Ecology, Economics, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Modern EU

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The EU Ecolabel promotes Europe's transition to a circular economy, supporting both sustainable production and consumption.

Thanks to transparent ecological criteria, consumers can make conscious choices, without compromising on the quality of the products.

“The EU Ecolabel rewards those manufacturers who choose to design products that are durable and repairable, promoting innovation and saving resources", commented Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella.

EU Action Plan for circular economy

Commission’s “Circular Economy Package” adopted in December 2015 gave a clear signal to national economic planning process to use all available tools to transform economy development on a new “circular mode”.

The broad measures for changing the full product lifecycle go beyond a narrow focus on the end-of-life stage and underline the Commission's clear ambition to transform the EU economy and deliver results. Innovative and more efficient ways of producing and consuming should increasingly emerge as a result of the incentives we are putting in place. The circular economy has the potential to create many jobs in Europe, while preserving precious and increasingly scarce resources, reducing environmental impacts of resource use and injecting new value into waste products.

Besides, sectoral measures have been set out, together with quality standards for secondary raw materials.

Key actions in the action plan included:

· Funding of over €650 mln under Horizon 2020 and €5.5 bln under the structural funds;

· Actions to reduce food waste including a common measurement methodology, improved date marking, and tools to meet the global Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030;

· Development of quality standards for secondary raw materials to increase the confidence of operators in the single market;

· Measures in the Ecodesign working plan for 2015-17 to promote reparability, durability and recyclability of products, in addition to energy efficiency;

·A revised Regulation on fertilisers, to facilitate the recognition of organic and waste-based fertilisers in the single market and support the role of bio-nutrients;

· A strategy on plastics in the circular economy, addressing issues of recyclability, biodegradability, the presence of hazardous substances in plastics, and the Sustainable Development Goals target for significantly reducing marine litter;

· A series of actions on water reuse including a legislative proposal on minimum requirements for the reuse of wastewater.

The Communication’s action plan included a clear timeline for the actions proposed and a plan for a simple and effective monitoring framework for the circular economy.

Source: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-6203_en.htm

Ecolabel requirements

To be eligible for the EU Ecolabel, computer manufacturers will need to consider energy efficiency and device upgradability during the design and manufacturing process, along with taking into account how easy it is to dismantle, recover and recycle resources from the devices. For example, in the case of furniture, the new criteria require manufacturers to conduct a more comprehensive life cycle assessment, while paying special attention to the hazardous compounds and residues, which could contribute to indoor air pollution.

Following the provisions of recognised international labour standards, special attention was given to improving Corporate Social Responsibility with regard to labour conditions which will apply to the final footwear assembly site.

The criteria revision is valid for six years following its date of adoption.

Reference: Commission’s press release “Circular economy: Commission expands Ecolabel criteria to computers, furniture and footwear”, in:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-16-2825_en.htm

More information on the issue is on DG ENV website.