Considerations on COM(2022)142 - Framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products

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dossier COM(2022)142 - Framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products.
document COM(2022)142 EN
date March 30, 2022
 
(1) The European Green Deal 25  is Europe’s sustainable growth strategy that aims to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, competitive, climate-neutral and circular economy. It sets the ambitious objective of ensuring that the Union becomes the first climate neutral continent by 2050. It recognises the advantages of investing in the Union’s competitive sustainability by building a fairer, greener and more digital Europe. Products have a pivotal role to play in this green transition. Underlining that current production processes and consumption patterns remain too linear and dependent on a throughput of new materials extracted, traded and processed goods and finally disposed of as waste or emissions, the European Green Deal emphasises the urgent need to transition to a circular economy model and stresses the significant progress that remains to be made. It also identifies energy efficiency as a priority for the decarbonisation of the energy sector and for reaching the climate objectives in 2030 and 2050.

(2) To accelerate the transition to a circular economy model, the Commission designed a future-oriented agenda in its Circular Economy Action Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe 26  (CEAP), with the objective of making the regulatory framework fit for a sustainable future. As set out in this plan, there is currently no comprehensive set of requirements to ensure that all products placed on the Union market become increasingly sustainable and stand the test of circularity. In particular, product design does not sufficiently promote sustainability over the whole life cycle. As a result, products are being replaced frequently, involving significant energy and resource use in order to produce and distribute new products and dispose of old ones. It is still too difficult for economic operators and citizens to make sustainable choices in relation to products given that relevant information and affordable options to do so are lacking. This leads to missed opportunities for sustainability and for value-retaining operations, limited demand for secondary materials and obstacles to the adoption of circular business models. 

(3) The European Industrial Strategy 27 sets out the Union’s overarching ambition to foster a ‘twin transition’ to climate neutrality and digital leadership. It echoes the European Green Deal in pointing to the leading role that Europe’s industry must play in this, by reducing its carbon and material footprint and embedding circularity across the economy, and underlines the need to move away from traditional models, and revolutionise the way we design, make, use and dispose of products. The 2021 Update to the Industrial Strategy 28 reinforces the main messages of the 2020 Strategy and focuses on the lessons from the COVID-19 crisis, including the need to foster resilience.

(4) In the absence of legislation at Union level, diverging national approaches to improving the environmental sustainability of products have already emerged, ranging from information requirements on the duration of software compatibility of electronic devices to reporting obligations on handling unsold durable goods.  This is an indication that further national efforts to achieve the aims pursued by this Regulation will likely lead to further fragmentation of the internal market. Therefore, in order to safeguard the functioning of the internal market while ensuring a high level of environmental protection, there is a need for a regulatory framework to progressively introduce ecodesign requirements for products. This Regulation will, by making the ecodesign approach initially set out in Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 29 applicable to the broadest possible range of products, provide such a framework.

(5) This Regulation will contribute to making products fit for a climate-neutral, resource-efficient and circular economy, reducing waste and ensuring that the performance of frontrunners in sustainability progressively becomes the norm. It should provide for the setting of new ecodesign requirements to improve product durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability, improve possibilities for refurbishment and maintenance, address the presence of hazardous chemicals in products, increase their energy and resource efficiency, reduce their expected generation of waste materials and increase recycled content in products, while ensuring their performance and safety, enabling remanufacturing and high-quality recycling and reducing carbon and environmental footprints.

(6) The European Parliament, in its Resolution of 25 November 2020 ‘Towards a more sustainable single market for business and consumers’ 30 , welcomed promoting durable products which are easier to repair, re-use and recycle. In its report on the New Circular Economy Action Plan adopted on 16 February 2021 31 , the European Parliament further endorsed the agenda presented by the Commission in the CEAP. It considered that the transition to a circular economy can provide solutions to address the current environmental challenges and the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council, in its conclusions on ‘Making the Recovery Circular and Green’ adopted on 11 December 2020 32 , also welcomed the Commission’s intention to submit legislative proposals as part of a comprehensive and integrated sustainable product policy framework that promotes climate neutrality, energy and resource efficiency and a non-toxic circular economy, protects public health and biodiversity, and empowers and protects consumers and public buyers.

(7) This Regulation should contribute to achieving the Union’s climate and energy objectives. In line with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, ratified by the Union in 2016 33 , Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the ‘European Climate Law’ 34 establishes a binding Union domestic reduction commitment of net greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55 % by 2030 and enshrines in legislation the target of economy-wide climate neutrality by 2050. In 2021 the Commission adopted the Fit for 55 Package 35 to make the Union’s climate and energy policies fit for achieving these objectives. To do so, in line with the energy efficiency first principle enshrined in Directive (EU) 2018/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council 36 , energy efficiency improvements need to be significantly stepped up, to around 36% in terms of final energy consumption by 2030 37 . Product requirements established under this Regulation should play a significant role towards this target by substantially decreasing products’ energy footprint. These energy efficiency requirements will also reduce consumer vulnerability to energy price increases. As recognised by the Paris Agreement improving the sustainability of consumption and production will also play an important role in addressing climate change.

(8) This Regulation should also contribute to achieving the Union’s wider environmental objectives. The 8th Environmental Action Programme 38 enshrines in a legal framework the Union’s objective of staying within the planetary boundaries and identifies enabling conditions to achieve priority objectives, which include the transition to a non-toxic circular economy.  The European Green Deal also calls for the Union to better monitor, report, prevent and remedy air, water, soil and consumer products pollution. This means that chemicals, materials and products have to be as safe and sustainable as possible by design and during their life cycle, leading to non-toxic material cycles 39 . In addition, both the European Green Deal and the CEAP recognise that the Union internal market provides a critical mass that is able to influence global standards on product sustainability and product design. This Regulation should therefore play a significant role towards achieving several targets established under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ‘Responsible consumption and production’ 40 , both inside and outside the Union.

(9) Directive 2009/125/EC establishes a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. It has, in combination with Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council 41 , significantly reduced EU primary energy demand for products and it is estimated these savings will continue to increase. Implementing measures adopted under Directive 2009/125/EC have also included requirements on circularity aspects, such as durability, reparability and recyclability. At the same time, instruments such as the EU Ecolabel, introduced by Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council  42  or the EU green public procurement criteria 43  are broader in scope but have a reduced impact due to the limitations of voluntary approaches.

(10) Directive 2009/125/EC has been generally successful in fostering the energy efficiency and some circularity aspects of energy-related products, and its approach has the potential to progressively address the sustainability of all products. To deliver on Green Deal commitments, this approach should be extended to other product groups and systematically address key aspects for increasing the environmental sustainability of products with binding requirements. By ensuring that only products that meet those requirements are placed on the Union market, this Regulation should not only improve the free movement of such products by avoiding national disparities, but also reduce the negative life cycle environmental impacts of products for which such requirements are set.  

