout the internal market.

BSEF supports the improvement of the environmental performance of products design for material and energy efficiency that can help meet the challenges of climate change and the circular economy.

BSEF position on Ecodesign

BSEF believe that the ecodesign directive is important for the provision of consistent EU-wide rules for improving the environmental performance of products and aiding circularity of materials. However, it must be coherent and consistent with relevant legislation designed to regulate chemicals and manage waste such as the REACH, RoHS, Waste Framework and WEEE instruments.

The legal Framework

• The ecodesign directive provides consistent EU-wide rules for improving the environmental performance of products, such as household appliances, information and communication technologies or engineering. The directive sets out minimum mandatory requirements for the energy efficiency of these products.
• The energy labelling regulation complements the Ecodesign Directive and requirements for product energy labelling are often adopted alongside ecodesign implementing measures.