**Important legal notice**

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# 52006DC0140

**Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of the Energy Star programme in the European Community in the period 2001-2005  /* COM/2006/0140 final */****

[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 27.3.2006

COM(2006) 140 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

on the implementation of the ENERGY STAR programme in the European Community in the period 2001 – 2005

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

on the implementation of the ENERGY STAR programme in the European Community in the period 2001 – 2005

1. INTRODUCTION

OFFICE EQUIPMENT – I.E. COMPUTERS, PRINTERS, COPIERS ETC. – IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A LARGE SHARE OF ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN THE TERTIARY AND RESIDENTIAL SECTORS WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION. THIS SHARE IS INCREASING DUE TO THE RAPID PENETRATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN GENERAL AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT IN PARTICULAR IN ALL SECTORS OF THE SOCIETY AND THE CONTINUOUS INCREASE IN PERFORMANCE of such equipment.

As office equipment is traded world-wide, in December 2000 an “Agreement between the United States of America and the European Community on the coordination of energy-efficient labeling programs for office equipment”[1] was signed. The aim was to co-ordinate labelling programmes for energy efficient office equipment in two of the major global markets for such products. The ENERGY STAR programme owned by the US EPA is also implemented in other main trading partners worldwide. The Agreement is intended to stimulate international trade of office equipment by facilitating the procedures the office equipment market actors to participate in the ENERGY STAR programme. The Agreement will expire in June 2006.

On the grounds of the Agreement the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the European Commission jointly manage the ENERGY STAR programme for office equipment. The programme has been implemented in the EU by “Council Decision of 8 April 2003 concerning the conclusion on behalf of the Community of the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the European Community on the coordination of energy-efficient labelling programmes for office equipment (2003/269/EC)”[2], and by “Regulation (EC) No 2422/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on a Community energy efficient labelling programme for office equipment”[3].

The ENERGY STAR programme establishes a framework for fostering energy efficiency of office equipment by coordination of labelling schemes for those products in the USA and in the EU. The programme offers the possibility to manufacturers of office equipment to register on a voluntary basis those products which comply with certain energy efficiency requirements defined in the framework of the programme, and to make use of the ENERGY STAR label and/or logo for marketing purposes. Furthermore, tools for the promotion of energy efficient office equipment, for the improvement of market transparency and for enhancing the awareness of users for energy efficiency are created and implemented. The ultimate goal is to encourage and support procurers and consumers to purchase energy efficient devices and to use the equipment efficiently.

The Commission was entrusted to implement the programme as management entity with the support of a consultative body, the EC Energy Star Board (ECESB; “Commission Decision of 11 March 2003 establishing the European Community Energy Star Board”[4]). In cooperation with the ECESB, the Commission has carried out activities for renewing the technical specifications for ENERGY STAR qualifying products, registered and promoted qualified products and provided information for the public on the efficient use of office equipment. In the following report an overview of these activities is presented:

-  the current state of play of the efforts to renew the technical specifications is presented in section 2;

-  an overview of activities promoting the ENERGY STAR programme is provided in section 3;

-  a summary of the results of the discussions of the ECESB and the experiences gained during the implementation of the ENERGY STAR programme in the EU during the years 2001 – 2005 is presented in section 4;

-  the conclusions of the Commission for a possible renewal of the Agreement following the consultations with the ECESB and with the US EPA are presented in section 5.

2. CURRENT STATE OF PLAY OF REVISION OF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

The ENERGY STAR programme aims at optimising the energy consumption of office equipment. To achieve this goal the technical specifications for ENERGY STAR qualified products should be of a dynamic nature, so that they follow both the fast technological evolution and the market transformation triggered by the ENERGY STAR programme itself.

The technical specifications as contained in the Agreement have been focusing on requirements on sleep mode, i.e. a mode with reduced power consumption in which the “enabled” equipment will fall after a certain period of inactivity. Such requirements, although still necessary, only address one part of the energy consumption of office equipment. The energy consumption in on mode (active mode) is becoming increasingly important due to the more powerful equipment that has been brought into the market. In addition increased use of e.g. internet or communication applications may imply that the equipment remains in on mode for longer periods. These aspects result an increased importance of on-mode status in the overall power consumption.