(11) In order to create an effective and future-proof regulatory framework, it is necessary to allow for the setting of ecodesign requirements on all physical goods placed on the market or put into service, including components and intermediate products. This should allow the Commissions to take into account the broadest range of products possible when prioritising the establishment of ecodesign requirements and thereby maximise their effectiveness. Where needed, specific exemptions should be made when setting ecodesign requirements, for example for products with a particular purpose that could not be fulfilled when complying with ecodesgin requirements. In addition, exemptions should be made at the level of the framework for those products for which it is already clear that ecodesign requirements would not be suitable or where other frameworks provide for the setting of such requirements. This should be the case for food and feed as defined in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council 44 , medicinal products for human use as defined in Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 45 , veterinary medicinal products as defined in Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of the European Parliament and of the Council 46 , living plants, animals and micro-organisms, products of human origin, and products of plants and animals relating directly to their future reproduction.

(12) The proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the energy performance of buildings (recast) 47 requires Member States to set minimum energy performance requirements for building elements that form part of the building envelope and system requirements in respect to overall energy performance, the proper installation and the appropriate dimensioning, adjustment and control of technical building systems installed in new or existing buildings. It is consistent with the objectives of this Regulation that these minimum energy performance requirements may in certain circumstances limit the installation of energy-related products which comply with this Regulation and its delegated acts, provided that such requirements do not constitute an unjustifiable market barrier.

(13) In order to improve the environmental sustainability of products and to ensure the free movement of products in the internal market, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by setting out ecodesign requirements. Those ecodesign requirements should in principle apply to specific product groups, such as washing machines or washing machines and washer dryers. In order to maximise the effectiveness of ecodesign requirements and to efficiently improve environmental sustainability of products, it should also be possible to set out one or more horizontal ecodesign requirements for a wider range of products groups, such as electronic appliances or textiles. Horizontal ecodesign requirements should be established where the technical similarities of product groups allow their environmental sustainability to be improved based on the same requirements.

(14) In order to allow the Commission to set requirements as appropriate to the product groups covered, ecodesign requirements should include performance and information requirements. Those requirements should be used to improve product aspects relevant for environmental sustainability, such as energy efficiency, durability, reparability and carbon and environmental footprints. Ecodesign requirements should be transparent, objective, proportionate and in compliance with international trade rules.

(15) Once a delegated act setting ecodesign requirements is adopted by the Commission for a given product group, Member States should, in order to ensure the functioning of the internal market, no longer be allowed to set national performance requirements based on product parameters covered by such performance requirements laid down in that delegated act, and no longer be allowed to set national information requirements based on product parameters covered by such information requirements laid down in that delegated act. In order to ensure the functioning of the internal market, the Commission should be empowered to establish that no ecodesign requirements in the form of performance requirements and/or in the form of information requirements are necessary in relation to a specific product parameter.

(16) When establishing ecodesign requirements the Commission should take into account the nature and purpose of the products concerned as well as the characteristics of the relevant markets. For example, defence equipment has to be able to operate under specific and sometimes harsh conditions, which needs to be considered when setting ecodesign requirements. Certain information on defence equipment should not be disclosed and should be protected. Therefore, for military or sensitive equipment ecodesign requirements should take into account the security needs and the characteristics of the defence market, as defined in Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 48 . Similarly, the space industry is strategic for Europe and for its technological non-dependence. As space technologies operate in extreme conditions, any ecodesign requirements for space products should balance sustainability considerations with resilience and expected performance. Further, for medical devices as defined in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on medical devices 49  and in vitro diagnostic medical devices as defined in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/746 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices 50 , the Commission should take into account of the need to not negatively affect health and safety of patients and users.  

(17) To avoid duplication of efforts and regulatory burden, consistency should be ensured between this Regulation and requirements set in or pursuant to other Union legislation, especially products, chemicals and waste legislation 51 . However, the existence of empowerments under other Union legislation to set requirements with the same or similar effects as requirements under this Regulation does not limit the empowerments included in this Regulation, unless specified in this Regulation.

(18) Delegated acts including ecodesign requirements should, as was the case under Directive 2009/125/EC, undergo a dedicated impact assessment and stakeholder consultation, and should be drawn up in line with the Commission’s Better Regulation guidelines, and include an assessment of the international dimension and impacts on third countries. When doing so, the Commission should take due consideration of all aspects of the life cycle of the product and base its impact assessment on best available evidence. When preparing ecodesign requirements the Commission should use a scientific approach and also take into consideration relevant technical information in particular coming from Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council 52 , Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 53 , technical screening criteria adopted pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council 54 and green public procurement criteria 55 .

(19) In order to take into account the diversity of products, the Commission should select the methods to assess the setting of the ecodesign requirements and, as appropriate, develop them further based on the nature of the product, its most relevant aspects and its impacts over its life cycle. In doing so, the Commission should take account of its experience in assessing the setting of requirements under Directive 2009/125/EC and the continuing efforts to develop and improve science-based assessment tools, such as the update of the methodology for ecodesign of energy-related products, and the Product Environmental Footprint method set out in Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 56 , including as regards temporary storage of carbon, as well as the development of standards by international and European standardisation organisations, including on the material efficiency of energy-related products. Building on these tools and using dedicated studies when needed, the Commission should further reinforce circularity aspects (such as durability, reparability including reparability scoring, identification of chemicals hindering re-use and recycling) in the assessment of products and in the preparation of ecodesign requirements, and should develop new methods or tools where appropriate. New approaches may also be needed for the preparation of mandatory public procurement criteria and for bans on the destruction of unsold consumer products.

(20) Performance requirements should relate to a selected product parameter relevant to the targeted product aspect for which potential for improving environmental sustainability has been identified. Such requirements may include minimum or maximum levels of performance in relation to the product parameter, non-quantitative requirements that aim to improve performance in relation to the product parameter, or requirements related to a product’s functional performance to ensure that the selected performance requirements do not negatively impact the ability of the product to perform the function for which it was designed and marketed. Regarding minimum or maximum levels, they may for example take the form of a limit on energy consumption in the use phase or on the quantities of a given material incorporated in the product, a requirement for minimum quantities of recycled content, or a limit on a specific environmental impact category or on an aggregation of all relevant environmental impacts. An example of a non-quantitative requirement is the prohibition of a specific technical solution that is detrimental to product reparability. Performance requirements will be used to ensure the removal of the worst performing products from the market where this is necessary to contribute to the environmental sustainability objectives of the Regulation.

(21) In order to ensure consistency, performance requirements should complement the implementation of Union legislation on waste. While requirements for placing on the market packaging as a final product are laid down under European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC 57 , this Regulation may complement that Directive by setting product-based requirements focussing on the packaging of specific products when placed on the market. Where relevant, such complementary requirements should contribute in particular to minimising the amount of packaging used, in turn contributing to the prevention of waste generation in the Union.

