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
Date: 2006-03-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, United States, agreement (EU), computer, electrical equipment, energy consumption, energy saving, labelling, office equipment

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 

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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 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 172, 26.06.2001, p. 3. 
OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 47. 
OJ L 332, 15.12.2001, p. 1. 

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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 

4 

OJ L 67, 12.3.2003, p. 22. 

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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. 

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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. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

98.20% 

100% 

96% 

100% 

100% 

96% 

99.50% 

99.50% 

60% 

60% 

(Status: June 2005) 

Data 3. 

96.30% 

100% 

0 

Data 4. 

127288 

/100% 

5488253/100% 

881764/ 

/80% 

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 

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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. 

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•  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. 

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•  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 
significant 
technical 
improvements of the energy consumption of the office equipment sector. 

specifications,  defining  demanding 

requirements 

trigger 

•  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. 

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