Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the voluntary ecodesign scheme for games consoles

Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products (the Ecodesign Directive) provides a legal framework for laying down ecodesign requirements for selected priority product groups.

According to the Ecodesign Directive, a priority product group has to be covered by either a mandatory implementing measure (i.e. a Commission Regulation) or a self-regulation measure (e.g. a voluntary agreement concluded by industry), if it meets three conditions: (i) it represents significant sales volumes, (ii) it has a significant environmental impact and (iii) it has a significant improvement potential.

Furthermore, the Ecodesign Directive states that the priority product groups should be subject to alternative courses of action such as industry self-regulation or voluntary agreements rather than mandatory implementing measures, if such action is likely to deliver the policy objectives faster or in a less costly manner than mandatory requirements.

Voluntary agreements or other self-regulation measures can be considered as alternatives to implementing measures in the context of the Ecodesign Directive, provided that they comply with the criteria laid down the Ecodesign Directive.

The Working Plan 2009-2011 under the Ecodesign Directive includes the product group sound and imaging equipment as offering a high potential for the cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission undertook a preparatory study for sound and imaging, including games consoles.

The preparatory study confirmed that this product group meets the criteria of the Ecodesign Directive. In particular, it represents significant sales volumes, has a significant environmental impact and has a significant improvement potential. Consequently, sound and imaging equipment could be covered by an implementing measure or by a self-regulation measure.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)178: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:178:FIN

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