G/TBT/N/FRA/233  
31 October  2023 
(23-7333) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  French  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.  
 
1. Notifying Member : FRANCE  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible:  
Ministères économiques et financiers  (economic and finance ministries)  
Direction générale des entreprises/SCIDE/PNRP  (Directorate -General for 
Enterprise/SCIDE/PNRP)  
Bât. Sieyès -Teledoc 143  
61, Bd Vincent Auriol  
75703 PARIS Cedex 13  
d9834.france@finances.gouv.fr  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:  
Ministère de la transition écologique et de la cohésion des territoires  (Ministry for the 
Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion)  
Commissariat au développement durable  (Commission for Sustainable Development)  
Service de l'économie verte et solidaire  (Solidarity and Green Economy Service)  
Tour Séquoia  
92055 Paris -La Défense Cedex  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], 3.2 [ ], 7.2 [ ], 
other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading . ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable) : Electrical 
and electronic equipment subject to calculation and display of the sustainability index  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document : Décret en 
Conseil d'Etat relatif à l'indice de durabilité des équipements électriques et électroniques  
(Decree of the Council of State on the sustainability index of electrical and electronic  
equipment) ; (0 pages, in French)  
6. Description of content : The sustainability index consists of a score out of 10 intended 
to be displayed at the time of purchase to inform consumers of the longevity of electrical 
and electronic products . The purpose of  this index is to replace the French repairability 
index and take into account the criteria of product reliability and scalability.  
In particular, reliability includes criteria related to the robustness of products and their 
maintenance and upkeep . This Decree applies to all electrical and electronic equipment 
subject to calculation and display of the sustainability index.  
It establishes the new definitions applicable to the sustainability index (Article R. 541 -234 
of the Environment Code), the obligation  scheme applicable to the manufacturer or 
marketer in terms of calculating and transmitting the index (Article R. 541 -235), the G/TBT/N/FRA/233  
- 2 - 
  centralization of sustainability index data (Article R. 541 -236), the obligation scheme 
applicable to the distributor in terms o f displaying the index (Article R. 541 -237), the 
general framework for calculating the sustainability index (Article R. 541 -238) and, for 
the equipment concerned, the repeal of the texts relating to the repairability index.  
7. Objective and rationale, inc luding the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable : Directive (EU) 2018/851 on waste encourages Member States to take 
appropriate measures to prevent waste generation . In addition, one of the objectives of 
the European action plan for the circular econo my (COM (2020) 98) is to improve the 
durability and repairability of products . Under Law No. 2020-105 of 1 0 February 2 020 on 
combating waste and on the circular economy, and following the establishment of a 
European repairability index for smartphones and tablets, France would like to gradually 
replace all repairability indices with sustainability indices starting from 1 January 2 024. 
The first product categories affected are smartphones, televisions and household washing 
machines.  
As with the repairability index, the texts concerning the sustainability index provide not 
for the labelling of product units but for electronic labels displayed by vendors in -store or 
online.  
By taking into account the criteria of reliability and scalability, the sus tainability index 
aims to encourage consumers to make products last by opting for more robust products, 
caring for them better and repairing them when they break or stop working . Thus, the 
sustainability index complements the European repairability index i n terms of consumer 
information geared towards extending product life cycles . This is a major objective that 
seeks to reduce environmental impacts and preserve the planet's resources, since most 
of the environmental footprint of electrical and electronic p roducts is attributable to their 
manufacture.  
This measure also seeks to encourage manufacturers to integrate sustainability criteria 
from the outset of product design, thus tending towards products that are more 
environmentally friendly because they are " eco-designed".  
From an environmental standpoint, this measure will allow France to pursue its national 
objective of reducing the resource consumption linked to French consumption : to reduce 
resource consumption relative to GDP by 30% compared to 2010, by 2 030 (Law No. 2015-
992). More durable products will effectively lead to a reduction in resource consumption 
(reduction in the need for new products), a reduction in the quantity of waste electrical 
and electronic products and a lower environmental impact (s uch as greenhouse gas 
emissions) associated with their manufacture and end of life.  
Environmental protection  
8. Relevant documents:  
Law No. 2020-105 of 1 0 February 2 020 on combating waste and on the circular economy 
(Article 16)  
9. Proposed date of adoption : To be determined  
Proposed date of entry into force : 1 January 2 024 
10. Final date for comments : 60 days from the date of notification  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and websi te addresses, if available, of other body: