ESPR Requirements — What EU Regulation 2024/1781 Requires of Manufacturers

The Legal Basis and Scope of ESPR Requirements

ESPR entered into force on 18 July 2024, published in the Official Journal of the European Union as Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. It is directly applicable in all EU Member States without requiring national transposition — unlike the Ecodesign Directive it replaces, which required national implementing legislation. ESPR applies to all physical products placed on the EU market, with limited exceptions for food, feed, medicinal products, veterinary medicinal products, and living plants and animals. The regulation also applies to products placed on the market in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

The requirements under ESPR are not uniform across all products. Instead, the regulation establishes a framework of possible requirements, and the European Commission adopts delegated acts that specify which requirements apply to each product group, what the specific performance thresholds are, and when they take effect. This means that ESPR compliance is a moving target — manufacturers must monitor the delegated act pipeline for their product categories and prepare in advance of the compliance dates.

Product Performance Requirements

ESPR Article 5 sets out the categories of product performance requirements that delegated acts may impose. These requirements address the full lifecycle of a product and go significantly beyond the energy efficiency focus of the Ecodesign Directive. The key performance requirement categories are as follows.

Durability and reliability: Delegated acts may set minimum requirements for the expected lifespan of a product under normal use conditions, expressed as a minimum number of operating cycles, hours of use, or years of service. Products that fail to meet durability requirements cannot be placed on the EU market.

Reusability: Where products or their components can be reused, delegated acts may require that products be designed to facilitate reuse — for example, by using standard fasteners, avoiding permanent adhesives, and providing disassembly instructions.

Upgradability and repairability: ESPR places particular emphasis on repairability. Delegated acts may require manufacturers to provide spare parts for a minimum number of years after the last unit is placed on the market, to make repair manuals available to independent repairers, and to achieve a minimum repairability score. The repairability score methodology is being developed by the Commission and will be specified in delegated acts.

Recycled content: Delegated acts may set minimum percentages of recycled content for specific materials in a product. This requirement is particularly significant for plastics, metals, and textiles, where the Commission has identified significant opportunities to increase recycled content.

Recyclability and end-of-life: Products may be required to achieve a minimum recyclability rate, to avoid the use of substances that impede recycling, and to provide end-of-life instructions that enable efficient recycling.

Carbon footprint: For product categories where carbon footprint is a significant sustainability parameter, delegated acts may require manufacturers to calculate and declare the carbon footprint of their products using a standardised methodology. In some cases, maximum carbon footprint thresholds may be set.

Substances of concern: ESPR requires that the DPP include information about substances of concern present in the product above specified threshold concentrations. Delegated acts may also restrict or ban the use of certain substances that impede repairability, recyclability, or safe end-of-life treatment.

Digital Product Passport Requirements

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is the most significant new requirement introduced by ESPR. Article 9 of ESPR establishes the legal basis for DPP requirements, and Annex III specifies the data categories that DPPs must contain. The DPP is a structured data record that must be linked to a specific product or batch of products via a unique product passport identifier and a data carrier.

The data carrier must be physically attached to the product, its label, or its packaging. The data carrier must be machine-readable (using a QR code, NFC chip, RFID tag, or other technology specified in the delegated act) and must link to the DPP data. The DPP data must be accessible to market surveillance authorities, customs authorities, consumers, and recyclers throughout the product's lifecycle — including after the manufacturer ceases to exist, which requires that DPP data be hosted in a durable registry infrastructure.

The Annex III data categories include: general product information (manufacturer details, product model, batch or serial number); materials and components information (including recycled content percentages and substances of concern); performance data (energy efficiency, durability, repairability score, carbon footprint); end-of-life information (disassembly instructions, recycling instructions, hazardous substance locations); and compliance information (conformity assessment reference, EU Declaration of Conformity reference, CE marking).

Technical Documentation Requirements

Article 23 of ESPR requires manufacturers to compile and maintain technical documentation demonstrating that their products comply with the applicable ecodesign requirements. The technical documentation must be compiled before a product is placed on the market and must be kept available for inspection by market surveillance authorities for a minimum of ten years after the last unit is placed on the market.

The technical documentation must include: a general description of the product and its intended use; design drawings and manufacturing information sufficient to assess compliance; a list of the harmonised standards applied; a description of the solutions adopted to meet the ecodesign requirements where harmonised standards have not been applied; the results of design calculations and tests carried out; test reports; and a copy of the EU Declaration of Conformity.

Conformity Assessment Procedures

ESPR provides two conformity assessment procedures, set out in Annexes VI and VII. The applicable procedure for each product group is specified in the relevant delegated act. Annex VI is the internal production control procedure — the manufacturer assesses compliance internally, without involving a notified body, and issues the EU Declaration of Conformity. Annex VII is the management system procedure — the manufacturer operates a quality management system that has been assessed by a notified body, and the notified body issues a certificate of conformity. The management system procedure provides stronger assurance and may be required for higher-risk product categories.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Before placing a product on the EU market, the manufacturer must issue an EU Declaration of Conformity (EU DoC). The EU DoC is a formal statement by the manufacturer that the product complies with all applicable ecodesign requirements. The EU DoC must include: the product identification (model number, batch number, or serial number); the name and address of the manufacturer; a reference to the applicable delegated act; a reference to the harmonised standards or other technical specifications applied; the conformity assessment procedure used; and the signature of the authorised signatory.

The EU DoC must be kept available for inspection by market surveillance authorities for ten years after the last unit is placed on the market. A reference to the EU DoC must be included in the DPP.

CE Marking Requirements

Where a delegated act requires CE marking, the manufacturer must affix the CE marking to the product before placing it on the EU market. The CE marking must be affixed visibly, legibly, and indelibly to the product or its data plate. Where the nature of the product does not allow or warrant affixing the CE marking to the product itself, it may be affixed to the packaging and accompanying documents. The CE marking must not be affixed to a product unless all applicable ecodesign requirements have been met and the EU Declaration of Conformity has been issued.

Obligations for Importers and Distributors

ESPR imposes specific obligations on importers (EU-based entities that place non-EU products on the EU market) and distributors (entities that make products available in the EU supply chain). Importers must verify that non-EU manufacturers have complied with the applicable ecodesign requirements, that the required technical documentation has been compiled, and that the product bears the CE marking and is accompanied by the required documents. Importers must not place products on the market if they know or have reason to believe that the products are non-compliant. Distributors must verify that products bear the CE marking and are accompanied by the required documents before making them available in the supply chain.

Market Surveillance and Enforcement

ESPR is enforced by national market surveillance authorities (MSAs) in each EU Member State. MSAs have broad powers to request technical documentation, inspect products, conduct laboratory testing, and order corrective actions including product withdrawal, recall, and market bans. ESPR also strengthens customs controls — customs authorities at EU external borders will check that products subject to DPP requirements are accompanied by a valid DPP before allowing entry into the EU market. The Commission coordinates market surveillance activities through the ESPR Enforcement Forum and publishes annual reports on enforcement actions.