The proposal for a new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is the cornerstone of the Commission’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products.
This project concerns professional dishwashers.
End of June 2024, the European Commission published the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, ESPR. The Regulation enters into force on 18 July 2024 and will enable the setting of far-reaching performance and information-related requirements – known as ‘ecodesign requirements’ – for specific product groups, to make them more environmentally sustainable and circular. The ESPR replaces the current Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC and establishes a framework for setting ecodesign requirements on specific product groups.
Under the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024, the product group “Professional dishwashers” has been included in the indicative list of new energy-related product groups to be studied with an energy saving potential in 2030 of the use phase of about 20 PJ. The product category has been studied in the past and is now considered more mature in view of progress in technical standardisation.
In order to support the analysis, the European Commission has launched this ESPR preparatory study and Impact Assessment support study which aims to provide a basis on which the Commission can consider the introduction of ecodesign requirements, potentially green public procurement criteria, label criteria and/or a Digital Product Passport for professional dishwashers. The applicability of these instruments will be considered in parallel to ensure maximum synergy and complementarity. The work will be carry out in line with the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, following the structure prescribed by the latest Review of the Methodology for Ecodesign of Energy-related Products, MEErP. The MEErP consists of seven tasks: task 1 on scope, task 2 on markets, task 3 on user behaviour, task 4 on technologies, task 5 on environment and economics, task 6 on design options, and task 7 on policy scenarios.
The new Ecodesign requirements will go beyond energy efficiency and aim to boost circularity, covering, among others:
The objectives of the project are:
Fraunhofer ISI will be mainly involved in Task 7 of the MEErP (Policy Options and Scenarios) and in the Impact Assessment.
Reports and other related documents are available on the project website.
June 2024 until December 2026
Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI