Trond SollieJanuary 1, 20221 min read

Europe introducing “right to repair”

Based on the Ecodesign Directive the European Commission sets requirements in Eco-design regulations for various types of energy-consuming products. These regulations, cover, among other, requirements for reparability of electronic products and must be met by manufacturers and importers who will market such products in the EU/EEA countries.

Reparability has increased attention by both environmental organisations and consumers. The main reason is the relatively short lifespan of electronic devices and the difficulty of disassembling these devices in order to reuse well-functioning parts and components.

The repair requirements are added to already existing other ecodesign requirements for certain products, and distinguish between the following three main aspects:

   -Availability of spare parts to ensure that certain spare parts are available for professional repairers
     for a specified period of time after the products have been placed on the market;
     -Repair and maintenance information to allow professional repairers to access certain repair and
       maintenance information;
     -Information obligations to provide the users of the product instructions for use, including specific
     instructions to enable them to carry out maintenance work, on a website accessible free of charge.

So, the Eco-design regulations which are now under preparation for smartphones and tablets will mandate the access to spare parts and availability to repair instructions to independent repair shops.

Some manufacturers preparing for this may choose to take further steps and allow capable product owners to make their own repairs by providing access to genuine parts and tools. In fact, Apple has already announced that for some of their newer mobile phone models, owners will have possibility to replace displays, batteries and cameras themselves. To which extent this really will be an option, will surely depend on the prices of these parts.

For further information, please contact JonIvar.Tidemann@nemko.com

Trond Sollie

For more than 30 years, Sollie has worked with conformity assessment activities in various industrial contexts, both in Norway and internationally. He has been paramount in building relationships across organisations and borders. He has also been active in the management of the international IECEE/CB scheme for many years. Until recently, he was Board Chairman of the Norwegian standards body NEK and President of the Norwegian IEC National Committee and IECEE Member Body. He is currently a member of the IEC-CAB (Conformity Assessment Board) and IEC Ambassador for conformity assessment training of IEC Affiliates (mostly developing countries). He also provides consulting to authorities/bodies in several countries on such matters. Nemko has benefitted from Sollie’s expertise, network and enthusiasm for more than three decades. Prior to his role as a senior advisor for Nemko, he was a Senior Vice President, responsible for international cooperation. He has been instrumental in developing the successful Nemko Direct programs that offer clients worldwide market access for their products, within both the electrical and telecommunications/radio product areas. He has been the editor of Nemko News in Brief since the beginning in 2000.

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Europe introducing “right to repair”

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