REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Review of 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 (recast) 2012 Review
Date: 2012-12-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: application of EU law, eco-label, energy saving, environmental standard, marketing standard, technical standard

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 17.12.2012  
COM(2012) 765 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Review of 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 (recast)  

2012 Review 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

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   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Review of 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 (recast)  

2012 Review 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. Introduction 

Under Article 21 of the Ecodesign Directive, the Commission is required to review, no later 
than 2012, the effectiveness of the Ecodesign Directive and of its implementing measures and 
to  assess  the  appropriateness  of  extending  the  scope  of  the  Directive  to  non-energy  related 
products.  

2. Effectiveness of the Directive 

In  2011,  the  Commission  launched  a  dedicated  study  (hereinafter  'the  evaluation  study') 
aiming at the review of the effectiveness of (i) the Directive and its implementing measures, 
(ii) the Ecodesign methodology, (iii) the threshold for implementing measures as described in 
Article 15 of the Directive, (iv) market surveillance, and (v) self-regulation measures1.  

A separate specific study was completed in order to update the ecodesign methodology, which 
has resulted in the Methodology for the ecodesign of energy-related products (MEErP)2.  

The  evaluation  study  concluded  that,  in  general,  the  Ecodesign  Directive  is  achieving  its 
policy objectives (free movement of goods and environmental protection) and that no revision 
of the Directive is deemed appropriate at the moment or necessary to increase its effectiveness 
and that of its implementing measures.  

The study has, in particular, pointed out that: 

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In  principle,  the  Directive  is  achieving  its  policy  objectives.  Since  2005  the  main 
focus  of  the  implementing  measures  has  been  on  energy  efficiency.  The  available 
data  illustrate  a  move  towards  energy  efficiency  for  all  products  regulated  by  the 
Ecodesign implementing measures3.  

the 

final 

report 

published 

(that  was 

For 
http://cses.co.uk/ecodesign_evaluation 
For new methodology, please see http://www.meerp.eu/ 
In three instances (domestic  lighting, standby, circulators), there is  a direct contribution of Ecodesign 
requirements to this move. In one instance (TVs), technological change is considered to have played the 
greatest role. In one instance (external power supplies), data are insufficient to assess the effects of the 
implementing measure. 

in  March 

please 

2012) 

see 

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It  is  too  early  to  correctly  evaluate  the  full  effect  of  the  Directive  and  of  the 
implementing  mandatory  and  self-regulation  measures  because  of  the  insufficient 
period of their application. For one out of the twelve ecodesign Regulations adopted 
at the time of the evaluation, Tier-1 requirements had not yet entered into force and 
for eight implementing measures, Tier-2 requirements had not yet entered into force. 
Furthermore,  out  of  two  proposed  voluntary  agreements,  none  has  so  far  been 
officially endorsed by the Commission4.  

It  is  considered  that  the  indicative  criteria  for  adopting  implementing  ecodesign 
measures, defined in Article 15 of the Ecodesign Directive, remain appropriate. 

Numerous  methodological  issues  have  been  addressed  by  the  study  on  the  (new) 
Methodology for the ecodesign of energy-related products (MEErP).  

The study has also identified a number of challenges faced at EU and Member States' levels in 
the application of the Ecodesign Directive and its implementing measures, including: 

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Complex and lengthy preparatory procedure; 

Limited  data  to  inform  policy  decisions  (e.g.  market  trends  and  technological 
changes, market data, performance data from market surveillance activities etc.); 

Insufficient coordination of ecodesign measures with other pieces of EU legislation, 
such as WEEE, RoHS or EPBD Directives;  

Insufficient  resources 
communication and standardisation work; 

to  deal  with 

the 

increasing  amount  of  regulatory, 

Question on the level of ambition of some requirements, especially in Tier-1; 

Remaining  potential  to  further  address  non-energy-related  issues  of  energy  related 
products (e.g. material efficiency, recyclability etc.); 

Delays in the elaboration of suitable harmonised standards; 

Insufficient and ineffective market surveillance5. 

Based on this study the Commission has drawn a number of conclusions on the action to be 
taken. In particular, the Commission is taking actions which will consequently contribute to 
improving the application of the Directive and its implementing measures. The most relevant 
actions would be: 

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Delegating the non –regulatory work (notably communication activities) to external 
bodies),  so  that  Commission  resources  are  assigned  to  the  development  and 
implementation  of  legally  binding  acts.  The  Commission  is  going  to  use  Europe 
Direct6  to  answer  public  queries  on  ecodesign,  energy  labelling  and  tyre  labelling. 

Voluntary agreement on complex set-top boxes is scheduled for recognition still in 2012 while the agreement on 
imaging equipment will be recognised in 2013 
It is estimated that 10-20% of products covered by implementing measures are non-compliant 
See http://europa.eu/europedirect/index_en.htm 

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Furthermore,  the  Commission  together  with  EACI  is  establishing  a  special 
'communication  helpdesk'  that  will  give  support  in  (i)  preparing  and  running 
information campaigns on ecodesign and energy labelling and (ii) replying to queries 
submitted by citizens, stakeholders and other relevant parties.  

