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Representation in Ireland
  • News article
  • 30 March 2022
  • Representation in Ireland
  • 2 min read

Green Deal: New proposals to make sustainable products the norm and boost Europe's resource independence

The European Commission has presented a package of European Green Deal proposals to make sustainable products the norm in the EU, boost circular business models and empower consumers for the green transition.

Circular economy visual: fast food, fast fashion

As announced in the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission is proposing new rules to make almost all physical goods on the EU market more friendly to the environment, circular, and energy efficient throughout their whole lifecycle from the design phase through to daily use, repurposing and end-of-life.

The Commission is also presenting today a new strategy to make textiles more durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable, to tackle fast fashion, textile waste and the destruction of unsold textiles, and ensure their production takes place in full respect of social rights.

A third proposal aims to boost the internal market for construction products and ensure that the regulatory framework in place is fit for making the built environment deliver on our sustainability and climate objectives.

Finally, the package includes a proposal on new rules to empower consumers in the green transition so that consumers are better informed about the environmental sustainability of products and better protected against greenwashing.

With today's proposals, the Commission is presenting the tools to move to a truly circular economy in the EU: decoupled from energy- and resource dependencies, more resilient to external shocks and respectful of nature and people's health. The proposals build on the success of EU's existing Ecodesign rules, which have brought remarkable reductions in EU's energy consumption and significant savings to consumers. In 2021 alone, existing ecodesign requirements saved consumers €120 billion. The rules have also led to a 10% lower annual energy consumption by the products in scope. By 2030, the new framework can lead to 132 mtoe of primary energy savings, which corresponds roughly to 150 bcm of natural gas, almost equivalent to EU's import of Russian gas. 

More information

Full European Commission press release

Questions and Answers on Sustainable products initiative

Factsheet on Sustainable products initiative

Questions and Answers on Textiles Strategy

Factsheet on Textiles Strategy

Questions and Answers on Construction materials

Factsheet on Construction materials

Press release on Empowering consumers

Factsheet on Empowering consumers

Chapeau communication on making sustainable products the norm

Proposal for a Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products

Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024

EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles

Survey on the Transition Pathway for the textile ecosystem

Scenarios towards co-creation of a transition pathway for a more resilient, sustainable and digital textiles ecosystem

Sustainable Textiles Strategy website

Proposal on the revision of the Construction Product Regulation

Details

Publication date
30 March 2022
Author
Representation in Ireland