(22) Chemical safety is a recognised element of product sustainability. It is based on chemicals’ intrinsic hazards to health or the environment in combination with specific or generic exposure, and is addressed by chemicals legislation, such as Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council 58 , Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council 59 , Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council 60 , Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council  61 and Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 62 . This Regulation should not enable the restriction of substances based on chemical safety, as done under other Union legislation. Similarly, this Regulation should not enable the restriction of substances for reasons related to food safety. Union law on chemicals and food, however, does not allow addressing, through restrictions on certain substances, impacts on sustainability that are unrelated to chemical safety or food safety. To overcome this limitation, this Regulation should allow, under certain conditions, for the restriction, primarily for reasons other than chemical or food safety, of substances present in products or used in their manufacturing processes which negatively affect products’ sustainability. This Regulation also should not result in the duplication or replacement of restrictions of substances covered by Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 63 , which has as its objective the protection of human health and the environment, including the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste from electrical and electronic equipment

(23) To improve environmental sustainability of products, information requirements should relate to a selected product parameter relevant to the product aspect, such as the product’s environmental footprint or its durability. They may require manufacturer to make available information on the product’s performance in relation to a selected product parameter or other information that may influence the way the product is handled by parties other than the manufacturer in order to improve performance in relation to such a parameter. Such information requirements should be set either in addition to, or in place of, performance requirements on the same product parameter as appropriate. Where a delegated act includes information requirements, it should indicate the method for making the required information available, such as its inclusion on a free-access website, product passport or product label. Information requirements are necessary to lead to the behavioural change needed to ensure that the environmental sustainability objectives of this Regulation are achieved. By providing a solid basis for purchasers and public authorities to compare products on the basis of their environmental sustainability, information requirements are expected to drive consumers and public authorities towards more sustainable choices.

(24) Where delegated acts include information requirements, they may in addition determine classes of performance in relation to one or more relevant product parameters, in order to facilitate comparison between products on the basis of that parameter. Classes of performance should enable differentiation of products based on their relative sustainability and could be used by both consumers and public authorities. As such, they are intended to drive the market towards more sustainable products.

(25) Information on the presence of substances of concern in products is a key element to identify and promote products that are sustainable. The chemical composition of products determines largely their functionalities and impacts, as well as the possibilities for their re-use or for recovery once they become waste. The Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability 64 calls for minimising the presence of substances of concern in products, and ensuring the availability of information on chemical content and safe use, by introducing information requirements and tracking the presence of substances of concern throughout the life cycle of materials and products. Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 65 and other existing chemicals legislation such as Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 already ensure communication on hazards to health or the environment posed by certain substances of concern on their own or in a mixture. Users of substances and mixtures should also be informed about pertinent sustainability-related information not primarily related to hazards to health or the environment. Furthermore, users of products other than substances or mixtures, and managers of waste from such products, should also receive sustainability-related information, including information primarily related to chemicals’ hazards to health or the environment. Therefore, this Regulation should allow for the setting of requirements related to the tracking and communication of sustainability information, including the presence of substances of concern in products throughout their life cycle, including with a view to their decontamination and recovery when they become waste. Such a framework should aim to progressively cover all substances of concern in all products listed in working plans setting out the product groups the Commission intends to tackle.

(26) The information requirements set under this Regulation should include the requirement to make available a product passport. The product passport is an important tool for making information available to actors along the entire value chain and the availability of a product passport should significantly enhance end-to-end traceability of a product throughout its value chain. Among other things, the product passport should help consumers make informed choices by improving their access to product information relevant to them, allow economic operators other value chain actors such as repairers or recyclers to access relevant information, and enable competent national authorities to perform their duties. To this end, the product passport should not replace but complement non-digital forms of transmitting information, such as information in the product manual or on a label. In addition, it should be possible for the product passport to be used for information on other sustainability aspects applicable to the relevant product group pursuant to other Union legislation.

(27) To take account of the nature of the product and its market, the information to be included in the product passport should be carefully examined on a case-by-case basis when preparing product-specific rules. To optimise access to the resulting information while also protecting intellectual property rights, the product passport needs to be designed and implemented allowing differentiated access to the information included in the product passport depending on the type of information and the typology of stakeholders. Similarly, to avoid costs to companies and the public that are disproportionate to the wider benefits, the product passport should be specific to the item, batch or product model, depending on for example the complexity of the value chain, the size, nature or impacts of the products considered.

(28) In order to ensure interoperability, the types of permitted data carriers should be specified. For the same reason, the data carrier and the unique product identifier should be released in accordance with internationally recognised standards. The power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to amend this Regulation by replacing or adding standards in accordance with which the data carrier and the unique identifiers may be released, in light of technical or scientific progress. This should ensure that the information contained in the product passport can be recorded and transmitted by all economic operators, as well as to guarantee the compatibility of the unique identifier with external components such as scanning devices.

(29) In order to not unnecessarily delay the establishment of ecodesign requirements other than on the product passport or to ensure that product passports can be effectively implemented, the Commission should be allowed to exempt product groups from the product passport requirements in case technical specifications are not available in relation to the essential requirements for the technical design and operation of the product passport. Similarly, in order to prevent unnecessary administrative burden for economic operator, the Commission should be allowed to exempt product groups from the product passport requirements in case other Union law already includes a system for the digital provision of product information allowing actors along the value chain to access relevant product information and facilitating the verification of product compliance by competent national authorities. These exemptions should be periodically reviewed taking into account further availability of technical specifications.

(30) Unique identification of products is a fundamental element to enable traceability across the supply chain. Therefore, the product passport should be linked to a unique product identifier. In addition, where appropriate, the passport should allow for the tracing of the actors and manufacturing facilities related to that product. In order to ensure interoperability, the unique operator identifiers and unique facility identifiers enabling traceability should be released in accordance with internationally recognised standards. The power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to amend this Regulation by replacing or adding standards in accordance with which unique operator identifiers and unique facility identifiers may be released, in light of technical or scientific progress.

(31) Digitalised information about the product and its life cycle or, where applicable, its passport should be easily accessible by scanning a data carrier, such as a watermark or a quick response (QR) code. Where possible, the data carrier should be on the product itself to ensure the information remains accessible throughout its life cycle. However, exceptions are possible depending on the nature, size or use of the products concerned.

(32) To ensure that the product passport is flexible, agile and market-driven and evolving in line with business models, markets and innovation, it should be based on a decentralised data system, set up and maintained by economic operators. However, for enforcement and monitoring purposes, it may be necessary that competent national authorities and the Commission have direct access to a record of all data carriers and unique identifiers linked to products placed on the market or put in service.

(33) To ensure the effective roll-out of the product passport, technical design, data requirements and operation of the product passport should adhere to a set of essential technical requirements. Such requirements should provide a basis for the consistent deployment of the product passport across sectors. Technical specifications should be established to ensure the effective implementation of those essential requirements, either in the form of harmonised standard referenced in the Official Journal or, as a fall-back option, common specification adopted by the Commission. The technical design should ensure that the product passport carries data in a secure way, respecting privacy rules The digital product passport will be developed in an open dialogue with international partners, in order to take account of their views when developing technical specifications and to ensure that they help remove trade barriers for greener products and lower costs for sustainable investments, marketing and compliance. Technical specifications and requirements related to traceability across the value chain should, in order to allow for their effective implementation, to the extent possible be developed based on a consensual approach and on the involvement, buy-in, and effective collaboration of a diverse set of actors, including standardisation bodies, industry associations, consumer organisations, experts, NGOs and international partners, including developing economies.

