The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is a part of the package of rules following the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan, comprising the European Greendeal. It came into effect on 18 July 2024.

The new EU Regulation on Sustainable Products replaces the previous Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC. Focusing on products which may have a significant impact on the environment, the EU ESPR is set to contribute to doubling the circularity rate of materials used in the EU.

Aimed towards an environmentally sustainable and circular economy, the ESPR is a significant milestone in the EU sustainable production initiative. Improving the circularity and energy efficiency of products circulating the EU market represents a step towards promoting sustainable business models and practices on all levels, as well as a competitive and resilient market.

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Under the ESPR, a sustainable product must be characterised as:

• Using less energy
• Longer usage period
• Easily repairable
• Containing parts which may be disassembled and put to further use
• No or fewer substances of concern
• Easily recyclable and/or containing more recycled content
• Lower carbon and environmental footprint over its lifecycle
• Having improved availability of information on its sustainability

The timeline for ESPR 

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation was proposed in March 2022 as part of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. In December 2023, the European Parliament and the European Council agreed on a provisional agreement of the Regulation. Adopted by the EU Parliament and EU Council in 2024, ESPR officially entered into force on 18 July 2024.

It contains three main changes from the previous Ecodesign Directive, namely rules on Digital Product Passports (DPPs), green public procurement and destruction of unsold products.

There are remaining steps to be taken, such as the adoption of the ESPR working plan, which is expected in April 2025. It will follow a prioritisation approach, with the first batch of products having to comply with the regulation by 19 April 2025. The Regulation applies to all products within the product group, unless there is a specific exception, which will also be provided at the same time. If there is no such exception, it is safe to say that the ESPR applies to the product on the list made by EC. 

This plan of action will be regularly updated and made publicly available by the European Commission on a maximum three year basis. Therefore, businesses producing products which are currently not on the list to be regulated by the ESPR should still begin preparations for potential regulation in the future.

In January 2026, the European Commission will publish a delegated act regarding DPPs for textiles, which is expected to enter into force in July 2027. By 19 July 2026, a digital registry will be created by the Commission to store the unique identifiers of DPPs in a secure way. At the same time, the destruction of certain products such as articles of clothing, accessories and footwear, which are not in accordance with sustainability will be prohibited. Small and medium-sized businesses must comply with this rule by 19 July 2030. The first report on the efficiency of ESPR will be published in 2030, with regular reports following every 6 years.

Who and what is affected by the ESPR?

Companies affected by ESPR

Businesses affected by the new ESPR include all members of the value chain of a company operating in the EU. That includes product manufacturers (including those not based in the EU), importers, distributors, dealers and service providers.

The ESPR adheres to international trade regulations and the EU will continue its partnerships and collaborations with non-EU countries of production that are committed to improving product sustainability. 

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation introduces many new initiatives, such as the Digital Product Passport (DPP), Green Public Procurement and rules on destruction of unsold consumer products. Costs for environmentally friendly products, characterised as such under ESPR will be reduced and any trade barriers eliminated.

Exceptions for small and medium sized enterprises in ESPR

The European Commission will ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are able to comply with the ESPR throughout their entire value chain. This will be done through supplementing acts and guidelines, the dates for which are yet to be published. EU Member States are also obliged to help these enterprises and keep an open dialogue with them to determine best practices and useful tools they might need. Establishing the one-stop-shop mechanism is recommended, as well as additional staff training, financial support, and support with other organisational and technical issues. 

Products affected by ESPR

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation applies to all products on the EU market, may that be circularing, importing or exporting. There are certain exceptions to the rule regarding food, feed, medicine or medical products and certain vehicles. All other products are to be regulated by the ESPR and subsequent acts addressing them will follow.

The product groups in the first priority batch that need to comply with ESPR are:

• Iron and steel
• Aluminum
• Textiles (garments and footwear particularly)
• Furniture 
• Tyres
• Detergents
• Paints
• Lubricants
• Chemicals
• Energy related products with ecodesign requirements
• Information and communication technology products & other electronics

Free movement framework of ESPR

With the enactment of the ESPR, products can only enter the market or be advertised if they comply with the conditions set out in the Regulation. Such products may still be displayed under certain exceptions, for example at trade events, as long as it is clearly communicated that they do not meet the necessary standards of ESPR and cannot be sold.

Moreover, as long as a product complies with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Member States of the EU are prohibited from restricting or banning it from the market, even when the product might not comply with their national safeguards on sustainable products. Therefore, sellers must focus on the rules of ESPR, despite a potential clash with domestic laws. As an EU legal instrument, the Regulation will always hold priority over the national laws of EU Member States.

What are the Ecodesign requirements of ESPR?

The ESPR has clear ecodesign requirements put in place in order to improve product sustainability in aspects such as:

• Durability
• Reliability
• Reusability
• Upgradability
• Repairability
• The possibility of maintenance and refurbishment
• The presence of substances of concern
• Energy use and energy efficiency
• Water use and water efficiency
• Resource use and resource efficiency
• Recycled content
• The possibility of remanufacturing
• Recyclability
• The possibility of recovery of materials
• Environmental impacts, including carbon footprint and environmental footprint
• Expected generation of waste

These requirements will be tailored to every product group or individual products if necessary by the European Commission, considering also the international agreements, environmental goals and other existing laws of the EU. It is a priority that the requirements imposed do not negatively impact or target small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), as well as that they do not restrict functionality, affordability or user safety of the product.

