Eco-Design & Energy Labelling: The Future of Phones & Tablets

Some150 million mobile phones and 25 million tablets were during 2020 registered sold in Europe, while almost 700 million units were kept at home in hibernation.

So there is a huge eco-design potential of proper reuse, green mining and proper disposal of the hazardous substances involved.

EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan from 2020 calls for such products to be:

   -Energy Efficient

   -Durable

   -Fit for maintenance repair and upgrading throughout lifetime

   -Able to reuse and recycle at the end of life

In May this year, as mandated under the Energy-Related Products Directive (ErP Directive 2009/125/EC),the European Commission published for comments a draft of regulations with requirements for both eco-design and energy labelling of smartphones and tablets.

Now, after some months of preparation and consultation, they have officially published a new draft for this.The new draft is more concrete, such as concerning energy efficiency:

• Battery should be either replaceable or proofed to withstand 1000 charge/discharge cycle and still keep at least 80% of initial capacity.
• Fast charging should be ‘OFF’ in default setting.
• Energy label with efficiency, battery endurance per cycle, IP class, and free fall reliability class.

It is further noted that

• Reparability class (A to E) is to be included in the energy label.
• Smartphones and tablet are expected to be energy labelled in the market no later than February 2024.
• Environmental footprint is not included now but will be under consideration until the intended revision after 3 years.
• Smart wearables may be included in the planned revision after 3 years

The new draft currently undergoes a 4 week’s consultation process. When finalized and approved, the new regulations shall enter into force 3 weeks after publication in EU’s Official Journal, while there will be 3 stages of implementation: after 12 months, 14 months and 18 months.

For further information and assistance with understanding these new requirements, please contact Kenny.Ho@nemko.com

(Article is based on text provided by Kenny Ho, edited by T.Sollie)