The European Commission (EC) must make better use of its Ecodesign Directive if it is to reduce resource consumption and bring about a circular economy, a new report from the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has asserted.

‘Delivering Resource Efficient Products – How Ecodesign can drive a circular economy in Europe’, released today (20 March), argues that by adding requirements on sustainable resource use to the directive, which provides EU-wide rules for environmental performance, the EC could cut waste, create millions of new jobs and reduce the impact of resource consumption on the environment.

It highlights European Commission figures that show increasing resource productivity by two per cent could create two million extra jobs in the EU by 2030, and points to research from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation which estimates that by stimulating economic activity in the areas of product development, remanufacturing and refurbishment, the EU manufacturing sector could benefit from net material cost savings worth up to €490 billion (£355 billion) per year by 2025.

However, failure to address resource use, the EEB warns, could have dire consequences; the United Nations Environmental Programme has previously warned that, if unchecked, humanity’s annual consumption of minerals, fossil fuels and biomass could reach 140 billion tonnes by 2050, more than twice today’s already unsustainable 60 billion tonnes. In the EU alone, 40 per cent of raw materials used are sourced elsewhere and for some metal ores, the import dependency is over 90 per cent.

The EEB therefore argues that the Ecodesign Directive, which currently sets requirements on energy use for electrical and electronic products (in the hopes of meeting the EU’s 2020 energy-efficiency target), therefore presents a ready-made rulebook that could be used to do the same for resource use.

Report recommendations

The report highlights three ways the Ecodesign Directive can deliver more resource-efficient products:

• identifying design requirements that support better repairability and durability of products (and banning the worst-performing products from the market);
• ensuring that selected materials (such as ‘critical raw materials’) in products are managed carefully from production to end-of-life, including options to use higher shares of recycled content and support their high-quality recyclability; and
• removing problematic or hazardous substances (which need to be disposed of following hazardous waste guidelines) that undermine the potential for reusing components or material from products.

The report also suggests that manufacturers should design products with lifespan and recyclability in mind and provide information about the materials contained in a product to help with the repair, disassembly and adequate treatment at end-of-life, thus driving the development of a circular economy.

The report reads: ‘With these approaches ecodesign would be able to remove the worst performing products in terms of resource efficiency from the EU market, without entering the difficult area of an overall resource indicator and the questions surrounding how to identify the very best performing products.

‘Adopting this pragmatic and staged approach promises real reductions in the use of natural resources. In addition, all available information indicates that such an approach would not interfere with Europe’s overall targets for economic development and even supports them by helping to create new business models and market opportunities.’

Report ‘lays the path’ for European Commission’s circular economy proposal

Carsten Wachholz, the European Environmental Bureau’s Policy Officer for EU Product Policy, said: “The commission has said it will issue a proposal on the circular economy by the end of the year which addresses product design. This report lays the path for doing just that. Ecodesign could push producers to design their products so that are more easily repairable, longer-lasting and more recyclable.

“Europe is import-dependent for many of the critical materials that are used in consumer products. So it makes sense to find ways to reduce the use of these materials and keep them in circulation for as long as possible. The Ecodesign Directive, coupled with strong waste management policies, can help deliver that and make Europe more resource-efficient.”

Circular economy in focus

The potential of remanufacturing and a circular economy has been the subject of several recent reports.

Earlier this month Zero Waste Scotland published ‘Circular Economy Evidence Building Programme – Remanufacturing Study’, which found that ‘investment and action’ from the Scottish Government could provide thousands of extra jobs and £620 million to the economy by 2020.

‘A circular economy for smart devices’, a report produced by the environmental think tank Green Alliance identified six different business models that could be implemented by producers of mobile technology in three of the world’s biggest markets – the US, UK and India - to save them money and extend the reusability and recyclability of their products.

And in December, the British government was told by the All-Party Sustainable Resource Group that they must do more ‘to lift the regulatory burden’ in UK remanufacturing if the sector’s ‘enormous economic, social and environmental potential’ is to be realized. ‘Triple Win: The Social, Economic, and Environmental Case for Remanufacturing’ outlined how boosting the industry could have benefits in economic, environmental and social sectors.

An ‘ambitious’ Circular Economy Package is expected from the EC later this year, which Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs, and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, has revealed will include ‘country-specific’ waste targets and a roadmap for further action on the circular economy.

Read the ‘Delivering Resource Efficient Products – How Ecodesign can drive a circular economy in Europe’ report.