In order to adapt the obsolete technical specifcations contained in the Agreement to the recent technological developments and changing usage patterns, the Commission, with the assistance of some Member States and stakeholders, has contributed actively to the revision of the technical specification for computer monitors, computers and imaging equipment. To this end several meetings of the ECESB and its subgroup of technical experts have been organized. The results have been acknowledged and used by the managing entities. The Commission believes that the input of European experts is important for developing consistent and demanding techical specifications.

Computer monitors

The revision of the technical specifications for computer monitors has been completed in 2004. The European programme partners have contributed constructively to the revision process. The technical specifications for computer monitors contain – in contrast to the technical specification previously in force – provisions for the energy consumption in on-mode and do not allow for grandfathering. The tier 1 requirements are in force since 1 January 2005. Even more stringent tier 2 requirements are applicable as from 1 January 2006.

Computers

The process for revising the technical specification for computers is under way. During the meetings of the technical subgroup of the ECESB on February 15th and May 26th, 2005, EC experts and stakeholders have discussed the way forward for renewing the technical specifications for computers. EC experts have supported the EPA in setting up a framework document defining the scope of the revised technical specifications. The next step is to define energy consumption levels. Currently data is being collected and analysed, in particular regarding the definition of energy consumption levels in the various modes. It is foreseen to finalize the revision of the technical specification in the second quarter 2006. The first tier of the revised technical specifications for computers is scheduled to be operational as of 1 January 2007.

Imaging equipment

The revision of the technical specification for imaging equipment (copiers, printers, multifunction devices etc.) is progressing. The technical subgroup of the ECESB met on February 15th and May 26th, 2005. The EC experts have assisted EPA in setting up the “operational mode” (OM) and “typical energy consumption” (TEC) test procedures which will be used for establishing the energy consumption of a particular device. The test conditions have been worked out. Currently data is being collected and analysed in order to define the criteria for energy consumption by applying the new test conditions. It is foreseen to finalize the revision of the technical specification in the second quarter 2006. The revised technical specifications for imaging equipment are scheduled to be operational as of 1 January 2007.

3. PROMOTION AND REGISTRATION OF PRODUCTS

The Commission has created the internet portal www.eu-energystar.org which is online since autumn 2003. The site facilitates access to relevant information tailored for the relevant actors, including e.g. programme participation guidelines for manufacturers, a searchable interface for the database of ENERGY STAR registered products available on the EC market (see below), information on new developments concerning the ENERGY STAR programme, advise on proper configuration and use of power management, test-cases on profitable energy savings, an energy savings calculator tool, technical information on specific behaviour and operation of power management in different operating systems etc.

The portal is also the main instrument for public access ensuring transparency on the activities carried out in the framework of the Programme, including information on the ECESB’s activities, revised technical specifications and regular updates of the annual working plan.

The portal will be maintained and further developed. Some parts of the portal are available in 11 Community languages, collecting approx. 10.000 hits and 600 visitors per day (statistics second quarter 2005).

With a view to the requirements on reporting on the market penetration of products bearing the ENERGY STAR logo, EICTA has provided data of five companies on

Data 1. the percentage of registered models as a proportion of the number of models on the market including the U.S.A.,

Data 2. the percentage of all registered models on the EU market as a proportion of the number of models on the EU market,

Data 3. percentage of models registered by the EU as a proportion of the number of all registered models,

Data 4. unit shipment (total number of qualified equipment)/percentage of total unit shipments that qualify:

Company | Data 1. | Data 2. | Data 3. | Data 4. |

1 | 98.20% | 100% | 96.30% | 127288 |

2 | 100% | 100% | 100% | /100% |

3 | 96% | 96% | 0 | 5488253/100% |

4 | 99.50% | 99.50% | 881764/ |

5 | 60% | 60% | /80% |

(Status: June 2005)

From the data available it may be concluded that the ENERGY STAR technical specifications to date are being fulfilled by almost all the models of those companies having submitted data. This underlines the need for rapid renewal of the technical specifications. On the other hand, it may be expected that after a certain period demanding renewed technical specifications will be fulfilled by a large fraction of the market. This is mainly due to the fact that the ENERGY STAR technical specifications are used as requirement for public procurement in the U.S.A. Therefore the definition of demanding technical specifications may be expected to result in substantial energy savings.

