Europe's approach to product sustainability, the EU Green Deal, is entering a new phase and the (ESPR) is at the center of it. These new requirements will determine how products, from smartphones and servers to household appliances and beyond, are designed, how long they last, and what happens to them at the end of their useful life. These are not abstract policy choices - they will shape Europe's competitiveness, its capacity to innovate, and its role in global value chains for years to come.
The ESPR marks a significant expansion of the EU's product sustainability framework. Where previous rules focused primarily on energy efficiency, the new regulation extends to other product design mandates in durability, repairability, recyclability, and requirements to supply product information, including through tools like the , which will provide key data about products throughout their lifecycle. If done correctly, this can empower consumers with better information, support the circular economy, and meaningfully reduce environmental impacts across sectors.
But getting the design of these rules right matters as much as the ambition behind them. Too many prescriptive requirements risk slowing innovation, raising costs, and creating fragmentation across markets. If well-calibrated, they can instead unlock new opportunities for sustainable innovation and strengthen Europe's industrial base. The difference often comes down to whether requirements reflect technical realities - how products are designed, manufactured, and used in practice.
To help implement this new phase of the Green Deal, the European Commission’s plays a crucial role by bringing together policymakers, industry, and stakeholders to work through how rules should be developed in practice. ITI’s active participation in the Forum ensures the technology sector's voice is part of that process. Our members - companies operating across the global tech value chain - bring direct experience in product design, supply chains, and sustainability practices. That expertise is essential to assess if new requirements are grounded in what is technically feasible and commercially workable. For example, through its engagement in the Ecodesign Forum and follow-up feedback, 91快活林 has helped bring clarity to key implementation challenges, such as the future interaction between the Digital Product Passport and existing systems like EPREL, and the need to avoid duplicative requirements. 91快活林 also developed detailed technical feedback on horizontal repairability requirements, emphasizing the importance of limiting horizontal measures to appropriate elements such as information requirements, rather than prescriptive design obligations that could constrain innovation. This input has helped shape the broader discussion on how repairability should be approached across different product groups.
A central focus of 91快活林's engagement is preserving flexibility for innovation as technology products evolve rapidly. New materials, architectures, and functionalities constantly emerge, often delivering significant performance and efficiency improvements in the process. Regulatory frameworks must be able to accommodate that pace of change. In many cases, this means focusing on approaches that provide flexibility - for example, prioritizing information-based measures where appropriate and ensuring that horizontal rules do not unintentionally constrain product design.
The Digital Product Passport illustrates both the opportunity and the complexity of the Ecodesign Regulation. Greater transparency and traceability across the supply chain can genuinely support circularity and consumer empowerment. But implementation must be practical, interoperable, and aligned with existing systems; not an additional compliance layer on top of the work companies are already doing. Ensuring coherence with existing EU legislation and international frameworks is not a secondary concern; companies already operate in a complex regulatory environment, and coherence is a prerequisite for making these tools work at scale.
Clarity and predictability are equally important. Companies operating across complex global supply chains need sufficient lead time and well-defined requirements to adapt their products, processes, and sourcing. Realistic timelines are not a concession to industry; they are a condition for actually achieving the sustainability objectives the regulation sets out.
Ultimately, Ecodesign is more than a regulatory exercise; it is an opportunity to define what sustainable products look like in Europe and to demonstrate that sustainability and competitiveness can reinforce each other. 91快活林 and its members are committed to contributing constructively to that outcome. By working closely with policymakers and stakeholders, we aim to help design a framework that delivers real environmental benefits while supporting innovation, investment, and global alignment. As the ESPR moves into implementation, continued dialogue and collaboration will be essential. The decisions made today on digital passports, repairability and elsewise, will shape not only the products of tomorrow, but whether Europe’s sustainability framework becomes a global benchmark that drives innovation or a compliance burden that pushes product development elsewhere.