(34) In order to improve enforcement of ecodesign requirements, it is necessary that national authorities and the Commission have direct access to a record of all data carriers and unique identifiers linked to products placed on the market or put in service. To this end, the Commission should set up and maintain a product passport registry to store such data. Where needed to further facilitate enforcement, the Commission should, as appropriate, specify other information included in the product passport that needs to be stored in the registry.

(35) Any processing of personal data pursuant to this Regulation should comply with the applicable rules on the protection of personal data. Processing of personal data by the competent national authorities within Member States should be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council 66 . Processing of personal data by the Commission should be carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council 67 .

(36) Effective enforcement in relation to products placed on the Union market, whether domestically produced or imported, is essential for achieving the aims of this Regulation. Therefore, where the Commission has set up a registry, customs authorities should have direct access to it via the EU Single Window Environment for Customs set up by Regulation (EU) …/…. The role of customs should be to ensure that the reference of a product passport is made available in the customs declaration and that this reference corresponds to a unique product identifier that is stored in the registry. This would allow the verification by customs that a product passport exists for imported products.

(37) Where certain information included in the product passport is stored in the registry in addition to data carriers and unique identifiers, the Commission should be able to provide, where appropriate, that customs authorities verify the consistency between this information and the customs declaration, in order to improve the compliance of products with ecodesign requirements and taking into account the need to avoid disproportionate burden for customs authorities.

(38) The information included in the product passport can allow customs authorities to enrich and facilitate risk management and enable the better targeting of controls at the border. Therefore, customs authorities should be able to retrieve and use the information included in the product passport and the related registry for carrying out their tasks in accordance with Union legislation including for risk management in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 68 .

(39) To drive consumers towards more sustainable choices, labels should, when required by the delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Regulation, provide information allowing for the effective comparison of products, for instance by indicating classes of performance. Specifically for consumers, physical labels can be an additional source of information at the place of sale. They can provide a quick visual basis for consumers to distinguish between products based on their performance in relation to a specific product parameter or set of product parameters. They should, where appropriate, also allow for the accessing of additional information by bearing specific references like website addresses, dynamic QR codes, links to online labels or any appropriate consumer-oriented means. The Commission should set out in the relevant delegated act the most effective way of displaying such labels, including in the case of online distance selling, taking into account the implications for customers and economic operators and the characteristics of the products concerned. The Commission may also require the label to be printed on the packaging of the product.

(40) Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 setting a framework on energy labelling applies, in parallel to this Regulation, to energy-related products. This means that energy labels are the primary instrument providing the appropriate information to consumers for energy-related products and that classes of performance determined under this Regulation should, where appropriate, be incorporated in the label as supplementary information as provided for in Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369. In cases where relevant information on a product’s performance in relation to a product parameter cannot be included as supplementary information in the energy label established for the energy-related product pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, the Commission should assess whether a label in accordance with this Regulation is to be established, taking into account the need for consumers to be informed on the most relevant parameters for the product and the disadvantages in terms of risks of confusion for the public and of excessive administrative burden for economic operators.

(41) Consumers should be protected from misleading information that could hamper their choices for more sustainable products. For this reasons it should be prohibited to place on the market products bearing a label mimicking the labels provided for in this Regulation.

(42) To deliver in the most efficient way on the European Green Deal’s objectives and to address the most impactful products first, the Commission should carry out a prioritisation of products to be regulated under this Regulation and requirements that will apply to them. Based on the process followed for prioritisation under Directive 2009/125/EC, the Commission should adopt a working plan, covering at least 3 years, laying down a list of product groups for which it plans to adopt delegated acts as well as the product aspects for which it intends to adopt delegated acts of horizontal application. The Commission should base its prioritisation on a set of criteria pertaining in particular to the delegated acts’ potential contribution to the Union climate, environmental and energy objectives and their potential for improving the product aspects selected without disproportionate costs to the public and economic operators. Considering their importance for meeting the Union’s energy objectives, the working plans should include an adequate share of actions related to energy-related products. Member States and stakeholders should also be consulted through the Ecodesign Forum. Due to the complementarities between this Regulation and Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 for energy-related products, the timelines for the working plan under this Regulation and the one provided for under Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 should be aligned. 

(43) In addressing construction products, this Regulation should set requirements on final products only when the obligations created by [the revised Construction Products Regulation] and its implementation are unlikely to sufficiently achieve the environmental sustainability objectives pursued by this Regulation. In addition, when formulating working plans, the Commission should take into account that, in continuation of current practice, [the revised Construction Products Regulation] will, in relation to energy-related products that are also construction products, give prevalence to sustainability requirements set under this Regulation. This should be the case for instance for heaters, boilers, heat pumps, water and space heating appliances, fans, cooling and ventilating systems and photovoltaic products (excluding building-integrated photovoltaic panels). For these products, [the revised Construction Products Regulation] may intervene in a complementary manner where needed, mainly in relation to safety aspects, also taking account of other Union legislation on products such as on gas appliances, low voltage, and machinery.

(44) In order to encourage self-regulation as a valid alternative to regulatory approaches, this Regulation should, in continuation of Directive 2009/125/EC, include the possibility for industry to submit self-regulation measures. The Commission should assess the self-regulation measures proposed by industry, along with the information and evidence submitted by the signatories, including in light of the international trade commitments of the Union and the need to ensure coherence with Union law. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to adopt and update an act listing the self-regulation measures considered as valid alternatives to a delegated act setting ecodesign requirements. It is also appropriate, for instance in view of relevant market or technological developments within the product group concerned, that the Commission be able to request a revised version of the self-regulation measure whenever considered necessary. Once a self-regulation measure is listed in an implementing act, there is a legitimate expectation for economic operators that the Commission will not adopt a delegated act establishing ecodesign requirements for this specific product group. However, it is not excluded that the Commission may adopt horizontal ecodesign requirements also applying to the products covered by a recognised self-regulation measure for the product aspects not addressed by that self-regulation measure. Where the Commission considers that a self-regulation measure no longer fulfils the criteria set in this Regulation, it should remove that self-regulation from the implementing act listing the recognised self-regulation measures. Consequently, ecodesign requirements may then be established for the product groups previously addressed by the self-regulation measure, in accordance with this Regulation.

(45) Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could greatly benefit from an increase in the demand for sustainable products but could also face costs and difficulties with some of the requirements. The Member States and the Commission should, in their respective areas of responsibility, provide adequate information, ensure targeted and specialised training, and provide specific assistance and support, including financial, to SMEs active in the manufacturing of products for which ecodesign requirements are set. Those actions should, for example, cover the calculation of the product environmental footprint and the technical implementation of the product passport. Member States actions should be taken in respect of applicable State aid rules.

