European Commission presents Green Deal Strategies aimed at reaching a true Circular Economy.
Yesterday, The European Commission presented a package of European Green Deal proposals meant to make sustainable products the norm in the EU. These proposals of the European Green Deal are related to the Circular Economy Action Plan. With a total of three overarching proposals, this package of proposals outlines the tools needed for the EU to move to a truly circular economy.
“It’s time to end the model of ‘take, make, break, and throw away’ that is so harmful to our planet, our health and our economy. Today’s proposals will ensure that only the most sustainable products are sold in Europe. They allow consumers to save energy, repair and not replace broken products, and make smart environmental choices when they are shopping for new ones. This is how we bring balance back in our relationship with nature and reduce our vulnerability to disruptions in global supply chains.”
The three packages
Sustainable Products
The first of the three proposals is a set of new rules to, “make almost all physical goods on the EU market more friendly to the environment, circular, and energy efficient throughout their whole lifecycle from the design phase through to daily use, repurposing and end-of-life.” This includes The Proposal for a Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products.
In summary, there will be product-specific requirements, measures to raise customer awareness of each product’s impact, the inclusion of Digital Product Passports, and energy efficiency requirements within this package. This proposal is paired with the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024, The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, and the revision of the Construction Products Regulation.
Sustainable Textiles
The second proposal is related to the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. This is a strategy intended, “to make textiles more durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable, to tackle fast fashion, textile waste and the destruction of unsold textiles, and ensure their production takes place in full respect of social rights.” This proposal outlines the goal and actions needed to ensure that, “by 2030 textile products placed on the EU market are long-lived and recyclable, made as much as possible of recycled fibres, free of hazardous substances and produced in respect of social rights and the environment.”
Similar to the first package of proposals, this also includes Digital Product Passports along with clear requirements for textiles, and a mandatory EU Extended producer responsibility scheme. This proposal addresses things such as microplastics, accuracy of green claims, and even encourages changes regarding taxation measures for the reuse and repair sector.
Last and certainly not least, this package of proposals is accompanied by the launch of the Commission’s, “co-creation of a transition pathway for the textiles ecosystem. This is an essential collaborative tool to help the ecosystem to recover from negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic which have been affecting companies in their daily operations for the last two years.”
Sustainable Construction
The third package is around construction and the revision of the Construction Products Regulation. This proposal, “aims to boost the internal market for construction products and ensure that the regulatory framework in place is fit for making the built environment deliver on our sustainability and climate objectives.” The new regulation and proposal is meant to create a harmonized framework and similar to what was outlined in products and textiles, is ensuring that the manufacturing of construction products is based on making these products more durable, repairable, recyclable, easier to re-manufacture.
This proposed package will also make it easier to create and implement European Standards, transparent rules for operators within supply chains, remove obstacles to the free movement of the internal market, and like the two other packages, will also implement a Digital Products Passports.
“Our circular economy proposals kick off an era where products will be designed in a way that brings benefits to all, respects the boundaries of our planet and protects the environment. Giving a longer lifespan to the phones we use, to the clothes we wear and to many other products will save money for European consumers. And at the end of their life products will not be a source of pollution, but of new materials for the economy, decreasing the dependency of European businesses on imports.”
Across all of these packages, there is a heavy focus on ensuring that consumers understand not only the impact of the products they are purchasing, but are protected against and aware of greenwashing. Enabling the people to adjust to this new circular economy is a key point within this transition of the EU. These proposal packages are mean to outline and act as the key tools to achieving that goal, and increasing Europe’s resource independence. These are based on previously successful initiatives to lower energy usage and save consumer’s money. Changes such as the ones outlined here, will also help the ecosystem not only recover from the negative effects of COVID-19, but to also create a more resilient system.
To learn more, read the original press release here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2013
Sources:
European Comission. “Green Deal: New Proposals to Make Sustainable Products the Norm and Boost Europe's Resource Independence.” European Commission - Press Corner, European Comission, 30 Mar. 2022, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2013.
