Prioritisation and planning
1. When prioritising products to be covered by ecodesign requirements, the Commission shall analyse the potential contribution of those products to achieving Union climate, environmental and energy efficiency objectives, taking into account the following criteria:
(a)
the potential for improving the product aspects without entailing disproportionate costs, taking into account in particular:
(i)
the absence or insufficiency of Union law, or failure of market forces or of self-regulation measures to address the objective properly; and
(ii)
the disparity in the performance of products available on the market that have equivalent functionality in relation to the product aspects;
(b)
the volume of sales and trade of those products within the Union;
(c)
the distribution across the value chain of the climate and environmental impacts, energy use, resource use and waste generation concerning those products;
(d)
the need to regularly review and adapt delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4 in light of technological and market developments.
The Commission shall also strive to assess the potential contribution of those products to the functioning of the internal market and to the Union's economic resilience.
2. When prioritising aspects to be covered by horizontal ecodesign requirements, the Commission shall take into consideration the benefits of covering a wide range of products and product groups in the same delegated act in relation to reaching the objectives of this Regulation.
3. The Commission shall adopt a working plan and make it publicly available, together with the relevant preparatory documents (‘working plan’). The working plan shall set out a list of product groups which are to be prioritised for the setting of ecodesign requirements and the estimated timelines for their setting. That list shall include product aspects and product groups which are to be considered priorities for the setting of horizontal ecodesign requirements, as well as the unsold consumer products, if any, in relation to which the introduction of a prohibition of destruction by economic operators is to be considered, based on the consolidated information provided pursuant to Article 26 and any other available evidence.
The Commission shall in particular consider the inclusion of electrical and electronic equipment when it first identifies the products, if any, in relation to which it will consider introducing a prohibition of destruction by economic operators.
The working plan shall cover a period of at least three years and shall be regularly updated.
When adopting or updating the working plan, the Commission shall take into account the criteria set out in paragraphs 1 and 2.
4. The Commission shall present to the European Parliament a draft of the working plan before the adoption of the working plan.
5. In the first working plan, which shall be adopted by 19 April 2025, the Commission shall prioritise the following product groups:
(a)
iron and steel;
(b)
aluminium;
(c)
textiles, in particular garments and footwear;
(d)
furniture, including mattresses;
(e)
tyres;
(f)
detergents;
(g)
paints;
(h)
lubricants;
(i)
chemicals;
(j)
energy related products for which ecodesign requirements are to be set for the first time or for which existing measures adopted pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC are to be reviewed under this Regulation; and
(k)
information and communication technology products and other electronics.
If any of the product groups referred to in the first subparagraph is not included in the first working plan or if any other product group is included, the Commission shall provide a justification for its decision in that working plan.
6. Where there is an absence of adequate performance requirements and information requirements concerning the environmental footprint and carbon footprint of cement under the construction products Regulation, the Commission shall set ecodesign requirements for cement in a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4 not earlier than 31 December 2028 and not later than 1 January 2030.
7. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council annually of the progress made in the implementation of the working plan.
Ecodesign Forum
The Commission shall establish an Ecodesign Forum as an expert group with a balanced and effective participation of experts designated by Member States and of all parties having an interest in the product or product group in question.
The Ecodesign Forum shall contribute in particular to:
(a)
preparing ecodesign requirements;
(b)
preparing working plans;
(c)
examining the effectiveness of the established market surveillance mechanisms;
(d)
assessing self-regulation measures; and
(e)
assessing the prohibition of the destruction of unsold consumer products additional to those listed in Annex VII.
Member States Expert Group
The Commission shall establish a Member States Expert Group as a subgroup of the Ecodesign Forum, composed of experts designated by the Member States.
Those experts shall contribute in particular to:
(a)
preparing ecodesign requirements;
(b)
assessing self-regulation measures;
(c)
exchanging information and best practices on measures to enhance compliance with this Regulation;
(d)
setting priorities under Article 26.
Self-regulation measures
1. Economic operators may submit to the Commission a self-regulation measure setting ecodesign requirements for products not falling within the scope of a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4 or not included in the working plan. Those operators shall provide evidence that the criteria referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article are fulfilled.
