16 July, 2024
The Malta Business Bureau organised a business session on the European Commission’s recently issued proposal for an Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which has an interest for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers.
The proposed regulation aims to improve the sustainability and circularity of goods across their lifecycle, increase the flow of information across all actors, and reduce waste in the process. The proposed legislation will thus widen the scope of products and ecodesign requirements covered and introduces new information requirements.
More specifically, the proposed ESPR will empower the European Commission to introduce ecodesign requirements on various aspects of products, components, or intermediary products, including aspects such as product durability, re-usability, upgrade-ability, recycled content and so on. The Commission will take a product-specific approach and introduces relevant requirements depending on the product in question. Food and feed, as well as medicinal products will be exempted from this regulation.
Aside from ecodesign requirements, products falling under the scope of this proposed regulation must comply with certain information requirements. Information flows across all actors in the supply chain is crucial to create a truly circular economy and limit wastage. To this end, the Commission is proposing a Digital Product Passport (DPP) which will capture, as appropriate, certain information relating to a particular product.
The above has been presented as part of a wider package, which also includes separate sectorial initiatives covering textiles and construction materials. Businesses will be obliged to ensure compliance with the new requirements before marketing their products in the EU.
The event was addressed by MBB EU Affairs Manager Daniel Debono, European Commission Head of Unit coordinating work on the Sustainable Products Initiave Matjaz Malgaj, and Ing. Ruth Baldacchino Scerri from the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA), and moderated by MBB Senior Policy Executive for Sustainability, Gabriel Cassar.
The ESPR is still being negotiated at the EU level and is a priority file being followed closely by the Malta Business Bureau. The MBB encourages businesses with an active interest in this area to get in touch with our policy team on infobrussels@mbb.org.mt with any feedback or concerns.
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