ENERGY STAR database

The Commission has continuously registered qualified products sold on the European (EEA) market. This is part of the responsibility of the Commission as “management entity” for the EC, which it accepted to extend to the EEA after agreement with the EFTA countries and the US EPA. Users may access the database of registered products and manufacturers via the website. In addition to the EC registered products, products having been registered by EPA on sale on the EC market are included in the database as well. To this end, data concerning EPA-registered models is being transferred, checked and – if the models are on sale in the EC – published on the EC website. The database of the EC ENERGY STAR website and the list of registered companies and products are updated accordingly on a permanent basis.

Currently approx. 10.000 models are contained. The database has been recognised by the ECESB as being a valuable tool to foster market transparency. Since the data is public domain, Member States may use the ENERGY STAR data base as a basis for tools allowing to identify particularly energy efficient products.

4. LESSONS LEARNED DURING THE PERIOD 2001 TO 2005

As required, the Commission created the EC Energy Star Board (ECESB) to regularly consult the representatives of the Member States and stakeholders such as office equipment manufacturers and associations, experts on market transformation (energy agencies from Member States), environmental NGOs (e.g. the WWF) and consumer organisations (ANEC). The ECESB also actively contributed to the revision of the technical specifications (see above). The Commission organised a dedicated workshop attended by all major stakeholders worldwide where the general baseline of the ENERGY STAR Programme for office equipment was discussed (Frankfurt am Main, April 2004). The main conclusions are the following.

-  There is support of the Stakeholders for a new Energy Star Agreement with the U.S.A. with the request that the programme is implemented more effectively in the EU. In particular, the procedure for updating the technical specifications should be shortened. This is needed in order to cope with the highly innovating character and fast product development cycles of office equipment.

-  Improved coordination between US EPA and EC Commission when carrying out consultation of stakeholders on the revision of new specifications would be required. Reinforcement of the human resources for steering the revision process is needed.

-  The effectiveness and the credibility of the programme largely depend on the level of ambition of the technical specifications for ENERGY STAR qualifying products. Therefore stakeholders consider that in principle the technical specifications should be set such that at the time of criteria definition approximately only 25% of the models available on the market would qualify for being awarded the label.

-  The Commission has been looking into ways of simplifying/shortening the process for getting revised technical specifications worked out and agreed. For fundamental reasons, the translation in the Community languages and publication in the Official Journal of the technical specifications need to be maintained. The main simplification suggested is that the "133" special committee of the Council would not need to be consulted on updating technical specifications, considering that Member State delegations are already consulted throughout the ECESB and in practise the “133” special committee merely endorses the views of their representatives in the Energy Star Board. On the other hand, it is suggested that several reporting duties included in the current Regulation which are considered disproportionately heavy compared with the purpose of this voluntary scheme could be repealed.

-  In view of reassuring the Member States that revised technical specifications are demanding, a provision in a possible new agreement would be included which imposes on both management entities (Commission and EPA) that technical specifications would have to be defined such that at the time of setting the criteria only about 25% of the products on the market could meet the criteria. By including such a provision, the Council would provide a clear mandate to the Commission for revising technical specifications, which would further justify lifting the need for consulting the “133” special committee.

-  It is proposed not to require Member States to promote ENERGY STAR labelled equipment. This is due to the fact that the ENERGY STAR label is a tool for the manufacturers to promote labelled equipment. Therefore activities promoting the label should be carried out and paid for by the manufacturers.

-  The ENERGY STAR public database could help consumers and public authorities defining the best levels of energy efficiency performance for the functional performance sought for, in particular for the purpose of public procurement.

