The European Commission announced the adoption of its 2025-2030 working plan for its Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and Energy Labelling Regulation, aimed at establishing sustainability requirements for products across the EU, and to improve information to consumers about products’ environmental sustainability.

The release of the new plan follows an initial proposal by the Commission in March 2022 to set rules to improve the sustainability profile of a wide category of products, including making them more environmentally friendly, circular, and energy-efficient through their lifecycle, by replacing the existing 2009 Ecodesign directive, which was limited to energy-related products. The ESPR regulation was adopted by EU lawmakers in July 2024.

Under the regulation, the Commission is empowered to adopt ecodesign requirements for products to improve their environmental sustainability. Requirements may cover a broad range of sustainability aspects including product durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability, the use of substances that inhibit circularity, energy and resource efficiency, recycled content, remanufacturing and recycling, and products’ carbon and environmental footprints. The regulation will also see the establishment of a new “Digital Product Passport,” aimed at helping consumers and businesses to make informed choices when purchasing products, by providing information about products’ environmental sustainability.

Under the new work plan, the Commission provided its list of products that should be prioritized to introduce ecodesign requirements and energy labelling over the next five years, including steel and aluminum, textiles (with a focus on apparel), furniture, tires and mattresses. The Commission said that the categories were chosen based on their potential to deliver on the circular economy.

Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, said:

“This initiative marks a major step toward making the circular economy a reality on the ground and sustainable products the norm across the EU. By setting clear priorities, we are providing legal certainty and predictability for the concerned industries, fostering innovation, and driving investment to support the transition to a circular economy. This will help close the innovation gap, develop lead markets for sustainable products, and accelerate the decarbonisation of key value chains to reinforce the EU’s competitiveness.”

Notably, several categories that were highlighted for prioritization in an agreement on the ESPR legislation between the EU Council and Parliament, such as footwear, detergents, paints, lubricants and chemicals, were not included in the working plan.

While welcoming the release of the working plan, sustainability-focused groups noted the absence of the additional categories, with the environmental network the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) warning that the plan “does not live up to the hard-won promises within the regulation.”

Eva Bille, Head of Circular Economy at the EEB, said:

“By leaving out entire product groups like footwear, paints, or chemicals, the Commission risks weakening the potential of the Ecodesign framework. If the Ecodesign Working Plan only covers a limited set of products, then at the very least it must set the highest possible standards – and close loopholes that let low-quality goods flood the EU market through online platforms.”