Preparing for eco-design and energy labelling of phones and tablets

Some150 million mobile phones and 25 million tablets were during 2020 registered sold in Europe, while almost 700 million units were kept at home in hibernation.

So there is a huge eco-design potential of proper reuse, green mining and proper disposal of the hazardous substances involved.

EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan from 2020 calls for such products to be:

   -Energy Efficient

   -Durable

   -Fit for maintenance repair and upgrading throughout lifetime

   -Able to reuse and recycle at the end of life

In May this year, as mandated under the Energy-Related Products Directive (ErP Directive 2009/125/EC),the European Commission published for comments a draft of regulations with requirements for both eco-design and energy labelling of smartphones and tablets.

Now, after some months of preparation and consultation, they have officially published a new draft for this.The new draft is more concrete, such as concerning energy efficiency:

• Battery should be either replaceable or proofed to withstand 1000 charge/discharge cycle and still keep at least 80% of initial capacity.
• Fast charging should be ‘OFF’ in default setting.
• Energy label with efficiency, battery endurance per cycle, IP class, and free fall reliability class.

It is further noted that

• Reparability class (A to E) is to be included in the energy label.
• Smartphones and tablet are expected to be energy labelled in the market no later than February 2024.
• Environmental footprint is not included now but will be under consideration until the intended revision after 3 years.
• Smart wearables may be included in the planned revision after 3 years

The new draft currently undergoes a 4 week’s consultation process. When finalized and approved, the new regulations shall enter into force 3 weeks after publication in EU’s Official Journal, while there will be 3 stages of implementation: after 12 months, 14 months and 18 months.

For further information and assistance with understanding these new requirements, please contact Kenny.Ho@nemko.com

(Article is based on text provided by Kenny Ho, edited by T.Sollie)