Green Procurement to become mandatory

July 22, 2022

The European Union’s flagship Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products will see the EU Green Procurement Policy become mandatory.

The European Union’s (EU) Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products (ESPR) will include a requirement for the EU Green Procurement Policy (GPP) to become mandatory and apply to all member states in documents seen by The Recycler.

Currently, the GPP requires that the warranty must not be invalidated because of reused/remanufactured consumables being used in imaging equipment unless it is proven that any malfunction or damage was directly caused using a reused/remanufactured consumable.

Firmware is also in the current GPP and requires that any firmware update must not prevent the use of reused/remanufactured consumables. It also requires that the imaging equipment must include functionality allowing firmware updates to be rolled back to previously installed versions.

In the event that a software update prevents the use of reused/remanufactured consumables, a solution will be provided that permits the continuous use of reused/remanufactured consumables.

The ESPR is anticipated to come law during 2024 to achieve the EU’s environmental goals and target product-related environmental impacts. A key feature will be the evolution of digital product passports.

For consumers, ESPR will target improved product performance and longer lifetimes to enable consumers to make more informed decision making and achieve financial savings through longer product life and consuming less energy.

Supply chain benefits should see reduced material costs and increased transparency across supply chain.