December 20, 2022

Ecodesign requirements to drive sustainable product development

The EU has made sustainable products the norm by imposing Ecodesign requirements on products and will make documentation of environmental impacts mandatory from the end of 2022.
In this blog post, we have listed everything we think you should know about sustainable product development.

Background

The European Commission has introduced a new initiative to support the development of sustainable products across Europe: Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products (ESPR). Ecodesign means incorporating environmental criteria into the design of a product, supplementing the current economic and technical focus of products and services design.

With this new initiative, Ecodesign requirements will be imposed on any product marketed in Europe in the future and not only for the electrical and electronic products covered by the Energy-related Products (ErP) Directive today. Documentation on environmental impacts (i.e. digital passports) on any product category will become mandatory. The self-declared environmental or sustainable performance will be banned from 2024.

Below is a list of the main focus areas of sustainability regulation:

Durability, reliability, reusability, upgradability, reparability, and the possibility of maintenance and refurbishment
Avoid the presence of substances of concern
Energy use or energy efficiency
Resource use or resource efficiency
Recycled content
Possibility of remanufacturing and recycling
Possibility of recovery of materials
Lifecycle environmental impacts, including carbon and environmental footprint
Preventing waste, including packaging waste

The design approach for sustainable products

EU analysis shows that, on average, 80% of products' environmental impacts are determined at the design phase. During the design phase, product designers have the flexibility to innovate products to meet performance objectives for safety and sustainability throughout the product’s life cycle. Therefore, identifying and considering environmental impacts is a vital part of the product design process.

Going for a more sustainable product design system means changing the current linear product design system into a circular one (per the images below). The target is to avoid the take-make-use-dispose approach, increase resource efficiency, prevent pollution, mitigate climate change, and enable a circular economy.

Traditional linear product design system (take-make-use-dispose approach)

Linear Product Design

Circular product design

Circular Economy

Source: Green growth model - an opportunity for business | European Economic and Social Committee (europa.eu)

How can Nemko help

Nemko's Ecodesign services are aligned with the circular economy frameworks and cover all the different life stages of the product through the use of the latest international standards.

It will support your business in establishing systems, product methods and making products meet requirements for Green Procurement and your customers’ expectation for a greener tomorrow.

Nemko Ecodesign