NEWS

We are pleased to share our latest activity report detailing our key activities and focus over the past year.

In a fast-changing business world, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed our industry and EGMF has adapted and emerged even stronger through responding to the challenges. With accelerated trends like electrification and digitalisation and the growth of e-commerce, these topics have ranked high on our agenda.

Key initiatives included a guidance document on e-commerce and competition law, a strong focus on shaping industry friendly regulations and bi-annual market surveys to better understand our industry, notable the rise of battery powered equipment.

Additionally, 2021 has been marked by ambitious plans to move towards a climate-neutral society, a pillar of Europe’s recovery plan. As a result, we have shifted our focus even more so to sustainability and have prepared the ground for the upcoming legislative framework on Sustainable Products. In parallel, the digital transformation triggered the Revision of the Machinery Directive, a key legislative pillar and top priority for EGMF.

Download the report to see how we have responded to the changes occurring in society and the many regulatory files driving Europe towards a greener, digital and more resilient future.

EGMF represents manufacturers of garden, landscaping, forestry and turf maintenance equipment. The garden and outdoor power equipment industry represents a very wide variety of equipment, ranging from small hand-held machinery to large ride-on products. In addition, EGMF’s user base comprises both consumers and professionals.

The portfolio of EGMF equipment falls within the scope of numerous pieces of EU legislation, notably the Machinery Directive, Outdoor Noise Directive, Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive, all of which make use of the concept of harmonised European standards that provide a presumption of conformity to the respective EU legislation.

As such, we have responded to the European Standardisation Roadmap launched by the European Commission and shared EGMF’s experience and reflections on governance issues in the European Standardisation System.

Read our input and recommendations here.

EGMF has updated its Compliance Guides for both combustion engine and electric powered equipment. These guides are aimed at assisting market surveillance and border control authorities in checking the conformity of various types of garden machinery equipment that enter the EU market.

While EGMF member manufacturers build products that are compliant with EU legislation on safety and the environment, not all products on the market in Europe meet the same stringent levels. Counterfeit and non-compliant products are likely to present a safety hazard to consumers and are damaging to the environment.

The guides focus on the following key areas:

• Identification of the key parts of the machine
• The applicable EU Directives and Regulations
• The applicable EU Harmonised standards
• The main marking requirements such as CE, Engine exhaust emission, Guaranteed sound power level, WEEE symbol
• The required warning symbols
• The documentation that must be provided such as instructions and Declaration of Conformity

The full list of updated Compliance Guides, divided by specific garden machinery products, are now available for download.

To provide some background, EGMF produced its first batch of compliance guides in 2016. Ever since, members and the EGMF Secretariat have produced new guides for different types of equipment and updated the older ones to reflect changes in legislation or other technical requirements. 

In the context of discussion on the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2020-2024, we shared our views on the concept of universal batteries.

In short, EGMF strongly supports the European Commission’s decision to not include ‘universal batteries’ in the draft list of product groups, in line with the study recommendation.

We strongly believe that the existing initiatives to develop interoperable batteries and systems should remain voluntary in the garden machinery and outdoor power industry. Main reasons are:

1. The battery is an essential part of cordless garden machinery and outdoor power equipment since it influences the performance and, consequently, efficiency of the machinery;
2. Free competition is a key driver for innovation and competitiveness;
3. Safety should remain a priority and cannot be compromised;
4. The backward compatibility – one of specificities of our industry and the interoperable systems – already contributes to material and energy savings.

Find EGMF position paper here.

Released on 21 April 2021, the new European Commission’s proposal revising the Machinery Directive includes crucial changes that will have a significant impact on manufacturers of garden, landscaping, forestry and turf maintenance equipment for years to come.

EGMF is very pleased to see the introduction of digital instructions. At the same time, the proposal will stifle European innovation by artificially categorising AI machines as high risk and imposing third party certification without any safety benefits.

The full EGMF statement is available here.

On 20 April 2021, EGMF published its comments on the European Commission’s proposal for a revised Regulation on batteries and waste batteries.

Today, sustainability is a key part of our companies’ business strategy and we strongly support the overall objective to develop more sustainable batteries in Europe. Driven by innovation, our companies have been ahead of the curve to develop high performing battery equipment, enhancing the electrification of the garden and outdoor power equipment sector. The future Regulation on batteries is a key matter as it will influence the future of our industry.  
 To achieve a balanced and future-proof legislative framework, EGMF identified necessary improvements in the European Commission proposal, especially:

• Providing clarifications on the scope of the Regulation;
• Setting realistic and achievable collection targets for portable batteries;
• Differentiating requirements for industrial and electric vehicles batteries to target mass-volume products suitable for second life, and not niche-market;
• Limiting the removability and replaceability requirements to battery pack;
• Revising information requirements and systems to provide clarity to manufacturers, avoid duplication and simplify implementation;
• Allowing electronic declaration of conformity and digital instructions.

The EGMF position paper is available here.