# EUR-Lex - 52013DC0023 - EN

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# 52013DC0023

**REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the voluntary ecodesign scheme for imaging equipment /* COM/2013/023 final */**

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on the voluntary ecodesign scheme for
imaging equipment

(Text with EEA relevance)

1.           Introduction and the legal
framework

Directive 2009/125/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for
the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products (the
Ecodesign Directive)[1]
provides a legal framework for laying down ecodesign requirements for selected
priority product groups.

According to Article 15(2)(a) to (c) of the
Ecodesign Directive, a priority product group has to be covered by either a
mandatory implementing measure (i.e. a Commission Regulation) or a
self-regulation measure (e.g. a voluntary agreement concluded by industry), if
it meets three conditions: (i) it represents significant sales volumes, (ii) it
has a significant environmental impact and (iii) it has a significant
improvement potential.

Furthermore, recital 18 of the Ecodesign
Directive states that the priority product groups should be subject to
alternative courses of action such as industry self-regulation or voluntary
agreements rather than mandatory implementing measures, if such action is
likely to deliver the policy objectives faster or in a less costly manner than
mandatory requirements.

Voluntary agreements or other
self-regulation measures can be considered as alternatives to implementing
measures in the context of the Ecodesign Directive, provided that they comply
with the criteria laid down in Annex VIII to the Ecodesign Directive.

2.           Voluntary scheme proposed
by the industry for imaging equipment

Article 16(2)(a) of the Ecodesign Directive
provides for the Commission to introduce implementing measures for office
equipment and consumer electronics product groups offering a high potential for
the cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Commission commissioned preparatory
studies for office equipment and consumer electronic product groups, including imaging
equipment.

The preparatory study on imaging equipment[2] confirmed that this product
group meets the criteria listed in Article 15 of the Ecodesign Directive. In
particular, it represents significant sales volumes, has a significant
environmental impact and has a significant improvement potential. Consequently,
imaging equipment should be covered by an implementing measure or by a self-regulation
measure.

Companies active on the imaging equipment
market have proposed a voluntary scheme for the imaging equipment product group
in the EU and, to this end, concluded a voluntary agreement laying down
specific ecodesign requirements for imaging equipment placed on the EU market.
The voluntary scheme was agreed on 16 February 2011.

It is estimated that the commitments
undertaken by the signatories to the voluntary agreement will generate savings in
2020 of 15 TWh, corresponding to 4.1 Mt CO2 emissions and between
2011 and 2020 of 130 TWh, corresponding to 36 Mt CO2 emissions.

The voluntary scheme proposed by the
industry was subject to a full impact assessment by the Commission[3] and stakeholder consultations
in the course of the Ecodesign Consultation Forum[4] established under Article 18 of
the Ecodesign Directive.

The impact assessment concluded that the
proposed voluntary scheme would achieve the policy objectives more quickly and
at lesser expense than mandatory requirements. It also concluded that, as
required by Annex VIII to the Ecodesign Directive, the proposed scheme complied
with all provisions of the Treaty (in particular internal market and competition
rules), international engagements of the EU (including multilateral trade
rules), the objectives of the Ecodesign Directive, and the specific assessment
criteria, i.e. (i) openness of participation, (ii) added value, (iii)
representativeness, (iv) quantified and staged objectives, (v) involvement of
civil society, (vi) monitoring and reporting, (vii) cost effectiveness of
administering a self-regulatory initiative, (viii) sustainability, and (ix)
incentive compatibility.

