The European Union wants to force the business world onto the path of sustainability with two further laws. Consumers will soon be given the right to have devices repaired instead of having to buy new ones. And they should get more reliable information about whether products that are marketed by the manufacturers as environmentally and climate-friendly are actually environmentally and climate-friendly – or whether the advertising is just “greenwashing”, i.e. green coloring.
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders from Belgium and Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius from Lithuania presented this so-called “consumer package” in Brussels on Wednesday. It is part of the European Union’s “Green Deal”, the central policy area of the current EU Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen. The goal: Europe’s climate neutrality by 2050.
The debates about environmental and climate laws are getting hotter
The two laws are now being discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of the 27 member states and are expected to be passed by the end of the legislative period early next year. Whether this will succeed remains to be seen, especially since the debate about environmental and climate laws has become more heated in recent months. From the conservative side, they will be checked primarily to see whether they are too unreasonable for the companies, while the Greens and the Left complain that they don’t go far enough.
The struggle in the commission over the law on the right to repair took a long time. It was originally supposed to be presented in the summer of last year. It now stipulates that defective products must be repaired by the manufacturer within the statutory two-year guarantee as long as the costs of the repair do not exceed the cost of providing a replacement device. This should be free of charge for consumers, even in the case of self-inflicted damage.
“Repair before new purchase”
In addition to the warranty, the manufacturers of certain products are to be obliged to offer repair services for a fee five to ten years after purchase. First and foremost, this will affect household appliances such as refrigerators, ovens and vacuum cleaners, the repairability of which is regulated in the eco-design regulation already presented by the EU. Mobile phones and tablets will then follow. Manufacturers must then carry out repairs even in the case of wear and tear damage, unless the damage is technically irreparable.
Consumers should be encouraged to rethink, said Commissioner Reynders: repair before new purchase. Up until now, repairs have often taken a long time, are extremely complicated, sometimes poorly executed and involve unforeseeable costs. The EU therefore wants to introduce quality standards for repair shops. The member states should also set up platforms on which supply and demand for repairs are brought together. Reynders speaks of a new “ecosystem for repairs”. According to the Commission, the repair offensive will save 18.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, 1.8 million tons of resources and three million tons of waste over a period of 15 years.
The EU wants to develop its own environmental labels
For example, the buzzword “greenwashing” stands for advertisements with supposedly carbon-neutral bananas, bee-friendly juices or T-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles that are false or only tell part of the truth. According to a 2020 Commission study, more than half of the claims made about the climate friendliness of goods were vague, misleading or unfounded. Companies should not be obliged to provide buyers with information about the environmental and climate balance of their products. But anyone who provides information about this should have it checked by an independent body. The Commission plans to develop its own environmental labels. According to Commissioner Sinkevičius, there are currently 230 such labels within the EU. Only those that meet the minimum requirements of the EU should be retained.
“It is important that the rules apply to all product groups – from baby food to washing lotion. Consumer and environmental protection must be taken seriously by all manufacturers,” said the head of the Federal Association of Consumer Centers, Ramona Pop, the German Press Agency. It is good that the EU Commission wants to put a stop to greenwashing. “The European set of rules must now be decided quickly before the European elections and then implemented in all member states.”