What are the digital product passport requirements of ESPR?

The most prominent development within the ESPR is the mandatory adaptation and use of the Digital Product Passport (DPP).  It is mandatory for products entering the EU market, regardless of their origin, to have a DPP, coming into effect given the priority batch of the product. The ESPR sets the criteria which the DPP must meet to ensure that the products on the EU market are compliant with the Regulation. 

The DPP must be kept up to date, complete and accurate, containing information on the product’s model, batch or level of the product, in addition to transparency of where more information on the product can be found. 

What is required in a digital product passport?

Following the rules of ESPR, the DPP must be linked to a unique product identifier via a data carrier, which will be present on the packaging of the product. The data present must be in compliance with the CS3D or CSDDD standards – therefore machine readable and accessible to various stakeholders (manufacturers, distributors, authorities, etc.). Any personal consumer data may only be used upon consent.

A digital copy of the DPP must be provided in instances of online retail, as well as a backup copy, to be available through a designated service provider. The DPP should be interoperable with other systems and made available until the end of the product’s life span. A central registry will be created by the European Commission to store the unique product identifiers which the DPPs are linked to, as well as other necessary data to ensure customs control and market surveillance.

This plan of action for the DPP, brought forward by the ESPR aims to improve product traceability, compliance and transparency of sustainable products in the market.

Destruction of unsold consumer products in ESPR

The second main goal of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is to prevent the destruction of unsold consumer products. This means that companies will have to publicly share information on the weight of discarded products; reasons for discarding the products and what happens to the discarded products. 

They must specify how many unsold products they discarded each year and their weight, organized by type or category of product (e.g., electronics, clothing), explain why the products are being discarded (if the below mentioned exceptions apply, this must be stated). Lastly, companies must show the percentage of discarded products that were being:  

• Prepared to be reused - refurbishment or remanufacturing
• Recycled
• Used in other recovery processes, like energy recovery

From 19 July 2026, the destruction of certain articles of clothing, accessories and footwear, containing products which are not in accordance with sustainability will be prohibited. Every 36 months after that, the list of products prohibited from destruction will be updated.

Destruction of products listed by the European Commission is prohibited, unless one of the following exceptions applies:

• Health, hygiene and safety
• Damage to the product to the point where it can’t be repaired cost-effectively
• Product can't be used for its intended purpose and cannot be repurposed
• Intellectual property violations
• Destruction of the product is the most environmentally friendly alternative

Medium-sized businesses must also abide by this rule by 19 July 2030. While initially exempt, small and micro businesses will also be obliged to comply with disclosure requirements by the same date, and must be able to show documentation in an instance where that is needed from the Commission. 

In order to comply with the ESPR rule of destruction of unsold products, businesses can use the R-Strategies mechanism. These strategies are focused on reusing, recycling, repairing, and remanufacturing to extend lifespans of products to prevent them from being destroyed. This helps businesses unlock more value managing unsold products sustainably, allowing them to report efforts like refurbishment or repurposing as required by the ESPR.

What is required of companies?

Detailed information must be disclosed by the economic operators when it comes to the characteristics of unsold products, namely their number, weight, reasons for disposal and methods for the recovery of disposal.

This information must be publicly available (via website or sustainability reports) and updated annually. Moreover, upon request, businesses are obliged to provide information and demonstrations to the European Commission or national authorities on how the discarded products are being handled, and whether any exceptions to the rule are applicable.

Green public procurement in ESPR

The last main characteristics of the new EU ESPR are the guidelines for green public procurement. Public procurement is the process through which public authorities, including government departments, municipalities, and other public sector entities, acquire goods, services, or works from private companies. The guidelines are aligned with the 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, summarising that public contracts must meet the minimum requirements for environmental sustainability.

What is required of public authories?

In order to ensure green public procurement through the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the European Commission will establish the specific requirements through supplementing acts. They shall provide specific technical standards, provide an award criteria, performance conditions and targets based on the highest performance standards for relevant product groups.

Conclusion

By replacing the previous Ecodesign Directive, the ESPR represents a pivotal shift in the circular economy of the European Union. By addressing and mapping out sustainability roads through the entire product lifecycle, emphasising the importance of transparency, supply chain traceability and accountability, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation fosters a culture of sustainability and brings the EU one step closer to the goals of the European Green Deal.

ESPR enables the establishment of performance and information standards, including repairability and durability, for nearly all physical goods. Specific product requirements will be determined over time on a case-by-case basis. The introduction of compulsory digital product passports will provide detailed information on performance, traceability, and compliance. Consumers will be able to access this data through a public web portal. The regulation also bans the destruction of unsold clothing, accessories, and footwear, with the possibility of expanding to other product categories in the future. Producers and retailers must report the quantity and reasons for discarded products. And finally, EU public institutions will be required to adhere to mandatory Green Public Procurement criteria when purchasing products.

The ESPR’s comprehensive approach provides stakeholders with relevant guidelines to comply with the new product sustainability standards. While the landscape of product sustainability is still evolving, businesses may leverage these changes as a competitive advantage and make use of the guidance of other stakeholders. 

Supply chain traceability is crucial to ensure that all parts of the value chain align with sustainability goals. A high level of transparency builds trust with consumers and adds to a good reputation of the company. By having a comprehensive supply chain traceability mechanism, businesses are able to meet the regulatory requirements more efficiently and maintain their competitive advantage in a market which is increasingly sustainability-conscious.