3.           Elements of the voluntary
agreement

The voluntary agreement concluded by the
industry lays down specific ecodesign requirements for imaging equipment placed
on the EU market. The products covered by the agreement are also subject to the
ENERGY STAR voluntary energy labelling programme, which lays down energy
labelling requirements for different office equipment, including imaging
equipment. As required by the Ecodesign Directive, the signatories to this
voluntary scheme represent a large majority of the relevant economic sector. Under
the agreement , each signatory undertook that at least 90 % of all imaging
equipment models it places on the market would comply with the minimum
efficiency requirements in terms of TEC (typical energy consumption) and OM
(operational mode). Furthermore all printing products should offer the ‘N-up
printing’ capability[5]
as a standard feature and should comply with the requirements for cartridges
(e.g. the design should not prevent the reuse/recycling and use of cartridges
of other producers). All new products should also comply with the requirements for
recycling (e.g. easy disassembly and marking of plastics). Finally, the signatories
undertook to comply with the specific information requirements (e.g.
information on resource and energy efficiency).

In addition to laying down the ecodesign
requirements, the agreement establishes two administrative bodies:

·
the Steering Committee, consisting of
representatives of the signatories to the agreement and the European
Commission, which manages the agreement[6],
and

·
the Independent Inspector, who assesses the
compliance of individual signatories with the commitments set out in the
agreement and provides the Commission with the compliance reports[7].

The agreement also defines reporting
obligations, specifying that each signatory must provide required information
to the Independent Inspector, otherwise it will risk forfeiting its signatory
status.

Furthermore, the agreement provides for a
procedure allowing the Steering Committee to modify the provisions of the agreement,
in particular to adjust the stringency of requirements to the situation on the
market. Under this procedure, the requirements laid down in the voluntary
agreement will be revised three months after publication of a new version of
the ENERGY STAR programme requirements for imaging equipment. A flexible
approach in terms of defining the relevant parameters and establishing
applicable requirements is important in the case of imaging equipment, as its functions
evolve quickly.

To provide all stakeholders, particularly
potential signatories, with correct and updated information about the
requirements applying to imaging equipment in good time, the most recent
version of the voluntary agreement will always be published together with the
impact assessment and this Report on the Commission’s Europa website dedicated
to ecodesign policy[8]
and on the website dedicated to this scheme[9].

4.           Acceptance of the
voluntary scheme

As the voluntary scheme proposed by the
industry for imaging equipment will achieve policy objectives more quickly and
at lesser expense than mandatory requirements, and as it complies with all the criteria
specified in Annex VIII to the Ecodesign Directive, the Commission recognises
that imaging equipment placed on the EU market is subject to the voluntary
ecodesign scheme established by the industry for imaging equipment. The
conditions for the scheme are set out in the voluntary agreement concluded by
the industry.

The Commission considers this voluntary
scheme a valid alternative to an ecodesign implementing measure. Consequently,
the Commission will abstain from establishing mandatory ecodesign requirements
for imaging equipment placed on the EU market as long as the voluntary
agreement and any subsequent versions concluded under the proposed voluntary
scheme will, in the opinion of the Commission, meet their objectives and the
general principles defined in the Ecodesign Directive.

In particular, the voluntary scheme must continue
to comply, throughout the period of its application, with the general
principles defined in the Ecodesign Directive, including: contribution to the
policy objectives of the Ecodesign Directive; openness to participation by all
companies active on the imaging equipment market; coverage of a large majority
of the relevant economic sector[10];
clarity and unambiguity of its terms and conditions; transparency;
well-designed monitoring system; and no disproportionate administrative burden.
Furthermore, any specific ecodesign requirements for imaging equipment placed
on the EU market which are defined in the voluntary agreement and any
subsequent versions concluded under the voluntary scheme should deliver added
value in terms of the improved overall environmental performance of the
products covered.

Moreover, as requested by the Commission
and stakeholders[11],
the signatories to the voluntary scheme are required to:

·
continuously assess progress in the application
of the scheme,

·
cooperate with the Commission services, Member
States and stakeholders to continuously improve the environmental performance
of imaging equipment, in particular by continuously reducing the energy
consumption targets defined in the voluntary agreement, and to include other
relevant environmental aspects where appropriate,

·
cooperate with the Commission services, Member States and stakeholders to improve the reporting mechanism and the monitoring and
auditing rules ,

·
provide, by the deadlines stipulated in the
voluntary agreement, relevant data to allow the Commission and stakeholders to
monitor achievement of the objectives of the agreement, whereby each signatory
commits to providing information on all the imaging equipment models it has placed
on the EU market and information about the energy consumption and other
environmental characteristics addressed by the voluntary agreement (e.g. ease
of recycling and information requirements) for each imaging equipment model subject to the voluntary agreement,
and

·
make efforts to ensure the active involvement of
potential signatories in the scheme.