2. The self-regulation measure submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 shall contain the following information:
(a)
a list of the economic operators that are signatories to the self-regulation measure;
(b)
the ecodesign requirements applicable to products covered by the self-regulation measure;
(c)
a detailed, transparent and objective monitoring plan, with clearly identified responsibilities for industry and independent inspectors, including the criteria set out in Annex VI, point 6;
(d)
rules on information to be reported by signatories and on testing and inspections;
(e)
rules on the consequences of the non-compliance of a signatory that include provisions whereby, if the signatory has not undertaken sufficient corrective action within three months, it is removed from the signatories of that self-regulation measure; and
(f)
a note explaining how the self-regulation measure submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 improves the environmental sustainability of products in line with the objectives of this Regulation more quickly or at lesser expense than a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4; that note shall be supported by evidence, consisting of a structured technical, environmental and economic analysis, justifying the ecodesign requirements and objectives of the self-regulation measure, and assessing the impacts of those ecodesign requirements.
The signatories of the self-regulation measure shall keep the information referred to in this paragraph up-to-date and available on a publicly and freely accessible website.
The signatories of the self-regulation measure shall, without delay, notify the Commission of any changes to the self-regulation measure, in particular any changes concerning them.
3. The Commission shall assess the submitted self-regulation measure, and, where necessary, shall seek scientific advice from Union decentralised agencies. In the assessment, the Commission shall verify whether the following criteria are fulfilled:
(a)
the self-regulation measure is submitted by at least two economic operators;
(b)
the market share in terms of volume of the signatories to the self-regulation measure in relation to the products covered by that measure is at least 80 % of units placed on the market or put into service;
(c)
the self-regulation measure contributes to improving the environmental sustainability of products in line with the objectives of this Regulation and to ensuring the free movement in the internal market more quickly or at a lesser expense than a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4 and consists of ecodesign requirements that are necessary to achieve the objectives of this Regulation;
(d)
the self-regulation measure complies with the criteria set out in Annex VI;
(e)
the self-regulation measure is in line with Union law and international trade commitments of the Union.
The Commission shall adopt an implementing act containing a list of self-regulation measures which fulfil the criteria of this Article. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 73(2).
4. The Commission may at any point in time request the signatories to a self-regulation measure listed in an implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 3, second subparagraph, to submit, within an appropriate period of time, a revised and updated version of that measure in view of relevant market or technological developments relating to the product group concerned. Where the Commission has reason to believe that the criteria set out in this Article are no longer fulfilled, the signatories shall submit a revised and updated version of that measure within three months of the request made by the Commission.
5. Once a self-regulation measure has been listed in an implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 3, second subparagraph, the signatories of that measure shall report to the Commission, at regular intervals set out in that implementing act, on the progress made towards achieving the objectives of the self-regulation measure and to demonstrate that the criteria set in paragraph 3 remain fulfilled.
The independent inspector referred to in Annex VI, point 6, shall notify the Commission of the lack of compliance of a signatory.
Progress reports, including compliance reports made by the independent inspector, and notifications about lack of compliance and corresponding corrective action shall be made available by the signatories on a publicly accessible website.
6. Where the Commission considers that a self-regulation measure listed in an implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 3, second subparagraph, no longer fulfils the criteria set out in this Article or where the signatories of the self-regulation measure concerned did not meet the deadline referred to in paragraph 4, it shall delete that measure from the list referred to in paragraph 3 by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 73(2).
Where a self-regulation measure has been deleted from the list referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission may set ecodesign requirements applicable to the product covered by that self-regulation measure in a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4.
Small and medium-sized enterprises
1. In the context of programmes from which SMEs, in particular micro-enterprises, can benefit, the Commission shall ensure there are initiatives which help those enterprises to integrate environmental sustainability, including energy efficiency, into their value chain.
2. When adopting delegated acts pursuant to Article 4, the Commission shall, where appropriate, accompany those delegated acts with digital tools and guidelines covering specificities of SMEs, in particular micro-enterprises, active in the product sector or product group sector concerned, in order to facilitate the compliance with this Regulation by those enterprises. When drafting those guidelines, the Commission shall consult organisations that represent SMEs.
3. Member States shall take appropriate measures to help SMEs, in particular microenterprises, comply with the ecodesign requirements set out in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4. Member States shall consult organisations that represent SMEs on the kind of measures SMEs consider useful.
Those measures shall at least include ensuring the availability of one-stop shops or similar mechanisms to raise awareness of ecodesign requirements and create networking opportunities for SMEs, in particular microenterprises, to adapt to ecodesign requirements.
In addition, without prejudice to applicable State aid rules, such measures may include:
(a)
financial support, including by providing fiscal advantages and investing in physical and digital infrastructure;
(b)
access to finance;
(c)
specialised management and staff training;
(d)
organisational and technical assistance.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
