ICMMA challenge DECC’s energy labelling proposals

DECC Logo ClearICMMA representatives met with DECC earlier this month to challenge their current package of proposed energy-related legislation, a new Energy Labelling Regulation to replace the current Framework Directive.

Proposals envisage abandoning the plusses that were introduced in the last revision to cope with those products that have improved beyond A over the past 20 years. Existing labels would have to be revised within five years to match this new Regulation.

Among other changes it is proposed that all energy labels should be revised periodically, with both old and new labels being supplied (but not displayed) simultaneously for a certain period; that the top scales would be expected to remain empty for up to 10 years; and that empty classes at the bottom of the scale should not be shown. So vacuum cleaners might have an A-D scale with C being the best available on the market.

Following the meeting, the subsequent suggestions have been lodged with DECC which they have confirmed that they will consider:

  1. Instead of implementing the product database it would make more sense to coordinate and apply, in a more intense way, the already existing tools, ranging from ADCO groups to ICSMS, which could be widened to cope also with performance issues.
  2. Product labelling should be easily assigned to an unambiguously defined timeframe at least for the market surveillance authorities and to avoid any retroactive measures in the field of re-labelling. Furthermore, a case by case study shall be undertaken in order to take the technology of every product into account when looking on re-labelling and rescaling. This includes the differentiating between household and commercial vacuum cleaners.
  3. Modification of Article 12 ‘Delegated Acts’ and Article 13 ‘Exercise of the Delegation’ to an implementing act in order to give Member States the possibility to stay involved in more detail.

ICMMA have been brought into DECC’s Energy-using Stakeholder Group and will be attending later this Autumn to hear about and further influence the provisions of the labelling directive as well as an update on the DECC Workplan and the potential inclusion of hand driers and pressure washers.