EC Proposes Action Plan for Sustainable Production, Consumption
July 17, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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In conjunction with a legislative package proposed on July 16, the European Commission (EC) presented an action plan to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of products and to stimulate the demand for more sustainable goods and production technologies in the European Union (EU).
The action plan encourages EU industry to take up new opportunities and innovate in order to ensure its continued leadership in environmental performance. The plan also explores means for promoting sustainable production and consumption internationally.
The list of actions in the plan include:
- Ecodesign requirements for more products.
- Reinforced energy and environmental labeling.
- Incentives and public procurement for highly performing products.
- Green public procurement practices.
- Consistent product data and methodologies.
- Working with retailers and consumers.
- Supporting resource efficiency and eco-innovation, plus enhancing the environmental potential of industry.
- Promoting sustainable production and consumption internationally.
1. A new framework for environmental product policy
A range of policies at the EU and national level already foster resource-efficient and eco-friendly products and raise consumer awareness, such as the EU framework for the ecodesign of energy-using products, labeling schemes and financial incentives granted by EU member states to those that buy eco-friendly products.
The action plan complements and integrates the potential of these different policy instruments and provides for new action where gaps exist. In particular, the plan includes the following:
Energy-efficient and resource-efficient products
The Ecodesign Directive so far allows setting compulsory minimum ecodesign requirements for energy-using products, such as boilers, water heaters, computers, televisions or industrial fans. Energy-using products consume a large proportion of energy and other natural resources in the EU.
The EC proposes extending the Directive to all energy-related products - products that do not consume energy during use but have an indirect impact on energy consumption, such as water-using devices and windows.
For example, water-saving taps and showerheads can reduce water consumption and therefore the energy used for hot water; thus, they can save resources and money, without altering the user's perceived well-being.
Next to minimum requirements, the Ecodesign Directive will also define voluntary benchmarks of environmental performance, achieved by highly performing products. If some water boilers reduce their energy consumption to a larger extent than other similar products, this high performance should indeed serve as a benchmark for industry.
Reinforced energy and environmental labeling
While the Ecodesign Directive ensures a technical improvement in products, labeling enhances transparency for consumers by indicating the energy or environmental performance of the products.
The EC proposes that mandatory labeling of products according to their energy or environmental performance be extended to a wider range of products, including energy-using and energy-related products.
The Energy Labeling Directive (92/75/EEC) so far obliges manufacturers and retailers to provide consumers with labels indicating the energy consumption of household appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers, ovens and air-conditioning appliances.
A wider range of products will be labeled as their energy or environmental performance to improve consumers' awareness. For example, labels indicating the insulation capacity of windows would help consumers choose better windows when renovating their home, thereby saving money on their electricity or gas bill.
The EU Eco-label is a voluntary label that is awarded to the most environment friendly products on the market. It enables private consumers and public authorities alike to identify and buy "greener" products.
Under the proposed plan, the scheme will be strengthened by widening the number of products covered and making the system less costly and bureaucratic. It will thus act as an incentive for manufacturers to go beyond the mandatory minimum product standards.
Due to its broader scope, the Eco-label will also cover products and services, including food and drink products, for which ecodesign and energy-related requirements will not be set.
Setting incentives
The action plan proposes that only products attaining a certain level of energy or environmental performance can receive incentives and be procured by EU member states and institutions. This level will be identified through one of the labeling classes, when mandatory labeling is set for a particular product group (see above).
But it will be up to the member states whether and in what form to provide incentives. Currently, national or regional incentives to consumers that buy eco-friendly products are granted for very different levels of energy or environmental performance.
For example, the insulation performance required for getting incentives for an energy-efficient window is twice as high in some regions than in others close by and with similar climatic conditions. This hampers economies of scale for eco-friendly products.
Promoting green public procurement
Public authorities spend 16% of EU's GDP on the purchase of goods and services. In particular, in certain sectors - such as construction, transport, office equipment and cleaning services - public purchasers could give strong signals to the marketplace by asking for greener goods, thereby stimulating the supply of more environmentally friendly goods and services.
In addition to the instruments above, further voluntary measures aim to increase the potential benefits of green public procurement. The EC will provide guidance and tools for public authorities to green their procurement practices. This will include common environmental criteria, the setting of targets and providing model tender specifications.
This shared approach will help to avoid market distortions in Europe. A separate communication on green public procurement details these measures.
Consistent data and methods on products
To implement this policy, consistent and reliable data and methods are required to assess the overall environmental performance of products and their market penetration and to monitor progress.
The EC will build on ongoing work in this field, so that, inter alia, data on products and related environmental impacts collected under different tools are shared.
Working with retailers and consumers
Retailers are in a strong position to influence sustainable consumption. For example, individual retailers will commit to offering more sustainable timber products, promoting the purchase of energy-saving light bulbs and reducing their own carbon footprint.
A retail forum will be set up to promote the purchase of more sustainable products, to reduce the environmental footprint of the retail sector and its supply chain, and to better inform consumers. Other stakeholders, such as producers, consumer and other nongovernmental organizations, will also be involved.
