REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the voluntary ecodesign scheme for complex set-top boxes
Date: 2012-11-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU control, electronic device, energy saving, environmental impact, product design, self-regulation, technical standard

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 22.11.2012  
COM(2012) 684 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the voluntary ecodesign scheme for complex set-top boxes 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

{SWD(2012) 391 final} 
{SWD(2012) 392 final} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the voluntary ecodesign scheme for complex set-top boxes 

(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 shall 
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 CSTBS 

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

The Commission commissioned preparatory studies for consumer electronic product groups, 
including complex set-top boxes, i.e. pay TV receivers2. 

The preparatory study on complex set-top boxes (CSTBs)3 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 

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OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p. 10. 
Receivers of the following types of digital TV signals: cable, satellite, Internet Protocol, terrestrial. 
EuP Preparatory study ‘Lot 18 — Complex set-top boxes’, Bio Intelligence Service S.A.S, France, final 
report  of  December  2008.  Documentation  available  on 
the  DG  ENER  ecodesign  website 
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/studies/ecodesign_en.htm. 

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improvement  potential.  Consequently,  CSTBs  should  be  covered  by  an  implementing 
measure or by self-regulation. 

Companies  active  on  the  CSTB  market  have  proposed  a  voluntary  scheme  for  the  CSTB 
product  group  in  the  EU  and,  to  this  end,  concluded  a  voluntary  agreement  laying  down 
specific ecodesign requirements for CSTBs placed and/or put into service on the EU market. 
The voluntary scheme has been in force since 1 July 2010. 

Under this scheme, each signatory to the agreement undertakes to ensure that at least 90 % of 
all  CSTB  models  it  places  on  the  market  and/or  puts  into  service  comply  with  the  energy 
consumption  targets  agreed  for  the  relevant  period  of  time  as  defined  in  the  voluntary 
agreement. The environmental aspect of CSTBs that was identified as significant for setting 
ecodesign requirements for CSTBs in the voluntary agreement was electricity consumption in 
the  use  phase.  Commitments  undertaken  by  the  signatories  to  the  voluntary  agreement  will 
reduce  electricity  consumption  (between  2011  and  2020)  to  115  TWh  with  savings  of  44 
TWh, corresponding to 21 Mt CO2 emissions. 

The voluntary scheme proposed by the industry was subject to a full impact assessment by the 
Commission4  and  stakeholder  consultations  in  the  course  of  the  Ecodesign  Consultation 
Forum5 established under Article 18 of the Ecodesign Directive. Furthermore, in March 2012 
the  industry  provided  the  Commission  with  the  updated  information  about  the  market 
coverage  of  the  scheme6  that  was  required  to  finalise  assessment  of  the  scheme  by  the 
Commission. 

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 CSTBs placed and/or put into service on the market. Each signatory to the 
agreement undertook that at least 90 % of its CSTBs placed on the EU market (regardless of 
their origin) would comply with the minimum efficiency requirements in terms of TEC (total 
energy consumption). 

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

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The  Impact  Assessment  Board  gave  its  favourable  opinion  on  the  impact  assessment  on  1  December 
2010. 
Ecodesign Consultation Forum meeting on 12 October 2009. 
According to the results of a study on market penetration in January 2012, the EU market would ship a 
total  of  23.5  million  CSTBs  in  2012,  of  which  18.2  million  would  be  by  signatories  to  the  voluntary 
agreement and of which 19.6 million by signatories and potential signatories. 

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• 

• 

the  Steering  Committee,  consisting  of  representatives  of  the  signatories  to  the 
agreement and the European Commission, which manages the agreement7, 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 reports8. 

The agreement also defines: 

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• 

reporting  obligations,  specifying  that  each  signatory  must  provide  required 
information to the Independent Inspector and that failing company will risk forfeiting 
its signatory status, and 

monitoring rules, specifying that the effectiveness of the agreement will be regularly 
assessed  by  the  Commission  and  the  Ecodesign  Consultation  Forum  (consisting  of 
representatives of the Member States, the industry and NGOs). 

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.  A  flexible  approach  in  terms  of  defining  the  relevant 
parameters  and  establishing  applicable  requirements  is  particularly  important  in  the  case  of 
CSTBs, as their functions evolve quickly. 

To  provide  all  stakeholders,  particularly  potential  signatories,  with  correct  and  updated 
information about the requirements applying to CSTBs 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 policy9. 

The  voluntary  agreement  will  be  complemented  by  other  existing  initiatives,  mainly  the 
European Code of Conduct for Digital TV Services developed by the Joint Research Centre of 
the  European  Commission10,  which  seeks  innovative  technology  solutions  and  sets 
aspirational efficiency standards for CSTBs. 

4. 

ACCEPTANCE OF THE VOLUNTARY SCHEME 

As the voluntary scheme proposed by the industry for CSTBs 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  CSTBs  placed  and/or  put  into  service  on  the  EU  market  are  subject  to  the  voluntary 
ecodesign scheme established by the industry for CSTBs. 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  CSTBs  placed  on  the  EU  market  as  long  as  the 
voluntary  agreement  and  any  subsequent  versions  concluded  under  the  proposed  voluntary 

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Representatives of the EU Member States, EFTA/EEA countries and NGOs have observer status. 
Compliance reports are made available to and discussed with stakeholders. 
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/labelling/agreements_en.htm. 
http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/energyefficiency/html/standby_initiative_main.htm. 

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scheme  will,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  meet  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  CSTB  market;  coverage  of  a  large  majority  of  the  relevant 
economic  sector11;  clarity  and  unambiguity  of  its  terms  and  conditions;  transparency;  well-
designed monitoring system; and no disproportionate administrative burden. Furthermore, any 
specific ecodesign requirements for CSTBs placed and/or put into service 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, the signatories to the voluntary scheme are required to: 

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5. 

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  CSTBs,  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 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 
CSTB models it has placed and/or put into service on the EU market and information 
about  the  energy  consumption  of  each  CSTB  model  subject  to  the  voluntary 
agreement, and 

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

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. 

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At least 70% of the products placed on the market 

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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 
specified  in  the  voluntary  agreement  or  include,  where  appropriate,  other  relevant 
environmental  aspects  in  subsequent  versions,  the  Commission  will  adopt  ecodesign 
requirements for CSTBs by means of a mandatory implementing measure. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  voluntary  ecodesign  scheme  proposed  by  the  industry  for  CSTBs  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  CSTBs  placed  and/or  put  into  service  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 CSTBs placed and/or put into service 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  consider  establishing  ecodesign  requirements  for  CSTBs  in  a 
mandatory implementing measure. 

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