Conformity Magazine - February 2009 - (Page 42)

The EuP Directive Implementation, Design Requirements and Issues by Vic Clements, Oakmead Consulting, Ltd. his article looks at a most significant piece of current European Union (EU) legislation, the “EuP” Directive, that will mandate eco-design requirements (or, as it is increasingly referred to, “environmentally conscious design”) for energy using products sold in the EU. It explains how the requirements of the directive are being phased in, and looks at the type and range of design requirements that are being considered and likely to be imposed. It concludes by raising some of the design, management and strategic issues that will arise when addressing these requirements, and the wider challenges of eco-design. “Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of eco design requirements for energy-using products,” or, as it is more commonly known, the EuP Directive, came into force on the 10th August 2005 and was transposed into Member State law by 10 August 2007. It is clearly the intention of the directive that eco-design requirements be made mandatory for many types of energy using products, and that these requirements will be legally enforced for all such products placed on the EU market. However, despite the fact that the directive has been in force for over three years, requirements currently only cover boilers, refrigerators, and ballasts for fluorescent lighting. That’s because these products were already covered by their own individual directives, the essential requirements of which were easily incorporated into the regulations as implementing measures without going through the lengthy development process required when starting from scratch. The reason for the apparent slowness is that the directive is a so-called “framework” directive. As such, it does not contain any specific eco-design requirements itself, but instead establishes a legal and administrative framework within which eco-design requirements are placed on products via separate instruments (called implementing measures). 2 Conformity february 2009 © Bram Janssens | Dreamstime.com T These measures will cover specifically defined product groups, such as televisions, washing machines, lighting, personal computers and monitors, etc. However, at this point, none (other than those represented by the existing regulations above) have been put in place. That’s because preparing an implementing measure is a lengthy business taking several years, and involves preliminary feasibility studies, environmental, social and economic impact assessments, approval by a regulatory committee of the Member States, and scrutiny by the European Parliament. But, as work started on the first product groups back in 2006, the introduction of the first implementing measures is not far off, and we shall see others coming into force over the next few years. Bear in mind that, as most of the measures will be implemented in the form of EU regulations, they will become effective upon adoption and will require no transposition into Member State law. To mitigate the impact of design changes, the measures will also likely allow for phased introduction of any newly imposed limits. The current status of the implementing measures for the first groups of products to be covered can be seen in Table 1. More information about the status of implementing measures can be found at www.conformity.com/2661. It doesn’t stop there. Further products are in line for inclusion under the provisions of the EuP Directive, and the EU Commission has preliminary studies underway for the following products, which are featured in the draft working plan for the next phase of implementing measures: • Refrigerated and freezing equipment, including service cabinets, walk-in cold rooms, chillers, ice makers, ice cream and milk-shake machines, minibars, etc.; http://www.Dreamstime.com http://www.conformity.com/2661

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Conformity Magazine - February 2009 Contents Editor's Note FCC Clarifies Closed Captioning Requirements for DTV Receivers Commission Cracks Down (For the Fifth Time!) On Junk Fax Marketer FDA Requests Comments on Global Harmonization Documents Australia Now Requires Solar Panel Testing and Certification EU Drafting New Directive on Toy Safety EU Commission Revises Standards List for EMC, R&TTE Directives Additional Standards Published For the EU's Medical Devices Directive EU Commission Publishes Additional Standards for Directives on Active Implantable, In Vitro Medical Devices EMC For the Functional Safety of Automobiles ESD Open Forum The ILAC Arrangement: Facilitating Trade Efficient Methodology for the EMI Analysis of Optical Transceivers Including PCBs and/or Flex Circuits The EuP Directive - Implementation, Design Requirements and Issues Chambers, Shielding, and Accessories Buyer's Guide CPSIA Lead Requirements Apply to Existing Inventory, Says CPSC CPSC Clarifies Certifcation Requirements Other CPSC Actions in the News IEC Standards Update Product Reviews UL standards Update Telcordia Standards Update From Our "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department Looking Back: Items from Past Issues of Conformity Advertisers

Conformity Magazine - February 2009

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