(46) The destruction of unsold consumer products, such as textiles and footwear, by economic operators is becoming a widespread environmental problem across the Union, in particular due to the rapid growth of online sales. It amounts to a loss of valuable economic resources as goods are produced, transported and afterwards destroyed without ever being used for their intended purpose. It is therefore necessary, in the interest of environmental protection, that this Regulation establishes a framework to prevent the destruction of unsold products primarily intended for consumers pursuant to Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council 69 , including products that have been returned by a consumer in view of their right of withdrawal as laid down by Directive (EU) 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 70 . This will reduce the environmental impact of those products by reducing the generation of waste and by dis-incentivising overproduction of products. In addition, given that several Member States have introduced national legislation on the destruction of unsold consumer products thereby creating market distortions, harmonised rules on the destruction of unsold consumer products are necessary to ensure that distributors, retailers and other economic operators are subject to the same rules and incentives across Member States.

(47) To dis-incentivise the destruction of unsold consumer products and to further generate data on the occurrence of this practice, this Regulation should introduce a transparency obligation for economic operators holding consumer products in the Union, requiring them to disclose information on the number of unsold consumer products discarded per year. The economic operator should indicate the product type or category, the reasons for their discarding and their delivery for subsequent waste treatment operations. While economic operators should be free to determine how to disclose that information in a manner appropriate to their business environment, it should be considered a best practice to include the required information in a publicly available non-financial statement drafted in accordance with Article 19a of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 71 where applicable.

(48) In order to avoid the destruction of unsold consumer products, where the destruction of such products is prevalent, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by prohibiting the destruction of such products. Given the wide range of products that may potentially be destroyed without ever being sold or used, it is necessary to establish such empowerment in this Regulation. However, the prohibition set in the delegated acts should apply to specific product groups to be determined based on an assessment by the Commission of the extent to which the destruction of such products takes place in practice, taking into account the information made available by economic operators where appropriate. To ensure that this obligation is proportionate, the Commission should consider specific exemptions under which destroying unsold consumer products may still be permitted, for instance in view of health and safety concerns. To monitor the effectiveness of this prohibition and to dis-incentivise circumvention, economic operators should be required to disclose the number of unsold consumer products destroyed and the reasons for their destruction under applicable exemptions. Finally, to avoid any undue administrative burden on SMEs, they should be exempted from the obligations to disclose their unsold discarded products and from the prohibition to discard specific products groups set in delegated acts. However, where there is reasonable evidence that SMEs may be used to circumvent those obligations, the Commission should be able to require, in those delegated acts, for some product groups, that these obligations also apply to micro, small or medium sized enterprises.

(49) Economic operators should be responsible for products’ compliance with the ecodesign requirements under this Regulation, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain, so as to ensure those products’ free movement on the internal market and to improve their sustainability. Economic operators intervening in the supply and distribution chain should take appropriate measures to ensure that they only make available on the market products that are in conformity with this Regulation and the delegated acts adopted pursuant to it.

(50) The manufacturer, having detailed knowledge of the design and production process, is best placed to carry out the conformity assessment procedure. Conformity assessment should therefore remain solely the obligation of the manufacturer.

(51) In order to safeguard the functioning of the internal market, it is necessary to ensure that products from third countries entering the Union market comply with this Regulation and the delegated acts adopted pursuant to it, whether imported as products, components, or intermediate products. In particular, it is necessary to ensure that appropriate conformity assessment procedures have been carried out by manufacturers with regard to those products. Provision should therefore be made for importers to ensure that the products they place on the market comply with those requirements and that the CE marking and documentation drawn up by manufacturers are available for inspection by the competent national authorities. Provision should also be made for importers to ensure, where applicable, that a product passport is available for those products.

(52) When placing a product on the, every importer should indicate on the product their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark as well as their postal address and, where available, electronic means of communication through which it can be contacted. Exceptions should be provided for in cases where the size of the product does not allow for such indications. This includes cases where the importer would have to open the packaging to put the name and address on the product or where the product is too small in size to affix this information.

(53) As the distributor makes a product available on the market after it has been placed there by the manufacturer or importer, it should act with due care in relation to the applicable ecodesign requirements. The distributor should also ensure that its handling of the product does not adversely affect its compliance with the requirements of this Regulation or the delegated acts adopted pursuant to it.

(54) As distributors and importers are close to the marketplace and have an important role in ensuring product compliance, should be involved in market surveillance tasks carried out by the competent national authorities, and should be prepared to participate actively, providing those authorities with all necessary information relating to the product concerned.

(55) As the dealer offers a product for sale, hire or hire purchase, or displays products to customers or installers, it is necessary for the dealer to ensure that its customers can effectively access the information required under this Regulation, including in the case of distance selling. In particular, this Regulation should require dealers to ensure that the product passport is accessible to their customers and that labels are clearly displayed, in line with the applicable requirements. The dealer should comply with this obligation every time the product is offered for hire.

(56) To facilitate the choice of more sustainable products, labels, where required, should be displayed in a clearly visible and identifiable way. They should be identifiable as the label belonging to the product in question, without the customer having to read the brand name and model number on the label. Labels should attract the attention of the customer browsing through the products displayed. To ensure that the label is accessible to customers when considering a purchase, both the dealer and the responsible economic operator should display the label whenever advertising the product, also in cases of distance selling, including online.

(57) Any importer or distributor that either places on the market a product covered by a delegated act adopted pursuant to this Regulation under the importer’s or distributor’s own name or trademark, or modifies such a product in such a way that compliance with this Regulation or with the relevant delegated act might be affected, should be considered to be the manufacturer and should assume the manufacturer’s obligations.

(58) Online marketplaces play a crucial role in the supply chain, allowing economic operators to reach a large number of customers. Given their important role in intermediating the sale of products between economic operators and customers, online marketplaces should take responsibility for addressing the sale of products that do not comply with ecodesign requirements and should cooperate with market surveillance authorities. Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 72 provides the general framework for e-commerce and lays down certain obligations for online platforms. Regulation […/…] on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC 73 regulates the responsibility and accountability of providers of intermediary services online with regard to illegal content, including products that do not comply with ecodesign requirements. Building on this general framework, specific requirements to effectively address the sale of non-compliant products online should be brought in.

(59) It is essential that online marketplaces cooperate closely with the market surveillance authorities. An obligation of cooperation with market surveillance authorities is imposed on information society service providers under Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council 74  in relation to products covered by that Regulation, including products for which ecodesign requirements are set. To further improve cooperation to tackle illegal content related to non-compliant products, this Regulation should include concrete obligations to put this cooperation into practice as regards online marketplaces. For instance, market surveillance authorities are constantly improving the technological tools they use for online market surveillance in order to identify non-compliant products sold online. For these tools to be operational, online marketplaces should grant access to their interfaces. Moreover, market surveillance authorities may also need to scrape data from the online marketplaces.

