Contents
1.Introduction
2.Status for the execution of the 2016 Working Plan
2.1.Overview
2.2.Key developments since the adoption of the 2016 Working Plan
2.3.Status for items identified as “ONGOING WORK” in the 2016 plan
2.4.Status for “ REVIEWS” due by 2019 as listed in the 2016 plan
2.5.Status for items identified as “NEW” in the 2016 plan
3.Examples of circular economy requirements in existing measures
4.Products and initiatives identified in Task 3 of the preparatory study
5.Summary of stakeholder feedback received in preparing the 2022-2024 Working Plan
6.Effect of high energy prices from 2021 onwards on estimated user expenditure savings from ecodesign and energy labelling
7.Reviews due or expected before end 2025
1.Introduction
This document contains various background material of relevance for the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024.
It notably
·Takes stock of the execution of the 2016 working plan and details the current status and outlook for each product specific work item therein from the perspective of the Commission services.
·Includes information related to the preparation of the 2022-2024 working plan, following the preparatory study (
https://www.ecodesignworkingplan20-24.eu/
) and the consultation of stakeholders as regards the priorities.
2.Status for the execution of the 2016 Working Plan
2.1.Overview
Table 1
presents an overview of the progress made with different categories of specific product work items from the 2016 Work Plan to date. A detailed list with status for each of these items is included in sections 2.3 – 2.5 below. Of the 43 items, around 60% have been concluded, with 25% resulting in adoption of new or revised regulations. About 40% of the items are still ongoing and should be concluded as part of the new working plan.
As regards the then planned 22 “reviews” of requirements for existing product groups, half have been concluded, resulting in 13 revised regulations covering 7 product groups. The other half have been delayed and are still pending (cf. also section 7).
As regards the then 21 “ongoing” or “new” items, only 4 have so far led to new regulatory requirements. For about half of all these items the Commission services have decided to discontinue work or at least not to pursue legislation for now, typically either because detailed investigations showed that potentials were smaller or harder to exploit than initially thought or because human resources available were insufficient in the context of many other priorities pending or a combination of these two. Compressor packages and electric kettles are both examples of such discontinued workstreams. The remainder of items in these categories are still subject to further work and will be pursued under the new working plan.
Table 1: Summary of status for different types of work items from the 2016 Working Plan
|
Work Plan item type
|
Number of work items listed in the Work Plan
|
New/revised regulation(s) adopted
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
“Ongoing work”
|
9
|
3 items (4 regulations)
|
3
|
3
|
|
“Reviews” due by 2019
|
22
|
7 items (13 regulations)
|
4
|
11
|
|
“New” work items
|
12
|
1
|
8
|
3
|
|
Total
|
43
|
11
|
15
|
17
|
|
Total (%)
|
100%
|
Ca. 25%
|
Ca. 35%
|
Ca. 40 %
|
2.2.Key developments since the adoption of the 2016 Working Plan
Since the adoption of the 2016 Working Plan, the following key developments took place:
–New Energy Labelling Framework Regulation adopted by Council and Parliament
–New Tyre Labelling Regulation adopted by Council and Parliament
–Establishment of a European Product Registry for Energy Labeling (EPREL), where ca. 1 million models have been registered by about 6,800 suppliers
–Revised and new Ecodesign requirements for 7 and 3 product groups, respectively
–Revised and new Energy Labelling requirements for 5 and 1 product groups, respectively
–4 “omnibus” regulations (i.e. “horizontal” regulations amending several product regulations)
–Reinforced support to market surveillance, e.g. through a ‘concerted action’ (EEPLIANT3), a new EU-funded market surveillance campaign and new links between the IT-applications EPREL and ICSMS.
–A COVID-19 related Commission notice inviting national market surveillance authorities to take into account exceptional circumstances in relation to certain requirements.
–Litigation activity has increased. In 2018 a regulation on energy labelling of vacuum cleaners was annulled following a successful challenge by a manufacturer, and since then 6 new actions were brought before the court (4 of those have meanwhile been withdrawn, 2 have been dimissed.
–Work related to technical standardisation has continued increasing: the number of monitored standardisation requests tripled from 7 in 2013 to 21 in 2021 and the number of monitored standards almost increased tenfold (from 10-15 to over 100). Around 50 unique draft standards have been assessed with the help of technical specialists alone in 2019 – 2021.
