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On 24 April 2009, the European Parliament
adopted a legislative report on the Eco-design
requirements for energy related products.
According to the new resolution, construction
and insulation materials and equipment will have
to carry new labels informing users of their
energy consumption levels.
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Similarly to the labels found on electrical
goods and household appliances, the new labels
will have to appear on these building products
to include the products energy consumption and
provide detailed information on consumption
levels. The adopted resolution widens the scope
of all energy-related products, which now will
include products that do not directly consume
energy during use but have an indirect impact on
energy consumption, such as windows, doors,
insulation materials and plasterboard.
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According to the EU Parliament, these labels are
intended to encourage EU citizens to choose
energy efficient products to help reduce energy
consumption. The adopted resolution was based
on a Commission proposal to widen the scope of
the 2005 Eco-design directive. The current
Eco-design Directive (Directive 2005/32/EC)
covers only energy-using products and allows the
Commission to set the requirements for
energy-using products only such as boilers,
computers, televisions, industrial fans and
light bulbs. It establishes the requirements
that energy-using products must meet for the EU
market.
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The directive does not introduce directly
binding requirements for specific products, but
does define conditions and criteria for setting
requirements regarding environmentally relevant
product characteristics (such as energy
consumption) and allows such products to be
improved quickly and efficiently. It will be
followed by implementing measures which will
establish the eco-design requirements.
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The Commission shall review the effectiveness of
this Directive and of its implementing measures
no later than 2012. Following this review, the
Commission must assess the appropriateness of
extending the scope of the Directive to non
energy related products, in order to achieve
significant reduction of environmental impacts
throughout the products whole life cycle.
Comments by MATRADE Budapest
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The new resolution on the Eco-design
requirements for energy related products adopted
by the European Parliament on 24 April 2009 will
widen the scope of products for the EU eco label
system. Currently under the compulsory labeling
system, products such as light bulbs, cars and
most electrical appliances (mainly refrigerators
and washing machines) are required to put their
energy label system.
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With the adopted resolution products that do not
consume energy during usage but have an indirect
impact on energy consumption, such as windows,
doors, insulation materials and plasterboard,
will also need to follow
conditions and criteria set up for environmental
labeling.
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Thus, Malaysian producers of windows, doors,
insulation materials and plasterboard will need
to comply with labeling system which covers not
only the energy aspect but also the ecological
requirements. Products that do not meet the
criteria set out in the resolution may face
problem entering the EU market.
By MATRADE Budapest,
May 2009
Sources:
www.europarl.europa.eu
www.pmrpublications.com
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