The European Commission (EC) has proposed new rules under the existing EU Energy Labelling Regulation today to help and encourage consumers make informed and sustainable choices when purchasing digital devices. This proposal provides that smartphones and tablets put on the EU market will have to display information on their energy efficiency, battery longevity, and reparability score. New products will use the existing A-G scale EU energy labels, and the EU-wide database European Product Registry for Energy Labels (EPREL) will provide additional information about the product.
Moreover, the newly approved Ecodesign Regulation lays out the following minimum requirements for these devices placed on the EU market:
- Resistance to accidental drops or scratches, protection from dust and water and use of sufficiently durable batteries. Batteries should withstand at least 800 charging cycles while retaining at least 80 percent of their initial capacity.
- Rules on disassembly and repair, including obligations for producers to make critical spare parts available to repairers within 5 to 10 working days, and until 7 years after the end of sales of the product model on the EU market.
- Availability of operating system upgrades for longer periods: for at least 5 years after the product has been placed on the market.
- Non-discriminatory access for professional repairers to any software or firmware needed for the replacement.
With the long-term goal to make the EU's economy more circular. These measure help to save energy, cut carbon footprint, support circular business models and deliver the benefits of the European Green Deal for consumers.
Source: EC
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