2.3.Status for items identified as “ONGOING WORK” in the 2016 plan
|
Measure (as it was called in Working Plan 2016)
|
Status (as expressed in Working Plan 2016 )
|
Status now - detailed
|
Status - headline
|
|
Commercial refrigeration
|
Consultation forum took place on 2.7.2014. Impact assessment finalised
|
Ecodesign (ED) & Energy Labelling (EL) regulations (for “refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function”) adopted as part of 2019 package of measures
|
New regulations adopted
|
|
Compressors
|
Consultation forum took place on 29.09.14. Impact assessment ongoing
|
Draft Impact assessment (shared with Consultation forum in July 2021) showed lower potential than expected – the Commission does not intend to develop ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Windows
|
Consultation forum took place on 30.09.15. Impact assessment ongoing
|
Given that limited progress has been made and that both the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) are now under review, the Commission does not intend to develop ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Machine tools and welding equipment
|
Consultation forum took place on 6.05.14. Impact assessment ongoing
|
ED regulation for welding equipment adopted as part of 2019 package of measures
|
New regulation adopted
|
|
Professional washing machines, dryers and dishwashers
|
Consultation forum took place on 29.11.13. Standardisation work ongoing.
|
The relevant standardisation work has been completed. The preparatory study for the new Working Plan recommended to pursuse work on this yet unregulated product group.
The Commission intends as part of the new working plan to develop measures for these products groups.
|
To be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Enterprise servers, data storage and ancillary equipment
|
Preparatory study finished in 08.15
|
ED regulation adopted as part of 2019 package of measures
|
New regulation adopted
|
|
Water-related products
|
Preparatory study finished in 12.14 (not yet published)
|
Preparatory study was published. Standardisation work ongoing in CEN. Draft voluntary agreement was presented to CF December 2019 and raised significant concerns.
The Commission will decide on the possible development of ED or EL measures, or approval of a VA, on the basis of the progress made in the standardisation work.
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Smart appliances
|
Preparatory study ongoing
|
Preparatory study completed.
The Commission has initiated a new project led by its Joint Research Center to study further and possibly develop a code of conduct
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Lighting controls/systems
|
Preparatory study ongoing
|
Preparatory study completed and presented to the Consultation Forum on 08.03.2016.
The discussion was not conclusive on how appropriate ED would be to regulate systems. Partially adressed in the acts on lighting products reviewed in 2019 thorugh requirements on controls and on lighting quality (e.g. flickering).
The Commission does not intend to develop ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
2.4.Status for “ REVIEWS” due by 2019 as listed in the 2016 plan
|
Measure (as it was called in Working Plan 2016)
|
Status (as expressed in Working Plan 2016)
|
Status now - detailed
|
Status - headline
|
|
Televisions (review) and electronic displays
|
Consultation forum took place on 10.12.14. Inter-Service Consultation closed. WTO notification ongoing
|
Adopted in 2019. Amended in 2021 (“omnibus”).
|
New regulations (2) adopted
|
|
External power supplies
|
Consultation forum took place on 29.04.15. Intention is to align with new US rules.
|
Adopted in 2019.
|
New regulation (1) adopted
|
|
Electric motors
|
Review study finalised in July 2014. Impact assessment ongoing
|
Adopted in 2019. Amended in 2021 (“omnibus”).
|
New regulation (1) adopted
|
|
Fans
|
Review study finalised in March 2015. Impact assessment ongoing
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Lighting products
|
Review study finalised in December 2015. Impact assessment ongoing
|
Adopted in 2019. Amended in 2021 (“omnibus”).
|
New regulations (2) adopted
|
|
Domestic refrigerators and freezers
|
Review ongoing
|
Adopted in 2019. Amended in 2021 (“omnibus”).
|
New regulations (2) adopted
|
|
Dishwashers and washing machines including combined washer-driers
|
Reviews ongoing
|
Adopted in 2019. Amended in 2021 (“omnibus”).
|
New regulations (4) adopted
|
|
Standby and off mode electric power consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment
|
Review ongoing
|
Will be adopted in 2022.
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Water pumps
|
Review ongoing
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Water heaters and hot water storage tanks
|
Review by September 2016 of certain requirements.
|
Presented to Consultation Forum on 27.3.2017. The Chair concluded that the Regulation would not be amended at this point in time, but that the various issues raised would be addressed in the upcoming, full revision
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Vacuum cleaners
|
Review by September 2016 of specific durability requirements
|
Presented to Consultation Forum on 27.3.2017. It was concluded that a specific amendment to the Regulation would not be made at that point in time.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Computers and computer servers
|
Review ongoing
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Circulators
|
Review ongoing
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Air conditioners and comfort fans
|
Review by April 2017
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Transformers
|
Review by June 2017
|
Adopted in 2019.
