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Sustainability by Product Design: The EU Initiative
Sustainability as a concept is gaining adoption and is gradually being accepted and implemented at varying levels across the globe. With the help of technology, people today are more aware of the impact of our actions on the environment.
Governments around the world are coming up with short and long-term environmental action plans and regulations to protect the environment and natural resources. Most recently, in 2022, the European Union introduced a proposal for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), as part of a broader Sustainable Product Initiative.
This blog aims to explain the regulation, its impact on the design approach and how we at NeuronicWorks can help.
What is Ecodesign?
Sustainable product design, also known as Design for Sustainability, focuses on methodologies for making sustainable improvements (social, economic, and environmental) to product design. Ecodesign is a sustainable design approach, also referred to as Design for Environment (DfE), which focuses on reducing environmental impact at every step of the products’ lifecycle. You can read more about sustainable design in one of our earlier blogs here. Additionally, here’s a link to our Design for Excellence blog that covers Design for Environment as a design principle.
An often-referenced statistic is that 80% of the ecological impacts of a product are locked in at the design phase which puts a lot of onus on design firms such as ours to consider the implications of environmental and social impacts that our designs will have on the world. It is our responsibility to design and create with sustainability as a focus.
What is the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation?
The European Union Commission has introduced a proposal for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), as part of the broader Sustainable Product Initiative (SPI). While the earlier Ecodesign directive (2009/125/EC) applied specifically to energy-related products, the ESPR aims to set a framework for a wider range of physical products placed for sale on the EU market, whether the organization selling the products is based within Europe or not. The ESPR will also cover components and intermediary products that require further manufacturing or transformation via assembly.
A key objective of ESPR will be to better define and monitor product durability, reusability, upgradeability, recyclability, and circularity. It aims to determine carbon and environmental footprints and opportunities for remanufacturing and recycling.
An important agenda of the upcoming regulation is that all regulated products will require a ‘Digital Product Passport’ to provide information about the origin of all materials and components used in the manufacturing process. The passport will contain unique ID numbers that are machine-readable, and that will increase efficient sharing of information across value chains. This will place a greater responsibility on manufacturers to provide circular products ensuring ownership and responsibility is clear across the product lifecycle.
It is interesting to note that the EU is considering basing the Digital Product Passport on a unified enterprise blockchain system which may be a great option as the system will be decentralized, with every actor in the value chain having their own identifier within the system. The implementation of this project though could experience some challenges around scalability of the program, especially with respect to data storage requirements and energy consumption. We will have to wait and see how the digital product passport will eventually be implemented and rolled out.
How can product organizations prepare for these changes?
With ESPR, a key requirement will be that the design of products will have to be reviewed to address ecodesign requirements regarding performance and manufacturing information. To be prepared for the upcoming changes, one of the first steps is to be armed with information and knowledge on the upcoming regulation and its various directives and delegated acts.
Next, raise awareness and inform all internal stakeholders about the upcoming changes so that everyone is on the same page. Designated teams can be set up to review the current product designs and production practices and see how it compares to the Ecodesign requirements. It may take a couple of years before some category of products will have to comply with specific standards, but it is crucial to start preparing for sustainability immediately if you have not already.
It would be advisable to choose the right design and manufacturing partner who has a thorough knowledge of the regulation and standards and designs with sustainability principles in mind. Having experienced professionals, you can rely on, can make all the difference.
How can NeuronicWorks help?
Ecodesign should be considered from the very beginning and carefully implemented during the entire development and manufacturing process for electrical and electronic products. With a vertically integrated team of design and manufacturing experts, NeuronicWorks ensures ecodesign practices are considered at every phase of the product development and manufacturing process.
As a company, our vision and mission statements are centered around green designs and we work with well-established and renowned partners, suppliers, vendors, distributors and manufacturers to define checklists for the improvement of sustainability opportunities and adopt ecodesign techniques and approaches.
These are some of the key aspects we focus on:
- Design. Design is in everything and is the basis for how a product is formed. We strive to implement ecodesign practices in all our design projects to minimize overall environmental impact.
- Purchasing. We carefully vet and audit our suppliers, partners, vendors, distributors, and manufacturers to ensure an ideal ecosystem of eco-conscious partners.
- Production. We continuously improve our processes to make them more efficient. From the equipment we have sourced to the materials used, we ensure minimal wastage and ensure recyclability.