New European regulations for phones and tablets

                                                                                                                                                                                       

After several months of waiting since the formal adoption, the European
Commission has now finally published the Eco-design Regulation (EU) 2023/1670 and the Energy Label Regulation (EU) 2023/1669.
So, mobile phones, cordless phones and tablets are thereby covered by the ErP Directive, which then totally covers 32 product types.

The new regulations will apply from 20 June 2025.

The eco-design requirements concern, amongst other, spare parts, repair, reuse, reliability, battery, marking of
plastics and recyclability.
The energy labelling requirements concern basically energy efficiency class and performance grade of reliability,
repairability and battery.

The new regulations implement the concept of the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which is the cornerstone of Europe’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products. It builds on the Eco-design Directive 2009/125/EC which has a long track record of delivering benefits to businesses, consumers, and the environment. The ESPR has, however, broader criteria for product sustainability rather than just energy performance.

The overall objective is to control a wide range of sustainability features, including:
- product durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability
- presence of substances that inhibit circularity
- energy and resource efficiency
- recycled content
- re-manufacturing and recycling
- carbon and environmental footprints
- information requirements, including a Digital Product Passport

By 2030, it can lead to 132 mtoe of primary energy savings, corresponding to about 150 billion m3 of natural gas, nearly the amount of EU’s imported Russian gas.

For more information, please contact Kenny.Ho@nemko.com

(Article is based on the info provided by Kenny Ho and edited by T.Sollie)