|
New regulation (1) adopted
|
|
Tumble driers
|
Review by May/November 2017
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Vacuum cleaners
|
Review by August 2018
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Solid fuel boilers
|
Review by August 2018 of specific requirement for third party certification
|
A specific review study was finalised but recommended option turned out not to be legally feasible.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Solid fuel local space heaters
|
Review by August 2018 of specific requirement for third party certification
|
A specific review study was finalised but recommended option turned out not to be legally feasible.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Space and water heaters
|
Review by September 2018
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Local space heaters
|
Review by January 2019
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Ventilation units
|
Review by December 2019
|
Ongoing
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
2.5.Status for items identified as “NEW” in the 2016 plan
|
Measure
|
Status as expressed in Working Plan 2016
|
Status - detailed
|
Status - headline
|
|
Building Automation and Control Systems
|
..will be subject to preparatory studies that investigate in more detail..
|
Preparatory study completed and presented to Consultation Forum in November 2021. The Commission does not intend to develop ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Electric kettles
|
..will be subject to preparatory studies that investigate in more detail..
|
Preparatory study completed and presented to Consultation Forum in January 2021. The Commission does not intend to develope ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Hand dryers
|
..will be subject to preparatory studies that investigate in more detail..
|
Preparatory study completed in May 2020. The Commission does not intend to develope ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Lifts
|
..will be subject to preparatory studies that investigate in more detail..
|
Preparatory study completed in October 2019. The Commission does not intend to develope ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Solar panels and inverters
|
..will be subject to preparatory studies that investigate in more detail..
|
Preparatory study completed. The Commission aims to adopt ED or EL measures by indicatively Q2 2023.
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Refrigerated containers
|
..will be subject to preparatory studies that investigate in more detail..
|
Preparatory study partially completed and presented to Consultation Forum in November 2020. Commission does not intend to develop ED or EL measures, but will consider possibility to adress certain stationary applications as part of review of Regulation (EU) 2015/1095.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
High-pressure cleaners
|
..will be subject to preparatory studies that investigate in more detail..
|
Preparatory study completed and identified only limited potential gains. The work on high pressure cleaners will be discontinued – the Commission does not intend to develop ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Gateways (home network equipment)
|
Commission will launch a more in-depth assessment with a view to their possible inclusion in the ecodesign working plan
|
This product group has been further studied in the context of the ICT study and the preparatory study for the new Working Plan as part of “small office and home network equipement( SOHO)”. The Commission does not intend to develop ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Mobile/smart phones
|
Commission will launch a more in-depth assessment with a view to their possible inclusion in the ecodesign working plan
|
Preparatory study completed and presented to Consultation Forum on 28.6.2021. Commission aims to adopt ED and EL measures indicatively not later than Q4 2022.
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
|
Base stations
|
Commission will launch a more in-depth assessment with a view to their possible inclusion in the ecodesign working plan
|
This product group has been further studied in the context of the ICT study and the preparatory study for the new Working Plan. The Commission does not intend to develope ED or EL measures for the time being.
|
Concluded / no specific regulation pursued for now
|
|
Signage displays
|
Signage displays .. will be taken up in the ongoing work on the revision of the existing implementing ecodesign measures for televisions..
|
Completed: digital signage displays have been included within the scope of the ED & EL regulations for electronic displays adopted as part of 2019 package of measures. MEPS have not been set at this stage, however
|
New regulation adopted
|
|
Wireless chargers
|
..wireless charging will be taken up in the ongoing work on the revision of the existing implementing ecodesign measures for external power supplies respectively (common charger)
|
In the revision, which led to the adoption of Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/1782 of 1 October 2019 laying down ecodesign requirements for external power supplies pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 278/2009, it was decided addresss this question in the next review which i.a. should assess “options for including within the scope of the Regulation wireless chargers”. This review is now ongoing.
