Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)

  • The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is the EU’s framework for making sustainable products the norm, replacing the Ecodesign Directive and extending its scope far beyond energy-related products.

    The ESPR entered into force on 18 July 2024 and is a cornerstone of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan. It establishes a comprehensive framework for setting ecodesign requirements for a broad range of physical products placed on the EU market, with only limited categories excluded, such as food, feed and medicinal products.

    • Improve product sustainability — raise environmental performance across product life cycles through design choices that reduce resource use and emissions.

    • Increase circularity - promote durability, reparability, reusability, upgradability, and remanufacturing to keep materials and products in use longer.

    • Enhance resource and energy efficiency - lower energy and raw material consumption during use, production, and end‑of‑life processing.

    • Reduce presence of substances that inhibit circularity — limit or manage hazardous substances that block recycling, reuse, or safe recovery.

    • Boost recyclability and material recovery — make products easier to dismantle, sort, and recycle and improve recovery rates for critical materials.

    • Improve information and transparency — require interoperable data (e.g., Digital Product Passports) so actors across the value chain and consumers can make informed choices.

    • Prevent premature destruction and waste — restrict destruction of unsold goods and support longer economic life for products.

    • Support a well‑functioning single market for sustainable products — harmonise rules to avoid fragmentation and create predictable conditions for businesses across the EU.

    • Drive innovation and sustainable business models — encourage investment in repair, remanufacturing, maintenance, and circular services.

    • Contribute to EU climate and environmental targets — help meet EU goals on emissions, resource use, and circularity by 2030 and beyond. 

    • Support sustainable public procurement — enable minimum sustainability requirements for certain products purchased by public authorities, helping create lead markets for more sustainable products.

  • The ESPR applies to a very broad range of physical products placed on the EU market, creating a horizontal legal framework for setting mandatory ecodesign performance and information requirements across product life cycles.

    Included product types

    • Final products and components placed on the market.

    • Products with significant environmental impacts or improvement potential, where delegated acts may establish requirements relating to durability, reparability, upgradability, energy and resource efficiency, recycled content, recyclability, and substances that hinder circularity.

    Products and components are covered where they fall within the scope of the Regulation and are addressed by relevant implementing measures.

    Explicit exemptions and limits

    • Excluded categories include food, feed, medicinal products and certain other products explicitly listed in the Regulation. Motor vehicles covered by specific EU vehicle legislation are treated separately under the ESPR.

    • The Commission may identify, prioritise or omit product groups when developing the ESPR Working Plans and adopting delegated acts.

    How scope is implemented

    • The Regulation establishes the horizontal legal framework; specific requirements are introduced through delegated acts for product groups and horizontal aspects selected according to the Regulation’s prioritisation criteria.

    • The Commission’s ESPR Working Plans, preparatory studies and impact assessments determine which product groups and horizontal measures are taken forward.

    • ESPR measures may establish both information requirements, including Digital Product Passport requirements, and performance requirements covering different stages of a product’s life cycle.

    Prioritisation criteria (practical note)
    Product groups are prioritised based on factors including their environmental and climate impacts, potential for improvement, resource and energy consumption, circularity potential and other criteria set out in the Regulation.

    The 2025–2030 ESPR Working Plan identifies priority product groups including steel and aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres, mattresses and energy-related products. It also identifies horizontal measures on repairability, including a repairability score, and on the recyclability of electrical and electronic equipment.

    For the technology sector, the focus on electrical and electronic equipment is particularly relevant, as future ESPR measures may address aspects such as recyclability, resource efficiency, recycled content and information requirements across the product life cycle.

    • Entry into force — 18 July 2024
      The ESPR entered into force, establishing the EU’s new framework for setting ecodesign requirements for a broad range of products and replacing the previous Ecodesign Directive over a transition period.

    • First ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030 — adopted 16 April 2025
      The European Commission adopted the first ESPR and Energy Labelling Working Plan, identifying priority product groups and horizontal measures to be developed during 2025–2030. Priority areas include steel and aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres, mattresses and energy-related products, alongside horizontal measures on repairability and the recyclability of electrical and electronic equipment.

    • Implementation phase — 2026 onwards
      The ESPR is moving from framework legislation into implementation. The Commission is developing specific ecodesign requirements through preparatory work, stakeholder consultation and delegated or implementing acts. A mid-term review of the Working Plan is scheduled for 2028.

    • Digital Product Passport — phased roll-out
      The ESPR introduces the Digital Product Passport as a key information mechanism for products covered by ESPR measures. The Commission is developing the technical infrastructure, including identifiers, data carriers, access rights and the DPP registry and web portal. The roll-out will take place progressively as product-specific requirements are adopted.

    • Transition and product-specific requirements — 2026 and beyond
      Concrete ecodesign requirements will apply progressively as delegated acts enter into force. Timing will vary by product group and measure, with businesses receiving transition periods before new requirements become applicable.