Standardisers cave in: material efficiency standards for energy-related products finally to be developed

After two years of dithering, the European Standardisation Organisations (ESOs) have just accepted a request of the European Commission to develop material efficiency standards for energy-related products. The future standards will contribute towards extending product lifetime, and improving the re-usability and recyclability of both the products and their components. In particular, the standards are expected to provide methodologies to assess a wide range of material efficiency aspects, from durability, reparability and reusability of products, to the proportion of re-used/recycled components/materials in products and the use of Critical Raw Materials.

Acceptance of the request by the ESOs is a turning point in a two-year saga involving the European Commission and standardisers. Opponents have been stalling the development of recognised methodologies thus preventing any political discussions before they even started.

Standardisers have until March 2019 to present the harmonised methods to the Commission for publication in the Official Journal. Once published, these horizontal methods should, in particular, provide the foundation for future product-specific standards. These will, in turn, provide presumption of conformity to product-specific regulations for the eco-design of energy-related products, under the Ecodesign framework Directive.

ECOS’ Director Laura Degallaix commented:

“We have been in a chicken and egg situation, with industry continuously questioning the usefulness of these methodologies, while simultaneously making them a precondition to support any regulatory action! We will be vigilant and make sure that the methodologies are swiftly delivered and cover all relevant material efficiency aspects, to help build the foundations of the EU Circular Economy package.”

The European Commission’s mandate is available here.