The Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation and the road to compliance for UK businesses

As sustainability becomes a growing business imperative to meet changing consumer expectations and mitigate some of the impact of climate change, the EU is proactively implementing initiatives such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR) which came into force on the 18th of July this year as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP).

In focus, the ‘ESPR is the cornerstone of the Commission’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products’ and will set the design requirements of vast numbers of products, within specified industries, that are placed on the EU market (regardless of where they were manufactured). Therefore, businesses must take greater interest in the carbon footprint of the tools they use and the products they put into circulation, to ensure compliance and support the EU’s circularity efforts.

The ESPR is designed to extend product lifespans, boost resource efficiency, and enhance recyclability, as part of its wider sustainability goals. As part of this legislative move towards a circular economy, the mandating of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) - a tool used for collecting and sharing product data throughout a product's lifecycle, will remain a key player. The regulation’s focus on ‘improving the overall circularity and both energy and environmental sustainability performance of products’ will be a challenge the EU can face via its incorporation of DPPs and the valuable insight into product data they provide.
By mandating DPPs, the EU hopes to provide all parties involved in a product’s lifecycle with greater transparency into a product’s makeup, functionality, distribution, and disposal. By doing so, the EU hopes to encourage manufacturers and supply chain managers to adopt more sustainable practices while motivating consumers to be more eco-conscious of the products they purchase.

The mandate is set to apply to select product groups across a range of industries, including - but not limited to - the electronics, textile, and furniture industries, with priority groups such as electronics having to comply potentially as soon as 2027 due to the amount of e-waste it is responsible for. Here, it is worth noting, that those who place products on the EU market - regardless of whether or not they were produced there - will need to comply.

Moreover, although information about delegated acts is yet to be announced (information relating to the exact requirements for product groups impacted), businesses must start preparing now to ensure their compliance and support a smooth transition amidst this changing landscape.

DPPs and their role in supporting the ESPR

In simple terms, DPPs act as a digital record for a product throughout its lifecycle - obtaining and providing data concerning each aspect of a product's existence. They can display a range of data, from the materials used in a product's creation to the environmental impact of individual components, and could even outline a product’s ownership history. They can provide advice on how to dispose of a product to ensure that any elements that can be recycled have the opportunity to be reused. Typically, the DPP is accessible via a data carrier (such as a QR code) affixed to a physical product and scannable by a smartphone. The accessibility that DPPs provide through the compact data carrier enables all individuals active in a product’s lifecycle to access a range of data on-demand and play a key role in ensuring the item's circularity journey.

DPPs will prove vastly significant in the EU’s efforts to enhance economic circularity. By providing such in-depth, transparent insight into a range of valuable data, DPPs can help businesses ensure the materials used in a supply chain are sourced sustainably and ethically. Furthermore, this access to data will empower businesses to become eco-conscious providers with greater awareness of the products they have in circulation

DPPs: A force for waste management

Although DPPs are largely spoken of in relation to the EU’s sustainability goals, the incorporation of DPPs from a business perspective can have a range of positive effects such as enhancing waste management. In particular, the data that DPPs provide concerning an item’s materials will make identifying the recyclable components a more efficient process and will ensure no aspects of a product, which has the potential to be reused, slip through the net and head to landfill instead.

Moreover, DPPs enhance waste management and the overall circularity journey of a product via the information they can provide both businesses and consumers on take-back schemes. For example, by encouraging companies and consumers to return and recycle their used items, products can be put back into circulation for a new lease of life.

On an even greater scale, through the transparent data DPPs provide, consumers are given access to information which can inform their waste decision-making. For example, by providing details concerning the environmental impact of a product, consumers can make informed purchasing decisions while disposing of items properly.

The starting point for business compliance

As the majority of businesses who place products on the EU market are likely to be affected by the ESPR and its mandating of DPPs, several will likely feel unnerved amidst the changing landscape. However, how businesses decide to tackle this challenge will likely make the difference between simply complying and thriving

Initially, businesses should begin their journey toward compliance by ensuring they have the necessary data and technology in place to support the change. To ensure this, education should remain a key step in the early stages of compliance, as a greater understanding of how the legislation will affect a business directly will enable teams to put a coherent and personal strategy in place. Assigning one person as a lead to understand the intricacies of the policy and its varied requirements would prove one method of doing so and could support a business’s transition.

Moreover, in these early stages, looking at existing waste management processes and recycling schemes and understanding how DPPs could optimise both operations and processes here could be particularly useful for businesses when creating a compliance strategy. 

After these initial steps, businesses will have a greater awareness of which aspects of their current step-up are likely to be impacted by the legislation. Even without the delegated acts being announced, businesses are likely to be able to start answering some of these questions from the offset.

The logistics of implementing DPPs will take time, so considering who could support the implementation process could be a valuable starting point. Similarly, in the early stages, mapping out the supply chain to see where data potentially may need to be gathered from, could prove beneficial in the long run.

The EU’s initiative for greater circularity, via the ESPR and incorporation of DPPs, is not something businesses should shy away from. Although the legislation will require serious consideration from those impacted and is likely to cause apprehension, the benefits are undeniably considerable for EU businesses. 

Lars Rensing is CEO of Protokol, a specialist web3 development and consulting provider.