About: ecodesign Archives

The circular economy has become one of the latest buzzwords in Brussels. The challenge now is to make sure it becomes an operational pillar of the EU’s policymaking, writes Stephane Arditi.

Researchers at the Öko-Institut and the University of Bonn found that consumers were replacing their fridges, flatscreen TVs and notebooks more and more frequently. But how much of that is down to "built-in obsolescence" is still unclear.

The sale of energy-wasting ovens and cooking hobs will be banned across the European Union after the latest set of rules to make household appliances more efficient takes effect on Friday, (20 February).

When word of an EU ban on high-power vacuum cleaners hit Eurosceptic British tabloids in August, "Hoovergate" brought home a dilemma for the bloc that goes well beyond house-proud devotees of deep-pile English carpet.

Mega-TV screens will be forced to reduce energy use under new proposals that set the scene for ‘ecodesign’ battles to come over kettles, toasters, and hairdryers.

Rapid policy moves are needed to curb energy wastage from electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets and game consoles, which in 2013 cost $80 Billion (€53 billion), says a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

EXCLUSIVE / Campaigns by politicians and press against EU energy saving consumer initiatives risk stirring anti-European sentiment and will not be taken lightly in Brussels, the energy commissioner Günther Oettinger has said in a letter to ministers at the energy council today (13 June), which EURACTIV has seen.

An EU proposal to freeze a phase-out of energy-guzzling lamps for two years would hurt clean energy firms, dampen the EU’s environmental legislation and threaten future green laws, according to a Danish Energy Agency (DEA) paper, seen by EURACTIV.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a consultative body of the EU, called for new collaborative opportunities for consumers and businesses within the single market.

Global energy saving investments - and their effects on energy demand - are now equal to the net contribution of other fuel sources, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on 16 October, as it launched its inaugural Energy Efficiency Market Report.  

A below-the-radar vote in an obscure EU committee to set new efficiency standards for central heating boilers has sealed energy savings that could equal 10% of Europe’s energy consumption by 2020, green groups say.

The meaningful energy labelling of household heating boilers is being gutted behind the scenes, green campaigners have warned, saying this could undermine the EU's 2020 target to cut energy consumption by 20%.

Electronics giants Electrolux, Philips and the Bosch-Siemens-Home Appliances Group said yesterday (June 21) that the European Commission must speed up the ecodesign legislation to help businesses and consumers save billions of euros through more efficient products.

The European Commission needs to take the implementation of recycling laws more seriously, says green campaigner and waste policy expert Stéphane Arditi in an interview with EURACTIV.

The European Commission needs to take the implementation of recycling and Ecodesign laws more seriously, said green campaigner and waste policy expert Stéphane Arditi.

The European Commission lacks the staff to fulfill the eco-design directive, despite the huge potential it has for achieving significant carbon dioxide reductions, says Edouard Toulouse.

The European Commission has asked the three member states to transpose the EU’s 2010 energy labelling directive into their legislation, brushing off concerns that the law itself might confuse consumers.

After years of delays, hopes are high that 2012 will be the year Europe’s Ecodesign Directive will finally kick into action, saving billions of euros and the environment, says Stéphane Arditi, coordinator for the 'Coolproducts' campaign to promote energy-efficient appliances and other consumer goods.