(60) Article 14(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 provides market surveillance authorities with the power, where no other effective means are available to eliminate a serious risk, to require the removal of content referring to non-compliant products from an online interface or to require the explicit display of a warning to end-users when they access an online interface. The powers entrusted to market surveillance authorities by Article 14(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 also apply to this Regulation. However, for effective market surveillance under this Regulation and to avoid non-compliant products being present on the Union market, this power should apply in all necessary and proportionate cases, including for products presenting a less than serious risk. This power should be exercised in accordance with [Article 8] of the [Digital Services Act].

(61) Ensuring a product’s traceability throughout the whole supply chain facilitates the market surveillance authorities' task of tracing economic operators who placed on the market or made available on the market non-compliant products. The economic operators should therefore be required to keep the information on their transactions for a certain period of time.

(62) To speed up and facilitate the verification of compliance of products placed on the market, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by requiring responsible economic operators, where necessary, to make specific parts of the technical documentation digitally available both to competent authorities and to the Commission. This should allow competent national authorities to access this information without request, while continuing to guarantee the protection of trade secrets. Possible means of making this information digitally available should in principle include a product passport, or via inclusion in the compliance part of the product database referred to in Regulation (EU) 2017/1369, or on a website of the economic operator. Such an obligation should not take away from the competent national authorities’ right to access other parts of the technical documentation on request.

(63) In order to allow for a better estimation of relevant products’ market penetration, to better inform studies feeding into the drafting or updating of ecodesign requirement and working plans, and to help identify the market share of specific product groups in order to speed up the formulation or review of ecodesign requirements, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by requiring the collection of adequate and reliable data on the sales of products, by allowing the collection of such data by or on behalf of the Commission directly from manufacturers or retailers. When adopting rules on monitoring and reporting, the Commission should take into account the need to maximise the available data on market penetration and the need to minimise the administrative burden for economic operators.

(64) In order to improve future ecodesign requirements and improve end-users confidence identifying and correcting deviations between energy in-use and other performance parameters when measured under test conditions and actual functioning, the Commission should have access to products’ actual energy consumption while in use and where relevant to other performance parameters. To that end, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by requiring individual products, similarly to road vehicles, to determine their in-use energy consumption and other relevant performance parameters and display it to the end-user. For products connected to the internet, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by requiring economic operators to remotely collect such in-use data and report it to the Commission, as it is essential to identify how the products perform and to inform the public. For products whose in use performance depends significantly also on climatic or geographical conditions, climatic or geographical information should also be collected, anonymised and reported.

(65) In order to ensure the effective and harmonised application of ecodesign requirements set under this Regulation, including on aspects such as energy use or efficiency, durability and reliability, and recycled content, compliance with those requirements should be measured using reliable, accurate and reproducible methods that take into account the generally recognised state-of-the-art methods. Delegated acts establishing ecodesign requirements for products should in principle include the specifications for tests, measurements or calculations needed to establish or verify compliance. In addition, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by requiring the use of online tools reflecting applicable calculation requirements, in order to ensure their harmonised application.

(66) In order to ensure that ecodesign requirements achieve their intended effects, this Regulation should set out comprehensive and overarching provisions, applicable to all products covered by ecodesign requirements, prohibiting circumvention of such requirements. Therefore, any practice leading to an unjustified alteration of the product’s performance during compliance testing or within a short period after putting the product into service, leading to a declared performance that misrepresents the product’s actual performance while in use should be prohibited..

(67) Where appropriate, delegated acts establishing ecodesign requirements for products may refer to the use of standards to establish or verify compliance. In order to ensure that there are no barriers to trade on the internal market, such standards should be harmonised at Union level. Once a reference to such a standard has been adopted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council 75  and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, products in conformity with such standards, for which ecodesign requirements have been adopted pursuant to this Regulation, should be considered in conformity with those requirements to the extent that they are covered by the relevant harmonised standards. Similarly, methods for tests, measurement or calculation that are in conformity with harmonised standards should be considered in conformity with the test, measurement and calculation requirements set out in the relevant delegated acts laying down ecodesign requirements, to the extent that they are covered by the relevant harmonised standards. 

(68) In the absence of harmonised standards, recourse to common specifications should be used as a fall-back solution to facilitate the manufacturer’s obligation to comply with ecodesign requirements, for instance when the standardisation process is blocked due to lack of consensus between stakeholders or where there are undue delays in establishing a harmonised standard. Such delays could for example occur when the required quality is not reached. In addition, recourse to this solution should be possible where the Commission has restricted or withdrawn the references to relevant harmonised standards in line with Article 11(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012. Compliance with common specifications should also give rise to the presumption of conformity.

(69) In order to enable economic operators to demonstrate, and competent authorities to verify, that products made available on the market comply with the ecodesign requirements adopted pursuant to this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by laying down conformity assessment procedures appropriate and proportionate to the nature of the product concerned and of the product parameters regulated. To ensure coherence with other Union law, the conformity assessment procedures should be chosen from among the internal production control module included in this Regulation and the modules included in Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 76 , ranging from the least stringent to the most stringent depending. To further ensure that the applicable module is appropriate and proportionate to the nature of the product concerned and of the product parameters regulated, the Commission should where needed adapt the module chosen in light of that nature.

(70) Manufacturers should draw up an EU declaration of conformity to provide information on the conformity of products with this Regulation. Manufacturers may also be required by other Union legislation to draw up an EU declaration of conformity. To ensure effective access to information for market surveillance purposes, a single EU declaration of conformity should be drawn up in respect of all Union acts. To reduce the administrative burden on economic operators, it should be possible for that single EU declaration of conformity to be a dossier made up of relevant individual declarations of conformity.

(71) Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 77  lays down rules on the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, provides a framework for the market surveillance of products and for controls on products from third countries, and lays down the general principles of the CE marking. That Regulation should be applicable to products covered by this Regulation in order to ensure that products benefiting from the free movement of goods within the Union fulfil requirements providing a high level of protection of public interests such as human health, safety and the environment. Where ecodesign requirements have been adopted for a product, the CE marking should indicate that product’s conformity with this Regulation and the ecodesign requirements adopted pursuant to it, insofar as they relate to the product. General principles governing the CE marking and its relationship to other markings are set out in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. Considering that this Regulation provides for the setting of ecodesign requirements for a large range of products, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by setting out  alternative or more specific rules on the declaration of conformity or conformity marking in relation to ecodesign requirements in order to ensure coherence with requirements under Union law applicable to the products covered, prevent confusion with other marking or declarations and minimise administrative burden for economic operators.

(72) Some of the conformity assessment modules laid down in Decision No 768/2008/EC require the intervention of conformity assessment bodies. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, those bodies should be notified to the Commission by Member State authorities.

(73) To ensure a consistent level of quality in the performance of conformity assessment, it is necessary to set requirements for notifying authorities involved in the assessment, notification and monitoring of notified bodies. In particular, it should be ensured that the notifying authority is objective and impartial with regard to its activity. Furthermore, notifying authorities should be required to safeguard the confidentiality of the information they obtain, but should nonetheless be able to exchange information on notified bodies with national authorities, the notifying authorities of other Member States and the Commission to ensure consistency in the conformity assessment. To effectively establish and monitor the competence and independence of applicant bodies, notifying authorities should take as a basis for notification only the precise legal body applying, not taking into account the credentials of parent or sister companies. For the same reason, they should assess applicant bodies against all relevant requirements and conformity assessment tasks, relying on harmonised standards for the requirements and tasks covered by those standards.

