Skip to main content

About sustainable products

Making the EU a more resource-efficient, climate neutral, and pollution-free circular economy calls for more sustainable products.

Overview

On 30 March 2022, the Commission adopted a package of measures to make sustainable products the norm in the EU. The proposals are central to achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal, Europe’s growth strategy to transform the EU into a fairer and more prosperous society and to implementing key strands of the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan. They will contribute to reaching the EU’s environmental and climate goals, doubling the circularity rate of material use and achieving energy efficiency targets by 2030.

The current economic model is still based on “take-make-dispose”. It depletes our resources, pollutes our environment and damages biodiversity and climate. It also makes Europe dependent on resources from elsewhere. To address these problems, the EU aims to move to a more circular economy model based on more sustainable products.

Addressing the environmental impact of products throughout their life-cycle and extending their lifetime will lead to more sustainable, circular and more resource-efficient products in the EU. More sustainable products such as electronics, furniture and textiles will contribute to the resilience of the EU economy.

Why is the EU acting?

70%
increase in waste generation is foreseen by 2050
Over 90%
of biodiversity loss and water stress is caused by resource extraction and processing
Up to 80%
of a product’s environmental impacts can be determined at the design phase

Inefficient use of resources

Global extraction of materials has tripled since 1970, while waste generation is set to increase 70% by 2050. Over 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress is caused by resource extraction and processing.

Planetary boundaries exceeded

The EU has less than 10% of world population, yet its consumption-based impacts are close to or exceed boundaries for climate change, particulate matter, land use and mineral resources.

Circular Economy in the EU

  • The circular material use rate has been growing, but progress remains very slow (8.2% in 2004 to 11.8% in 2019).
  • Demand for recycled materials remains low: only 9.5% (0.7 billion tonnes) of materials processed from 2010-2018 were from recycled materials.
  • The share of market demand met by secondary materials also differs starkly: 50% or over for lead and copper, while for plastics it is only 6% (of which only 2% is represented by single-use plastics), and for materials such as indium, used in the touchscreens of smartphones, it is well under 10%.
  • Up to 80% of a product’s environmental impacts can be determined at the design phase.

Objectives

The Commission’s initiatives on sustainable products aim to ensure that by 2030:

  • a significant part of the products on the EU market are designed to be more durable and energy- and resource efficient, reparable, recyclable, and with preference for recycled materials
  • companies from all over the world are able to compete on a level playing field without being undercut by others that leave society to deal with their environmental damage
  • consumers have access to the information they need to make more sustainable choices, are better protected against practices harmful to the green transition and have longer-lasting products
  • companies can access the data they need to ensure environmental sustainability and circularity of their products and business models

Actions

Key EU actions for circular and sustainable products:

  • design to reduce products’ environmental impact
  • improve product sustainability information for consumers and supply chain actors
  • prevent destruction of unsold consumer products
  • promote more sustainable business models
  • increase green public procurement

The proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is the cornerstone of the Commission’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products. It is based on, and will replace, the current Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC, which has driven improvements in energy efficiency and circularity of energy-related products for over a decade. Until this happens, the existing directive will continue to operate, including by implementing the new Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024, also adopted on 30 March 2022.

Read more about ESPR