Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and the EU Digital Product Passport

On 30March 2022, the European Commission issued an ambitious proposal for an Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).1 It suggests a significant extension – both in scope and requirements – of the existing Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC, which is limited to energy-related products.2 The proposal governs virtually all products placed on the market or put into service in the European Union (EU), in order to make them more environmentally sustainable and circular. The possible scope of the ESPR ranges from more simple products typically used by consumers such as textiles and furniture to paints, electronics and to the most sophisticated and complex systems such as military equipment, space technologies ormedical devices (see recital (16) of the ESPR proposal). Only gradually, companies in different sectors are becoming aware of this initiative and its possible future impacts on their activities, such as needed changes to their products and enhanced information reporting duties for the benefit of other actors in the value chain, consumers and authorities. In the latter regard, the EU “digital product passport“ (hereafter also “EU DPP“) as a proposed new information tool deserves special attention.

Autor: Tim Becker