(74) Given their central role in ensuring the reliability of conformity assessments in relation to ecodesign requirements, it is essential that notifying authorities have a sufficient number of competent personnel and sufficient funding at their disposal for the proper performance of their tasks. Where, in the implementation of this Regulation, it occurs that notifying authorities do not effectively verify and monitor notified bodies due to a lack of competent personnel, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to lay down a minimum number of full-time equivalents that should be at the disposal of notifying authorities, where appropriate in relation to specific conformity assessment tasks.

(75) It is essential that all notified bodies perform their functions to the same level and under conditions of equal competition and autonomy. Therefore, requirements should be set for conformity assessment bodies wishing to obtain the status of notified body in order to provide conformity assessment activities. Those requirements should continue to apply to maintain the competence of the notified body. To ensure its autonomy, the notified body and the staff it employs should be required to maintain independence from economic operators in the value chain of the products in relation to which it has been notified and from other companies, including business associations and parent companies and subsidiaries.

(76) If a conformity assessment body demonstrates conformity with the criteria laid down in harmonised standards it should be presumed to comply with the corresponding requirements set out in this Regulation.

(77) Conformity assessment bodies frequently subcontract parts of their activities linked to the assessment of conformity or have recourse to a subsidiary. To ensure that products placed on the Union market comply with ecodesign requirements, conformity assessment subcontractors and subsidiaries should fulfil the same requirements as notified bodies in relation to the performance of conformity assessment tasks under this Regulation.

(78) In order for notifying authorities to effectively establish and monitor the competence and independence of applicant bodies, those bodies should be and remain autonomous. Therefore, certain activities and decision-making processes, both regarding the conformity assessment of products and other activities internal to the notified body, should exclusively be carried out by the individual notified body itself.

(79) To facilitate the process of establishing and monitoring the competence and independence of applicant bodies, applicant bodies should draw up and regularly update a qualification matrix. This matrix should match personnel and their qualifications to specific conformity assessment tasks, enabling the notifying authority to more effectively assess the adequacy of staffing and the continued autonomy of the notified body.

(80) Since the services offered by notified bodies in a Member State might relate to products made available on the market throughout the Union, it is appropriate to give the other Member States and the Commission the opportunity to raise objections concerning a notified body. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to request that the notifying Member State take corrective action if a notified body does not meet, or no longer meets, the requirements of this Regulation.

(81) In the interests of facilitating and accelerating the conformity assessment procedure, and to ensure equal treatment of economic operators, it is crucial that the notified bodies apply the conformity assessment procedures consistently and without creating unnecessary burdens for economic operators.

(82) Prior to taking a final decision on whether a product can be granted a conformity certificate, the economic operator that wishes to place that product on the market should be allowed to supplement the relevant documentation once only. This limitation is necessary to ensure that notified bodies are not able to assist manufacturers in making changes until conformity is reached, as that would mean that the service provided resembles a consulting service and could in practice dilute the public interest nature of notified bodies’ tasks. Where appropriate, notified bodies should also be able to restrict, suspend or withdraw any certificates or approval decisions.

(83) To facilitate the identification and resolution of cases of non-conformity of notified bodies, manufacturers or products, notified bodies should proactively forward relevant information at their disposal to notifying authorities or market surveillance authorities.

(84) It is essential to ensure efficient exchange of information between notified bodies and market surveillance authorities, including from other Member States. To that end, it is necessary for notifying authorities and notified bodies to ensure follow-up to requests for information from market surveillance authorities.

(85) The Commission should enable appropriate coordination and cooperation between notified bodies. To ensure harmonised application of ecodesign requirements, notified bodies should discuss and coordinate on topics of possible divergence. In that process, they should take as general guidance any document produced by the administrative cooperation group made up of market surveillance authorities, as referred to in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

(86) In order to incentivise consumers to make sustainable choices, in particular when the more sustainable products are not affordable enough, mechanisms such as eco-vouchers and green taxation should be provided for. When Member States decide to make use of incentives to reward the best-performing products among those for which classes of performance have been set by delegated acts pursuant to this Regulation, they should do so by targeting those incentives at the highest two populated classes of performance, unless otherwise indicated by the relevant delegated act. However, Member States should not be able to prohibit the placing on the market of a product based on its class of performance. For the same reason, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by further specifying which product parameters or related levels of performance Member States’ incentives concern in case no class of performance is determined in the applicable delegated act or where classes of performance are established in relation to more than one product parameter. The introduction of Member State incentives should be without prejudice to the application of the Union State aid rules.

(87) Public procurement amounts to 14% of the Union’s GDP. To contribute to the objective of reaching climate neutrality, improving energy and resource efficiency and transitioning to a circular economy that protects public health and biodiversity, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to require , where appropriate, contracting authorities and entities as defined in Directive 2014/24/EU 78 and 2014/25/EU 79  of the European Parliament and of the Council, to align their procurement with specific green public procurement criteria or targets, to be set out in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Regulation. The criteria or targets set by delegated acts for specific product groups should be complied with not only when directly procuring those products in public supply contracts but also in public works or public services contracts where those products will be used for activities constituting the subject matter of those contracts. Compared to a voluntary approach, mandatory criteria or targets will ensure that the leverage of public spending to boost demand for better performing products is maximised. The criteria should be transparent, objective and non-discriminatory.

(88) Effective enforcement of ecodesign requirements is essential to ensure equal competition in the Union market and to ensure that this Regulation’s expected benefits and contribution to achieving the Union’s climate, energy and circularity objectives are achieved. Therefore, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 setting out a horizontal framework for market surveillance and control of products entering the Union market should apply to products for which ecodesign requirements are set pursuant to this Regulation, in so far as there are no specific provisions with the same objective, nature or effect in this Regulation. In addition, to lower the problematic levels of non-compliance of products covered by implementing measures adopted under Directive 2009/125/EC, to better prevent non-compliance with future ecodesign requirements, and taking account of the broader scope and increased ambition of this Regulation compared to Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should contain specific additional rules complemting the framework created by Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. Those specific additional rules should be aimed at further strengthening the planning, coordination and support of Member State efforts and should provide additional tools for the Commission to ensure sufficient action is taken by market surveillance authroties to prevent non-compliance with ecodesign requirements.

(89) Beyond market surveillance authorities, customs authorities also have an important role to play in enforcing this Regulation with regard to imported goods and can rely on Council Regulation (EC) No 515/97 80 for that purpose.

(90) To ensure that appropriate checks are performed on an adequate scale in relation to ecodesign requirements, Member States should draw up a dedicated action plan identifying the products or requirements identified as priorities for market surveillance under this Regulation and the activities planned to reduce non-compliance of relevant products or with relevant ecodesign requirements. Where relevant, this action plan should be part of Member States’ national market surveillance strategies adopted pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. 

