APRIL 2025

Dear ECOS subscriber,

ECOS has long advocated for ecodesign principles to apply broadly across products and sectors. This month, the first working plan for the ESPR was published, bringing us one step closer. These new ecodesign rules will eventually apply to almost all products sold on the EU market, but we are only at the beginning of a lengthy implementation process. We will continue to push for the most ambitious implementation - helping to protect the environment, give European businesses a competitive edge, and offer better, safer products to consumers. We invite our members to join us for an online workshop next month to learn more about the ESPR and their role in implementing it.

Also this month: EU institutions reached a provisional agreement on a new Soil Monitoring Law; though groundbreaking, the law has been significantly weakened. Read on to learn more – plus updates from our members and partners in this month’s ECOS newsletter.

First ESPR Working Plan kick-starts a more sustainable EU single market

The EU’s first Working Plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) confirms the list of priority products that will be tackled first to improve their sustainability. There will be different priorities and timelines per sector, but the overall aim is the same: phase out the worst-performing products while introducing information requirements on substances of concern and other environmental impacts.

A weak deal for Europe’s soils

The provisional agreement on the EU’s long-awaited Soil Monitoring Law (SML) is an important milestone - but policymakers have failed to properly address soil degradation, instead watering down a text that already lacked substance. Originally a framework to bring EU soils back to health, the SML has been further stripped of core measures and obligations.

📰 From textiles to steel, Brussels reveals items to face stricter sustainability rules

Following an ECOS press briefing, EURACTIV reports on the EU’s first working plan of the ecodesign regulation.

📰 ‘EU agrees to monitor soil health, but not to treat it’ [PT]

Portugal’s daily newspaper, Público, reports on the “historic but disappointing” deal for the EU’s Soil Monitoring Law.

14 May 2025

Ecodesign workshop for ECOS members

• Review of the EU’s Directives on waste
• We need strong agreement from the EU’s Soil Monitoring Law negotiations
• What’s next for ecodesign? A briefing ahead of the first ESPR Working Plan
• An opportunity to reduce the harmful effects of detergents

How Portugal tackled its plastic bag habit

Two ECOS members - Zero (PT) and Zero Waste France - were recently highlighted in an ENDS Europe article analysing efforts across EU Member States to reduce consumption of lightweight plastic bags.

Designing EPR to foster the EU’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy

EPR schemes are failing to deliver on circularity and strategic autonomy. Zero Waste Europe proposes a comprehensive framework to transform EPR systems into catalysts for the circular economy transition.

EU agrees landmark plastic pellet regulation, but loopholes will undermine impact

Rethink Plastic alliance reports on the EU’s new plastic pellet regulation. The deal preserves a clear ‘zero pellet loss’ objective and introduces a much-needed hierarchy of action – but loopholes, delays, arbitrary exemptions, and thresholds risk stunting its impact.