5.           Monitoring of the voluntary
scheme

As required by point 6 of Annex VIII to the
Ecodesign Directive, the Commission, assisted by the Ecodesign Consultation
Forum and the Committee referred to in Article 19(1) of the Ecodesign Directive,
will monitor the application of the voluntary scheme, in particular its
compliance with the general principles, as well as the appropriateness of the
ecodesign requirements specified in the voluntary agreement and any subsequent
versions.

The Commission will give special attention
to the reporting obligations and monitoring rules set out in the Ecodesign
Directive, in existing Commission guidelines and in the agreement itself. In
particular, the Commission will check whether the provisions of the agreement
and their application by the signatories allow the Commission and stakeholders
(including the national authorities) to effectively monitor the effectiveness
of the agreement and how well it meets its objectives.

If the Commission concludes that the
objectives and general principles of the Ecodesign Directive, as reflected in
the voluntary scheme, will not be met and/or the signatories to the voluntary
scheme will not continuously reduce over time the energy consumption targets,
improve requirements concerning non-energy related aspects as specified in the
voluntary agreement or include, where appropriate, new relevant environmental
aspects in subsequent versions, the Commission will adopt ecodesign
requirements for imaging equipment by means of a mandatory implementing
measure.

6.           Conclusions

The voluntary ecodesign scheme proposed by
the industry for imaging equipment complies with all provisions of the Treaty,
international engagements of the EU and specific assessment criteria, so is
considered valid under the Ecodesign Directive.

Commission assessment has revealed that this
voluntary ecodesign scheme will achieve the policy objectives more quickly and
at lesser expense than mandatory requirements.

The Commission recognises that imaging
equipment placed on the EU market should be subject to the voluntary ecodesign
scheme. The conditions for the scheme are laid down in the voluntary agreement
concluded by the industry.

The Commission considers this voluntary
scheme to be a valid alternative to an ecodesign implementing measure, so will
abstain, for now, from establishing mandatory ecodesign requirements for imaging
equipment placed on the EU market.

The Commission will continuously monitor
the application of the voluntary scheme. Should this reveal that the objectives
and general principles of the Ecodesign Directive are not being met, the
Commission will establish ecodesign requirements for imaging equipment in a
mandatory implementing measure.

[1]               OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p. 10.

[2]               EuP Preparatory study ‘Lot 4 —
Imaging equipment, copiers, faxes, printers, scanners, MFD’, carried out by a
consortium of six companies, including Fraunhofer IZM, Öko-Institut, Bio
Intelligence Service, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, PE Europe, CODDE. Final reports were
published in December 2007 and May 2008. Documentation is available on the study
website http://www.ecoimaging.org/ .

[3]               The Impact Assessment Board gave its favourable
opinion on the impact assessment on 21 September 2012.

[4]               The voluntary scheme for imaging equipment has been discussed
twice by the Ecodesign Consultation Forum, i.e. at its meetings of 12 October
2009 and 9 October 2012.

[5]               Capability to print several pages of a document on
one sheet of paper, when the product is managed by original software provided
by a manufacturer.

[6]               Representatives of the EU Member States, EFTA/EEA
countries and NGOs have observer status.

[7]               Compliance reports are made available to and
discussed with stakeholders.

[8]               http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/labelling/agreements_en.htm.

[9]               www.eurovaprint.eu

[10]             At least 70% of the products placed on the market.

[11]             Meeting of the Ecodesign Consultation Forum on 9
October 2012