(91) Priorities for market surveillance under this Regulation should be identified based on objective criteria such as the levels of non-compliance observed or the environmental impacts resulting from non-compliance. The activities planned to address those priorities should in turn be proportionate to the facts leading to their prioritisation. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to determine products and requirements that Member States should consider as priorities for market surveillance in the context of their action plans identifying priorities for market surveillance under this Regulation and activities planned to reduce non-compliance.  

(92) Where problematic levels of non-compliance with ecodesign requirements are observed despite the enhanced planning, coordination and support laid down by this Regulation, the Commission should be able to intervene to ensure that market surveillance authorities perform checks on an adequate scale. Therefore, in order to safeguard the effective enforcement of ecodesign requirements, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission to lay down a minimum number of checks to be performed on specific products or requirements. This empowerment should be additional to the empowerment in Article 11(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

(93) Based on data entered into the information and communication system for market surveillance, the Commission should draw up a report containing information on the nature and number of checks performed, on the levels of non-compliance identified and on the nature and severity of penalties imposed in relation to ecodesign requirements over the two previous calendar years. The reports should contain a comparison of Member States’ activities with the activities planned and indicative benchmarks for market surveillance authorities. 

(94) To further strengthen coordination of market surveillance authorities, the administrative cooperation group (‘ADCO’) set up pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 should, for the purposes of identifying the products or requirements identified as priorities for market surveillance under this Regulation and the activities planned to reduce non-compliance is Regulation, meet at regular intervals and identify common priorities for market surveillance to be taken into account in Member States’ action plans, priorities for the provision of Union support, and ecodesign requirements that are interpreted differently leading to market distortion.

(95) To support Member States in their efforts to ensure sufficient action is taken to prevent non-compliance with ecodesign requirements, the Commission should, where relevant, make use of the support measures provided for in Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. The Commission should organise and, where appropriate finance, joint market surveillance and testing projects in areas of common interest, joint investments in market surveillance capacities and common trainings for the staff of market surveillance authorities, notifying authorities and notified bodies. In addition, the Commission should draw up guidelines on how to apply and enforce ecodesign requirements where necessary to ensure their harmonised application.

(96) Products should be placed on the market only if they do not present a risk. In order to better align with the specific nature of ecodesign requirements and to ensure that the focus of market surveillance efforts is on non-compliance with such requirements, a product presenting a risk should, for the purposes of this Regulation, be defined as a product that, by not complying with an ecodesign requirement or because a responsible economic operator does not comply with an ecodesign requirement, may adversely affect the environment or other public interests protected by the relevant requirements. This more specific definition should be used when applying Articles 19 and 20 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

(97) A procedure should exist under which interested parties are informed of measures intended to be taken with regard to products presenting a risk. It should also allow market surveillance authorities in the Member States, in cooperation with the relevant economic operators, to act at an early stage with regard to such products. To that end, the safeguard clause currently included in Directive 2009/125/EC should be updated and aligned with the safeguard procedures included in other Union harmonisation legislation and in Decision No 768/2008/EC. In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to determine whether national measures in respect of non-compliant products are justified or not.

(98) The market surveillance authorities should have the right to require economic operators to take corrective action on the basis of findings that either a product is not compliant with ecodesign requirements or that the economic operator has infringed the rules on the placing or making available on the market of products or other rules addressed to it.

(99) When adopting delegated acts pursuant to Article 290 TFEU, it is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making 81 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(100)In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards: (a) specifying implementation arrangements for the interconnection of the registry referred to in Article 12 and the EU Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange; (b) establishing common requirements for the layout of labels; (c) containing a list of self-regulation measures established as valid alternatives to a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4; (d) setting out format for the disclosure of the information on unsold consumer products that have been discarded; (e) laying down, amending or repealing common specifications for ecodesign requirements, the essential requirements for product passports or for test, measurement or calculation methods; (f) laying down a minimum number of full-time equivalents considered sufficient for the proper monitoring of notified bodies; (g) requiring a Member State to take corrective action, including withdrawal of the notification, for non-compliant notified bodies; (h) listing the products or requirements that Member States must at least consider as priorities for market surveillance; and (i) deciding, pursuant to the Union safeguard procedure, whether a national measure is justified or not. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council 82

(101)To enhance trust in products placed on the market, in particular as regards the fact that they comply with ecodesign requirements, the public needs to be sure that economic operators placing non-compliant products on the market will be subject to penalties. It is therefore necessary that Member States lay down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties in national law for failure to comply with this Regulation.

(102)The Commission should carry out an evaluation of this Regulation. Pursuant to paragraph 22 of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, that evaluation should be based on the five criteria of efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and EU value added and should provide the basis for impact assessments of possible further measures. The Commission should submit to the European Parliament, to the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and to the Committee of the Regions a report on the implementation of this Regulation and its impact on the environmental sustainability of products and the functioning of the internal market. Where appropriate, the report should be accompanied by a proposal to amend relevant provisions of this Regulation.

(103)It is necessary that ecodesign requirements apply to the widest possible range of products, and not only energy-related products, and that the definition of ecodesign requirements is widened to encompass all aspects of circularity. It is also necessary to align this Regulation to the New Legislative Framework set out in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and Decision No 768/2008/EC, and to improve the provisions related to market surveillance. Directive 2009/125/EC should therefore be replaced. In order to ensure legal certainty for all economic operators from the date of entry into force of this Regulation and to guarantee a level playing-field for businesses operating on the internal market, the provisions setting out transparency obligations related to the discarding of unsold consumer products, circumvention, and market surveillance, should be of uniform application for all operators across the Union. Directive 2009/125/EC should therefore be replaced by a Regulation.

(104)In order to ensure legal certainty and continuity for products placed on the market or put into service in conformity with implementing measures adopted pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC, in its version applicable on the date of application of this Regulation, those measures should remain in force beyond that date, and until repealed by a delegated act adopted pursuant to this Regulation. For the same reasons, a number of provisions of Directive 2009/125/EC should continue to have full effect in the context of applying these implementing measures. This concerns in particular provisions of Directive 2009/125/EC excluding means of transport for goods or persons from its scope, establishing definitions relevant for implementing measures, setting economic operators’ responsibilities in relation to products placed on the market, specifying the details of the relevant conformity assessment procedures and the EC declaration of conformity, establishing a presumption of conformity for products which have been awarded the EU ecolabel and enabling necessary action in relation to harmonised standards. Noting the importance of ensuring free movement of goods, banning practices illegally altering products’ performance in order to reach a more favourable result and ensuring proper enforcement of ecodesign requirements, relevant provisions of this Regulation should be applicable to energy-related products placed on the market pursuant to implementing measures under Directive 2009/125/EC.

(105)Since the objectives of this Regulation, namely to improve environmental sustainability of products and to ensure the free movement in the internal market of products for which ecodesign requirements are set, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, only be achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.