Ecodesign: Practical and low-bureaucracy rules should be the focus

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has presented a draft bill for modernizing the national implementation of ecodesign and energy labeling. Crafts associations are calling for a regulation that is compatible with small and medium-sized businesses.

This article is part of the special topic Bureaucratic madness in the craft industry

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has presented a draft bill to modernize the national implementation of ecodesign, energy labeling, and other regulations. The bill is intended to implement the European Ecodesign Regulation for sustainable products into national law. The regulation builds on the Ecodesign Directive and establishes the legal framework for establishing requirements for the environmentally friendly design of products. The goal is to make products last longer and be easier to repair and recycle. Furthermore, they should use energy and resources more efficiently.

The Central Association of German Crafts In its statement on the draft, the German Centre for Industrial Development (ZDH) fundamentally agrees with the regulatory package. It is an important step towards improving the repairability of products and thus promoting sustainability, resource conservation, and consumer interests equally. Because the law addresses not only mass products but also contract manufacturing, unique items, and small series, it becomes more relevant for craft businesses. Therefore, the ZDH is advocating for regulations that are compatible with small and medium-sized businesses. This is important during implementation to ensure that businesses can continue to offer their products on the market.

Additional costs for SMEs

The association expects the law to result in "significant additional costs" for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It therefore strongly demands "that the specific needs of small and medium-sized craft businesses be adequately taken into account in the concrete design of ecodesign." It is crucial that national implementation adheres closely to the European legal framework and that no additional national requirements are introduced. This is the only way to avoid duplicate regulations and unnecessary bureaucratic burdens for businesses.

They argue that it is essential that product ecodesign requirements are not applied indiscriminately to mass-produced products and small-batch or one-off productions, as is typical in the craft sector. This would disadvantage small craft businesses because they cannot scale their efforts. In such a case, they face the threat of "massive, unjustified competitive disadvantages." The Ecodesign Regulation obliges legislators to avoid disproportionate adverse effects on the competitiveness of economic operators, especially micro-enterprises. This principle must not be ignored.

Making the law legally secure

Also the Central Association of the German Motor Vehicle Industry The German Federation of Motor Vehicle Dealers (ZDK) has submitted a statement to the ministry. It calls for a legally sound, practical, and minimally bureaucratic design: "The proposed requirements must be based on everyday business operations to enable effective implementation in the motor vehicle industry and avoid unnecessary burdens. The legal texts must be clearly formulated and implementable without excessive effort." At the same time, the ZDK advocates for a consistent reduction in bureaucracy, focusing on truly necessary requirements rather than additional reporting obligations.

"In the interests of consumers, the environment, and small and medium-sized businesses, we need clear and understandable rules that also work in everyday workshop operations – otherwise, the effectiveness of the law will be lost," explains ZDK President Thomas Peckruhn. "Anyone who wants to achieve the goals of ecodesign and energy labeling must not burden companies with impractical bureaucracy." The ZDK also calls for a clear definition of key terms to avoid legal uncertainty and the risk of warnings. The currently planned references to EU legal acts are insufficient for this purpose. 

Producer responsibility not transferred

The ZDK rejects the proposed expansion of dealer obligations: Dealers should not be held liable for information they cannot influence themselves. Manufacturer responsibility should not be shifted to retailers. Finally, the ZDK calls for a clearly regulated and proportionate design of market surveillance powers, especially regarding the use of software and AI. The association believes that the proposed obligation to tolerate requires critical review.

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