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Guide To ESPR: The Ecodesign For Sustainable Products Regulation  

The European Union’s product policy aimed at improving sustainability across the internal market. It sets rules to make products more durable, repairable, and recyclable.

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What Is The Ecodesign For Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) ?

ESPR stands for Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. It’s the EU’s new rulebook to make products more sustainable, durable, and easier to repair or recycle. The regulation establishes a digital product passport, provides a setting of mandatory green public procurement requirements and creates a framework to prevent unsold consumer products from being destroyed. Bridging from the previous Ecodesign Directive, it brings a wave of new changes, including the addition of the Digital Product Passport (DDS),  which is a mandatory to include machine-readable passport along with impacted product imports. 

ESPR impacts any physical goods that are placed on the EU market or put into service (both components & intermediate products), such as textiles, furniture, and paints.

In 2019, the EU’s material footprint was 18.7 tonnes per capita, the second highest in the world after North America. The EU, (6% of the world’s population), consumed 17% of all raw materials extracted in 2019. 5 The ESPR's objective is to improve the sustainability of products, which ultimately means to reduce raw material extraction for products consumed in the EU.

ECOS position paper "Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), April 2024

ESPR Scope

Practically everything apart from a few exceptions such as: 

  • Food

  • Animal feed

  • Medicinal products 

  • Veterinary medical products

  • Living plants, animals and micro-organisms 

 

 

Priority Products

  • 11 final products: textiles and footwear, furniture, tyres, bed mattresses, detergents, paints and varnishes, lubricants, cosmetics, toys, fishing gears, absorbent hygiene products. 

  • 7 intermediate products: iron and steel, commodity chemicals, non-ferrous, non-aluminium metal products, aluminium, plastic and polymers, pulp and paper, glass.

Tentative Timeline

Timeline ESPR

ESPR Sets Design Rules So Products Would...

Be longer lasting

Be easier to repair

Create less waste 

Be traceable and transparent 

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ESPR In Practice

Imagine you were buying a dishwasher:

✅ Under ESPR, it should be energy-efficient, repairable, and come with information on parts, durability, and how you can recycle it.

🛑 Manufacturers will not be allowed to manufacture the product in a way that it could not be fixed. Nor can they claim it’s “green” without proof.

What Compliance Would Look Like

Product Design & Development

Integrate sustainability from the start. Products must be designed for:

Durability

Repairability

Recyclability

Energy/resource efficiency

Use recycled materials where required

Avoid harmful substances flagged by EU (i.e. Substances of Very High Concern) 

Data Gathering & Documentation

Track and record material composition, energy use, and product life cycle data

Assess carbon footprint, water usage, and repairability score, if applicable

 This data is critical for the next step: the Digital Product Passport

Creating a Digital Product Passport (DPP)

For each product, generate a Digital Product Passport, which must include:

Materials used

Repair and disassembly info

Recycling instructions

Environmental performance metrics

Compliance certificates

 Must be digitally accessible (QR code, RFID tag, website, etc.)

Labelling & Transparency

Clearly label products with eco-design features (e.g., energy class, repair rating).

No greenwashing: Claims must be fact-based and verifiable.

Include environmental claims only if independently certified or backed by evidence.

Supply Chain Alignment

Work with suppliers to ensure traceability of materials and data availability.

May require contract updates and new audit processes for compliance.

Internal Systems & Auditing

Set up internal processes to:

Track compliance per product category

Maintain audit trails

Respond to EU checks or enforcement action 

⚠️ Expect audits and market surveillance from national authorities

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Your Compliance Summary Checklist 

Download our ESPR compliance check list to get an easy overview of primary tasks to cover in order to be compliance ready. 

Download Your ESPR Checklist

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