The home appliance sector pursues circularity throughout the entire product’s lifecycle. The routes to circularity are many. In the EU, a circular economy that works for its citizens must build on a coherent EU policy framework that pursues a higher degree of sustainability, while preserving the Single Market, promoting industrial competition and innovation.
Pivotal to reaching the set EU 2030 and 2050 climate targets will be the unfolding of four key circular economy policy files: Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Batteries Regulation, Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, and Chemical and Gases - among others.
We must make sustainable products the norm. A functional Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) should take into account the individual characteristics and specificities of a product, while being fully harmonised with all existing and upcoming EU legislation, to avoid double or cascading product requirements. Moving forward, any ecodesign requirements stemming from ESPR should identify the most appropriate variables to drive sustainability, while considering that product parameters can be interdependent and affect each other.
Consumers’ safety is our priority. The main objective of the Batteries Regulation is to ensure that batteries placed in the EU market are sustainable and safe throughout their entire life cycle. Following APPLiA’s recommendations to achieve battery replaceability without compromising on consumer safety, the newly adopted legislation will rule that battery replacement for certain appliances must be performed by qualified independent operators.
European and harmonised rules on packaging and packaging waste are welcomed as national divergences weaken the European Single Market. The regulation marks a landmark step to combat the over-packaging of products. However, targets must be based on a thorough analysis that takes into account the full lifecycle of the packaging.
Chemicals are key components in our products to help fulfil sustainability. While the expected revisions of two important legislative texts, Regulation for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and the Directive for Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) are on their way, other initiatives are being developed to manage substances used in products. In this regard, it is imperative to find the right balance to make our products more sustainable while still promoting innovation. The ongoing discussion on F-Gases is an example of the existing trade-offs when considering switching to alternatives without jeopardising the decarbonisation targets.
Naomi Marc APPLiA Environment Policy Manager and Franziska Decker APPLiA Environment Policy Officer presented the current state of the art of the sector to our sister association NORSIRK – a Norwegian producer responsibility company helping customers decrease their environmental impact through EPR authorisation schemes, waste management and take-back systems - at the Renaissance Hotel in Brussels.
APPLiA meets NORSIRK on circular economy files
The home appliance sector pursues circularity throughout the entire product’s lifecycle. The routes to circularity are many. In the EU, a circular economy that works for its citizens must build on a coherent EU policy framework that pursues a higher degree of sustainability, while preserving the Single Market, promoting industrial competition and innovation.