An integrated product policy approach to products and their impact on energy

A new piece of European legislation, the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) came into effect on 20 November 2009 and is to be implemented by Member States by November 20, 2010. This covers energy-using products under an earlier directive (the Energy using Products Directive) but also extends the range of products covered to include those which are related to energy use even if they do not actually use energy directly such as construction materials and fittings. So it covers 'any goods having an impact on energy consumption during use'. A product list is to be developed by the European Commission. Reduction in energy consumption is posited in the European Climate Change Programme (European Commission, 2006) and climate change is a priority in the Sixth Community Environment Programme (Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council). Climate change also now appears as an objective of the European Union in the Lisbon Treaty. Ecodesign is a key element of the European Commission's Integrated Product Policy and appears in the Commission Communication of 18 June 2003 'Integrated Product Policy - Building on Environmental Life Cycle Thinking'. It is also a key innovative aspect appearing in the Sixth Community Environment Action Programme. Building legislation on a life cycle approach is radical and novel given that most environmental impacts are regulated on a vertical basis where legislation is linked to the process rather than the product. This paper argues that the best way forward for achieving sustainability is to revolutionise the regulatory process by adopting a life cycle approach to the environmental impacts of products as the basis for legislation. It examines the impact of the Ecodesign Directive and seeks to evaluate the pros and cons of such an approach