The EC will also support actions to increase consumer awareness and help consumers make more informed choices - for instance, by developing online education tools that provide information on sustainable consumption.
2. Promoting eco-friendly and leaner production
A range of actions will provide further impetus to promote resource-efficient and eco-innovative production, as described below:
Boosting resource efficiency
Resource efficiency means creating more value while using fewer resources. In the EU, resource productivity (measured by GDP per resource use, €/kg) has improved 2.2% per annum in real terms over the past 10 years.
This means that the EU has been able to stabilize resource use in a growing economy. This should continue at least at the same pace. Tools to monitor, benchmark and promote resource efficiency will be further developed; detailed, material-based analyses and targets will be addressed in a second step.
Supporting eco-innovation
The level of innovation can be measured by the number of patents in the area. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, eco-innovation patents in the EU are on the rise, and the best-performing member states grant 3.5 patents per €1 billion of GDP.
Under the action plan, tools will be developed to monitor, benchmark and boost the uptake of eco-innovation in the EU as part of a wider EU innovation policy.
Furthermore, an EU-wide environmental technology verification scheme will be established to provide reliable third-party verification of the environmental performance of new technologies.
This will be a voluntary, partially self-financed scheme, based on a regulatory framework. It will help to provide confidence to new technologies emerging in the market.
Enhancing the environmental potential of industry - the EMAS regulation
EU's voluntary Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) helps companies to optimize their production processes and make more effective use of resources.
Under the action plan, this scheme will be significantly revised to increase the participation of companies and reduce the administrative burden and costs to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Developing industrial policy initiatives for environmental industries
Environmental industries provide solutions for measuring, preventing and correcting environmental damage to water, air and soil, and for problems such as waste, noise, and damage to eco-systems.
They include sectors such as waste and wastewater management, renewable energy sources, environmental consulting, air pollution, and eco-construction.
The global market for environmental industries was estimated to be €1,000 billion in 2005 and could reach €2,200 billion in 2020.
The EC will first analyze the barriers to the expansion of eco-industries and to their full uptake by traditional industries, such as administrative burdens and obstacles to financing of innovation.
The objective is to create a friendly regulatory environment for the development of environmental industries in the EU. The potential of information and communications technologies for delivering sustainable solutions will also be explored.
Helping small and medium-sized enterprises
The Enterprise Europe Network and other channels will encourage SMEs to adopt environmentally friendly and energy-efficient solutions.
The action plan will also aim at developing content for training and disseminating tailor-made information and know-how about energy savings and environmental compliance for small companies.
3. Contributing to sustainable consumption and production internationally
Promoting sectoral approaches in international climate negotiations
Industry sectors are starting to develop agreements in order to commit to specific emission reductions or energy efficiency targets. Businesses in emerging as well as developed economies are committing to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
The EC's action plan avoids the situation where some companies in a sector suffer from carbon constraints while others benefit from carbon havens. The EC will support approaches in the context of future international negotiations on climate change.
Activities will include capacity-building in key emerging economies and determining key elements to build such approaches as part of a comprehensive international climate change agreement for the period after 2012.
Promoting and sharing good practices internationally
Sustainable consumption and production policies (SCP) will be promoted, in particular as part of the United Nations SCP 10-Year Framework Programme (Marrakech Process).
The action plan will contribute to future work here, carried out in collaboration with the U.N., and additional action will be taken to strengthen partnerships in this field.
In addition, the EC proposed to act on energy efficiency in international relations as part of its Energy Efficiency Action Plan.
This has taken shape on June 8, with the launch of the International Partnership for Cooperation on Energy Efficiency (IPEEC), which brings together G8 countries, China, India, Korea and the European Community. The IPEEC will be a high level, open, broad and inclusive partnership of nations seeking to maximize the benefits of energy efficiency through voluntary cooperation.
Promoting international trade in environmental goods and services
The EU will continue its efforts for trade policy and industry dialogue to work towards the elimination of tariffs for trade of low-carbon technologies and environmentally friendly products and services.
4. Examples of gains in efficiency and costs reduction
Efficient use of resources is attractive, because it reduces the negative environmental impacts and increases the competitiveness of the economy.
Some 30% of energy used in buildings could be reduced, with positive economic effects in 2030. For exampole, better window insulation could reduce a household's heating energy needs by more than one-fifth, while reducing related costs by 11%. Significant gains are also estimated for baths, showers and taps.
5. Legal documents and roadmap
The following documents accompany the July 16 action plan:
- Proposal for the extension of the Ecodesign Directive
- Proposal for the revision of the Eco-label regulation
- Proposal for the revision of the EMAS regulation
- Communication on green public procurement
This will be shortly followed by the:
- Proposal for the revision of the Energy Efficiency Labeling Directive
- Proposal for a regulation for an Environmental Technology Verification Scheme
The EC will present the legislative proposals to the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The proposals will go through the "co-decision" procedure, in which the European Parliament adopts legislation jointly with the European Council.
More information
For further information, see
Source: European Commission.