5. CONCLUSION: SUGGESTION FOR RENEWAL OF THE AGREEMENT

The agreement presently in force expires in June 2006. The rationale for concluding an Agreement with the USA back in the late nineties is even stronger to date. Taking into account the experiences gained during the first period of implementation of the ENERGY STAR programme in the EU, it is suggested to continue participation of the EC in the ENERGY STAR programme for a second period of five years on the following grounds:

-  Efficient use of energy is one of the main pillars for a sustainable energy supply in the Community. The Commission’s Green Paper on energy efficiency identifies the following major benefits of efficient use of energy: securing the competitiveness of European industry benefiting from reduced spending on energy, environmental protection due to a reduction of the carbon dioxide emissions caused by energy use, security of energy supply due to reduction of energy demand and hence reduction of dependency on energy imports.

-  Energy consumption of office equipment has an important share of the electricity consumption in the EC. It may increase e.g. due to enhanced functionality and performance (e.g. processing speed of a computer) and due to increasing stock in private and business use. Therefore the energy performance of office equipment has to be further optimized.

-  The EC ENERGY STAR programme provides a framework for coordinating the Member States and Community efforts to improve the energy efficiency of office equipment. A coordinated approach is necessary in order to minimise the adverse impact on industry and trade since national un-coordinated requirements would impose additional costs for manufacturers, trade and consequently purchasers and users of office equipment.

-  Since office equipment is traded worldwide measures to optimize its energy efficiency should be implemented together with globally acting partners and decision makers. The ENERGY STAR programme provides a framework for the coordination of the actions aiming at the improvement of the energy efficiency of office equipment with the U.S.A., Japan, Korea and other key markets.

-  The ENERGY STAR Programme is widely accepted by manufacturers. Furthermore, in the U.S.A. it is important for public procurement since the technical specifications have to be respected by public procurement activities enhancing the impact of the programme significantly. If public authorities in the Community would be required to procure equipment being at least as energy efficient as set in the technical specifications of the ENERGY STAR Programme, this would further boost the market towards more efficient equipment. This would ideally have the effect that the ENERGY STAR technical specifications would - after a certain period - be fufilled by a large share of the equipment available on the market. Therefore significant energy savings may be achieved provided that technical specifications are demanding (e.g. covering 25% of the models as suggested in the new draft Agreement) at the time of criteria definition.

-  The Commission believes that the input of EC experts is important and contributes to developing consistent and demanding technical specifications. Since it is likely that a large fraction of the market will comply after a certain period of time with the ENERGY STAR technical specifications, defining demanding requirements trigger significant improvements of the energy consumption of the office equipment sector.

-  Although it is not possible to quantify to what extent, the Commission services consider that the ENERGY STAR Programme for office equipment has contributed to an improvement of the energy efficiency of office equipment. On the other hand, significant potentials to improve the energy performance of office equipment in a cost-effective manner still exist.

-  Rapid innovation speed and product development cycles require highly flexible instruments such as e.g. voluntary labelling schemes which may more swiftly be adapted to market developments in order to improve the energy efficiency of office equipment. The ENERGY STAR Programme is considered to be the most adequate policy instrument for the Community to capture the potential energy savings when compared to compulsory energy labelling under the framework of the 92/75/EC Directive. It is also complementary to the 2005/32/EC Directive for setting eco-design requirements.

-  The Energy Star Programme - in particular its database managed by the Commission and by the EPA - may be used as a basis for activities of national, regional and local authorities to promote particularly energy efficient office equipment. The Programme enhances the market transparency in the office equipment sector, particularly regarding the energy performance of office equipment. This is a prerequisite for activities aiming at motivating both consumers and tertiary and public procurement authorities to include the energy efficiency and the total cost of ownership including the expenses for the electricity consumption in the purchasing decision.

During its meeting on 2 December 2005, the parties within the ECESB supported this assessment and endorsed the principle of concluding a new agreement with the USA with the adjustments learned from the first period.

[1] OJ L 172, 26.06.2001, p. 3.

[2] OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 47.

[3] OJ L 332, 15.12.2001, p. 1.

[4] OJ L 67, 12.3.2003, p. 22.