On 16 July, EGMF and EPTA issued a joint position paper on the Sustainable Products Initiative. This future legislative framework – currently developed by the European Commission – is expected by the end of the year.
This joint position paper aims to share the view of the outdoor power equipment and power tools industries on the different measures to make sustainable product the norm. In addition to our responses to the public consultation questionnaire in June, this paper provides inputs for the ongoing Impact Assessment study that is evaluating cost, benefits and impacts of different measures under discussion.
EGMF and EPTA support the Commission’s approach to set sustainability requirements on a European level and a product-by-product basis. However, it is important that the Initiative is built on the existing legal framework, and the extension of the Ecodesign Directive does not produce a parallel legislation.
Furthermore, we argue that materials and substances should be regulated only through existing policies, and all labelling information should be easy to understand and be of added value. Lastly, the Digital Product Passport needs a clear definition, alignment with standardisation and current legislation, and have a measured scope that considers our industries’ complex global value chains.
More information can be found in the EGMF position paper.