|
Ongoing / to be pursued in new working plan
|
3.Examples of circular economy requirements in existing measures
|
Requirement
Product
|
Durability
|
Repairability/
Refurbishment
|
Recyclability
|
Reusability of components
|
Consumables
|
|
Refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function (also referred to as Commercial refrigerators)
|
|
Spare parts minimum availability; spare parts replaceable with the use of commonly available tools; access to repair and maintenance information; maximum delivery time for spare parts
|
Removability of components; product specific provisions
|
Removability of parts with the use of commonly available tools without causing permanent damage
|
|
|
Household dishwashers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Refrigerating appliances (including household refrigerators)
|
Info. on the min. duration of the guarantee offered by the supplier
|
|
|
|
|
|
Electronic displays
|
Info. on minimum guaranteed availability of software and firmware updates, and of product support more generally (dates)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Household washing machines + washer-dryers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Welding equipment
|
|
|
|
|
Information on use of welding wire, filler and shield gas
|
|
Light sources and separate control gears
|
declared lifetime based on L70B50 for LED and OLED light sources
|
|
Removability of components
|
|
|
|
Vacuum cleaners
|
Hose durability and operational motor lifetime
|
Information for non-destructive disassembly
|
|
Information on non-destructive disassembly
|
|
|
Servers and data storage products
|
|
Firmware; disassemblability of key components
|
Weight range of cobalt in batteries and neodymium in hard disks
|
Availability of a functionality for secure data deletion
|
|
4.Products and initiatives identified in Task 3 of the preparatory study
To start reflections on a shared technical basis, a preparatory study was conducted to analyse a wide range of product groups and initiatives for possible inclusion. The study’s website allowed gathering technical feedback from stakeholders. A roadmap for publishing the Working Plan was published on the “Have Your Say” portal to collect feedback in the period between 5 May and 2 June 2021. A total of 42 responses were gathered in this consultation process. In addition, members of the European Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Consultation Forum (“EELCF”), established under the Ecodesign Directive (Art.18) and the Energy Labelling Regulation (Art.14) were consulted and provided input in a meeting on 13 July 2021 as well as in writing after the meeting. Further feedback was received directly from Member States and industry associations.
The table below gives an overview of the 31 products and initiatives from Task 3 showing primary energy savings in the use phase and related to the material savings (embedded in materials).
Note: Blank cells: Not quantified or small potential (source: preparatory study, cf.
https://www.ecodesignworkingplan20-24.eu/
).
From the above table, a more limited number of specific products were identified, for being part of the indicative list of new energy-related product groups to be analyzed under exploratory studies. Priority has been given to those products having the highest potential for energy and/or material efficiency, and at the same time scoring well on other criteria and benefitting from stakeholders support.
5.Summary of stakeholder feedback received in preparing the 2022-2024 Working Plan
As part of the preparatory study, two stakeholder consultation events were organized and expert and stakeholder views were analysed by the Commission’s consultants. Subsequently, a Roadmap for the Working Plan was published on the Have Your Say portal. At this stage the Commission received 42 written submissions of feedback from an array or organisations. Most input came from business associations (21). Input also came from NGOs (7), large companies (3), national and regional governments (2), private citizens (2) and others. In terms of geographical representations, feedback was received from respondents in Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Cyprus, the UK and from EU-wide organisations.
The feedback received covered a number of specific products and horizontal measures. In particular, the following groups of products stood out: base stations, electric vehicle chargers, universal batteries and power supplies, swimming pool heaters outdoor and indoor heaters, professional coffee machines and network equipment. Some product groups received concrete proposals for ecodesign and energy labelling measures. Potential savings from industrial sensors were deemed minimal, even though the sensors can play a major role in overall industrial savings. Including food appliances, received negative attention because of the pressures on the hotel, restaurant and catering sector in the post-pandemic environment. One stakeholder suggested the inclusion of windows and doors. Professional cleaning devices were flagged for standardisation issues. In terms of horizontal measures, circularity was considered as important, especially regarding durability and recyclability. However, horizontal measures were criticised for unclear implementing pathways under the current legal framework. Photovoltaics, in particular, seemed to require better alignment of the proposal with established environmental impact standards.
6.Effect of high energy prices from 2021 onwards on estimated user expenditure savings from ecodesign and energy labelling
The Ecodesign impact accounting report is a report that has the purpose to show the impact of the EU ecodesign and energy labelling measures since their introduction with a timeframe up to 2030. The report uses historical data until end 2020, thus it does not include the effect of the rising energy prices that started occurring since mid-2021.
Compared to the estimate for 2020 published in the latest edition of the Ecodesign impact accounting report (€60 billion), the reduction in consumer expenditure is estimated to have roughly doubled in 2021 (reaching almost €130 billion) (based on an increase applied to the commodity price, while taxes and network costs were not reviewed).
For 2022, a first estimate shows that savings could again double in 2022 compared to 2021, reaching €259 billion (of which €42 billion regarding appliances using natural gas) if energy prices in 2022 will stay at the levels of January and February 2022. The estimate for 2022 does not take into account the effect of potential government intervention on components of the energy price (taxes and network costs) or of changes in consumer behaviours (e.g. advanced or delayed appliance purchases, or more careful behavioural patterns triggered by higher prices).
7.Reviews due or expected before end 2025
Overview of existing EU ecodesign, energy labelling and tyre labelling measures
