On January 24^th and 25^th, the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy organised a conference on EU Eco-design policy. The conference aimed to present new and innovative developments in research and market monitoring, and to stimulate discussions on how the European Union could continue to develop standards under the Ecodesign Directive.

Presentations showed that the Ecodesign Directive is one of the best performing European policies for achieving energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases. However, even more stringent energy efficiency standards for appliances would produce additional benefits. Similarly, more regular updating of standards has been recommended, as well as more effective standards testing and monitoring. A sense of urgency on accelerating the uptake of the EU eco-design policy was clearly visible in the whole event, as low-hanging fruits have already been reached and there is a need to move further up, as it will be necessary to reach climate targets.

The Ecodesign Directive is also considered to be a key instrument in European efforts for improved resource efficiency, as Ecodesign standards can influence a number of product properties such as product durability, reparability and recyclability. The debates showed however uncertainty on how to best proceed with these developments.

For more information, please visit the webpage here: https://www.eceee.org/