CPD PROGRAMME
EC directorates to ensure coherence (known as interservice consolidation (ISC)). Having been passed to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Ecodesign regulatory committee (RC) – made up from all the member states – votes on it. Subject to there being no objections from the European Parliament and Council, the measure is approved and published in the official journal (OJ). The methodology to develop Ecodesign regulations legislation grew out of the original Ecodesign Directive (2005/32)12
,
and has been updated over the last year to account for the experiences of the early regulatory development. The new Methodology for the Ecodesign of Energy-related Products (MEErP 2011) describes tasks, tools, data and deliverables for the preparatory study. It provides a framework to establish whether products are eligible for Ecodesign measures, whether they should have generic or specific requirements and, if specific requirements are appropriate, determine appropriate parameters and identify potential markets and timings (see
www.meerp.eu for extensive information of the five tasks that are included in the process). Specific requirements set prescriptive limits, such as maximum energy consumption or percentage recycled content. Generic requirements infer conformance with performance standards, such as being ‘energy efficient’, that would be measured through a relevant European standard. For example, this could be evidence of the source of materials used in the production of the object, such as the proportion of recycled materials, or it may be a requirement to undertake lifecycle analysis so that different products can be compared. The priority is that, wherever possible, voluntary agreements should be applied in preference to mandatory requirements. Experience to date has shown that, practically, this is challenging to implement, and so far no voluntary agreement has been fully endorsed. The Commission has recently consulted
on the second workplan (to run from 2012 until 2014) to develop and review appropriate legislation. This evolved from a review of the effectiveness of the first workplan. Unfortunately, the review process was
Lots and lots
The ‘lots’ are rather confusingly numbered. Originally, they were all referred to simply as ‘lots’ so, for example, Lot 6 was ‘Standby and off-mode losses’. But when the Commission reorganised itself a few years ago, it decided to start a new numbering system, previous products, and generally
hampered somewhat, as nine of the measures to be implemented had only come into force in late 2008 and 2009 and, as a result, had not yet impacted on the marketplace. The review13
recognised that measuring
the true effectiveness of the legislation was not possible due to a number of factors, including recognition that consumers using ‘greener’ products may actually use them more frequently than they did their older, less environmentally friendly versions. The indicative process in Figure 3 illustrates
that the time taken to develop regulations has typically been between 32 and 56 months from the initial call for tender for the preparatory studies to the adoption of the final legislation by the Commission. In some cases, however (such as boilers and water heaters), this has extended to beyond six years, owing to extended consultation and evaluation. The legislation to date has linked in closely with the energy labelling directive (and in some cases, an energy label may be associated with the requirements). However, the first workplan review identified lost opportunity and inaction due to lack of connection to WEEE (directive 2002/96, on waste from electrical and electronic equipment) and ROHS (directive 2002/95, on restriction of hazardous substances). The new work programme aims to overcome these deficiencies but, significantly, the review report identifies that a lack of resources in the EC offices may hinder progress in the evolution of the methodology and application. The review did, however, identify that
the measures that had been put in place for lighting appeared to have had a positive and direct impact on energy efficiency, as had those for pumps, where it had particularly focused the attention of industry. And the implementation of measures to control electric motors is expected to strongly influence the marketplace. Although the initial Ecodesign regulations were forecast to save 385 TWh per annum by 2020, there was no reliable data to corroborate this, but the review notes that significant energy savings are possible in the majority of energy related products. Overall, the implementation of directives has shown
residential products, being prefixed ENER (Directorate General Energy) and future ‘business to business’ products ENTR (Directorate General Enterprise and Industry). So, for example, ENTR Lot 6 is ‘Air-conditioning and ventilation systems’, whereas ‘Standby and off-mode losses’ is now more clearly known as ENER Lot 6.
neither an increase in price to the consumer nor excessive additional cost to the manufacturer. However, it was considered that smaller enterprises shouldered a greater burden in implementing the requirements of the directive. And, although not an explicit intention of the directive, it is having a positive role in the adoption and promotion of innovation. The second workplan recognises that industry needs certainty and clarity, and that for successful adoption of regulatory requirements, additional resources will be required from the European Commission. Future reviews are likely to include extended term benchmarking and improved metrics. By 2030, the aspiration is that combined energy savings of around 555 TWh per annum (in the residential and tertiary sectors) will result from the Ecodesign Directive. © Tim Dwyer, 2012.
Further reading: The presentation at http://efficient-products.
defra.gov.uk/cms/assets/SEUP-Presentation- 050712-final.pdf provides a snapshot of the developments from a UK perspective as at July 2012 The German Institute for Environmental Strategies has an excellent updated resource at
www.eup-network.de/product-groups/ overview-ecodesign/ that provides timelines and comprehensive links to the relevant EC documentation, including the excellent preparatory reports. To source relevant documents on the EC website, go to
http://eur-lex.europa.eu and use the search page.
References
1 Energy Related Products Directive 2009/125. 2 Molenbroek, E., Saving energy: bringing down Europe’s energy prices. ECOFYS, 2012.
3 Donnelly, M., Powering the nation – household electricity- using habits revealed, EST, DECC, Defra, June 2012.
4 Ibid. 2.
5 Bertoldi, P. and Atanasiu, B., Electricity Consumption and Efficiency Trends in European Union - Status Report 2009, European Commission Joint Research Centre, 2009.
6 Ibid. 5.
7 Commission Regulation (EC) No 244/2009, 18 March 2009.
8 Where next for Ecodesign? Fulfilling the potential of the Ecodesign Directive, Directorate C, November 2010.
9
www.bis.gov.uk/policies/business-sectors/ environmental-and-product-regulations/product- regulation/ce-marking-faqs
10 Establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy using products..., Directive 2005/32.
11
www.bis.gov.uk/policies/business-sectors/ environmental-and-product-regulations/product- regulation/ce-marking-faqs
12 Establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy using products…, Directive 2005/32.
13 Report evaluation of eco-design directive – Final Report, CSES, March 2012.
www.cibsejournal.com
November 2012 CIBSE Journal
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