Continuing  to  tap  into  technical  expertise  of  other  EU  bodies,  including  the  Joint 
Research Centre (JRC) and EACI. For instance, the JRC will be more involved in the 
development of the technical input to new implementing measures and in following 
the  standardisation work for selected product groups as  well as to contribute to the 
development of a more integrated legislative process of different policy instruments 
(Ecodesign, Energy Labelling, Ecolabel, GPP, WEEE, RoHS, etc.)  

Continuing  reinforcing  the  use  of  the  expertise  of  stakeholders  (Member  States, 
industry and NGOs), in particular in the process of reviewing and revising existing 
implementing measures7. 

Furthermore,  a  database  on  energy  efficiency  and  other  environmental  aspects  of 
products placed on the EU market is also being established. 

Using  external  experts  (including  New  Approach  Consultants)  to  follow  more 
closely  the  standardisation  work  done  by  the  European  Standardisation  Bodies  for 
the purpose of the ecodesign implementing measures. Furthermore, support to NGOs 
to allow for their active involvement in the standardisation work. 

Launch  of  an  annual  market  surveillance  data  collection  exercise  and  of  the  Joint 
Action  on  Market  Surveillance  between  national  authorities  under  the  Intelligent 
Energy  Europe  (IEE)  Work  Programme  2013  to  enhance  the  enforcement  of  the 
Ecodesign and Energy labelling legislation. A database on energy efficiency and other 
environmental aspects of products placed on the EU market is also being established. 

3. Extension of the scope of the Directive 

Following  the  provisions  of  Article  21  of  the  Directive,  the  study  also  assessed  the 
appropriateness of extending the scope of the Directive to non-energy-related products. 

Based on the study, the Commission has concluded that, for the moment, there is no need for 
the extension of the scope of the Ecodesign Directive to non-energy related products. 

The study has, in particular, pointed out at: 

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The insufficient experience with the current scope of the Directive (extended in the 
2009 recast to energy-related products). So far, all implementing measures prepared 
by the Commission concern energy-using products. The Ecodesign Working Plan for 
the  period  2012-2014  includes  the  first  energy  related  product  groups,  such  as,  for 
instance, windows and thermal insulation. 

The  need  to  complete,  as  a  first  priority,  the  regulatory  work  under  the  2005 
Ecodesign  Directive  and  the  first  Ecodesign  Working  Plan  2009-2011.  Otherwise, 

11  implementing  measures  will  be  reviewed  by  the  end  of  2014  (eight  ecodesign  and  three  energy 
labelling measures). 

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increasing  workload  resulting  from  the  need  to  implement  the  existing  Working 
Plans8  and  to  launch  preparatory  studies  for  new  product  groups,  together  with 
limited resources, would risk postponing (at least until 2015) the regulatory work on 
non-energy related product groups.  

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The  different  approach  required  for  non-energy  related  products.  Unlike  energy-
using  products,  many  non-energy-related  products  (e.g.  food,  beverages,  textiles) 
have  a  significant  environmental  impact  that mainly  occurs  in  the  earliest  phase  of 
the life cycle (e.g., the production of raw materials in cattle and crops) and therefore 
product testing would no longer be adequate for conformity assessment.  

The current significant difficulty in establishing enforceable ecodesign requirements 
for those non-energy related product groups with the highest savings potential9.  

4. Conclusion  

The  Commission  consulted  the  Ecodesign  Consultation  Forum  on  19  April  2012  on  the 
recommendations  of  the  evaluation  study  and  on  its  preliminary  conclusions.  The 
Commission’s views on the way forward to improve the effectiveness of the Directive and its 
implementing measures, as well as on its scope have been widely supported by stakeholders10. 

The Commission therefore concludes that there is neither a need for an immediate revision 
of  the  Ecodesign  Directive,  nor  for  the  extension  of  its  scope  to  non-energy  related 
products and proposes the following approach: 

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If  appropriate,  specific  aspects  of  the  Ecodesign  Directive  that  were  subject  to  the 
present review can be reassessed in the forthcoming review of the Energy Labelling 
Directive  in  2014.  The  effects  of  ecodesign  implementing  regulations  and  energy 
labelling  delegated  regulations  applicable  to  the  same  energy-related  product  are 
often linked and complementary ; 

Any  future  evaluation  study  reviewing  specific  aspects  of  the  Ecodesign  Directive 
should: 

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take into account the results of the 2011 evaluation study and, where necessary, 
update its recommendations; 

in  the  light  of  newly  available  evidence,  special  attention  should  be  paid  to 
those  aspects  that  might  have  not  been  fully  assessed  in  the  2011  evaluation 
study  (such  as  the  efficiency  of  implementing  measures  and  harmonised 
standards  and  a  more  close  coordination  between  the  implementation  of  two 
Directives). 

Mainly implementation, communication and legal activities and the work on 35 standards 
Product  requirements  seem  feasible  for  non-energy  related  products  such  as  furniture,  cleaning 
chemicals,  mattresses,  toys.  However,  these  products  account  for  a  minor  share  of  the  total 
environmental impacts of non-energy related products. 
the 
See  minutes 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/ecodesign/consultation-
forum/files/20120419_minutes_en.pdf 

Consultation 

Ecodesign 

Forum 

April 

2012 

19 

of 

of 

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The  Commission  will  continue  working  together  with  Member  States  and  stakeholders  on 
improving the implementation of the Ecodesign Directive and its implementing measures. 

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