The plain-English explainer
What is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)?
The ESPR is an EU law that lets the EU set binding sustainability rules — on durability, reparability, recycled content and a Digital Product Passport — for almost any physical product sold in the EU. It is a framework: Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 sets the toolbox, and the detailed rules per product arrive later through delegated acts.
TL;DR
- What: the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. It replaced the old Ecodesign Directive.
- Who: manufacturers (including non-EU), importers, distributors and marketplaces placing products on the EU market.
- Scope: nearly all physical goods, with a short exempt list (food, feed, medicines, living organisms and a few others).
- How: a framework plus product-specific delegated acts that set the actual, binding requirements over time.
- Firm dates: Battery Passport from 18 February 2027; unsold-goods destruction ban for large firms from 19 July 2026.
On this page: what it is · ESPR vs the old Directive · scope · who must comply · requirements · the DPP · delegated acts · firm dates · what to do now.
The two firm near-term dates
19 July 2026
Large companies may no longer destroy unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear.
18 February 2027
The EU Battery Passport — the first live Digital Product Passport — becomes mandatory.
These two are fixed in law. Most other ESPR obligations arrive later, per product, via delegated acts. European Commission Battery Passport. See the full timeline.
What the ESPR is, and what it is for
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, ESPR for short, is Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, adopted on 13 June 2024 and in force since 18 July 2024. Its goal is to make products sold in the EU more durable, repairable, recyclable and resource-efficient — designed for a circular economy from the start. It is a flagship measure of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. EUR-Lex summary
Crucially, the ESPR is a framework. The regulation itself sets out the toolbox — the types of requirement the Commission may impose, the Digital Product Passport architecture, the destruction ban and enforcement. The actual binding rules for any given product come later, through product-specific delegated acts. Until a delegated act exists for your product group, the ESPR's product-specific obligations do not yet bite. EUR-Lex summary
ESPR vs the old Ecodesign Directive
Many people still say “ecodesign directive” out of habit. But the legally binding instrument since 18 July 2024 is the ESPR, which repealed and replaced the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC. The shift is bigger than a name change.
| Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) | ESPR (Reg. (EU) 2024/1781) | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal form | Directive — each country transposed it | Regulation — directly applicable in all 27 states |
| Scope | Energy-related products only (appliances, lighting, motors) | Nearly all physical goods, incl. components and intermediates |
| Focus | Mainly energy efficiency | Durability, reparability, recycled content, recyclability, footprint and more |
| New tools | — | Digital Product Passport, unsold-goods destruction ban, green public procurement |
EUR-Lex summary and Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. More: Ecodesign Directive vs Regulation.
ESPR scope: what is covered, what is exempt
The ESPR can regulate any physical good placed on the EU market or put into service, including components and intermediate products. This is a deliberately broad, near-universal scope — a sharp contrast to the old energy-only directive. EUR-Lex summary
A short list is exempt under Article 1(2):
- Food and feed
- Medicinal products and veterinary medicinal products
- Living plants, animals and micro-organisms
- Products of human origin
- Products of plants and animals relating directly to their future reproduction
The ESPR works by product group — sets of products similar enough to be regulated by one delegated act (e.g. textiles, furniture, tyres). Requirements can be product-specific or horizontal (cutting across many groups, such as a common repairability metric).
Not sure whether your product is in scope or when? Use the ESPR scope & timing checker for a plain-English steer.
Who must comply
The obligations fall on economic operators — and, importantly, non-EU companies are squarely in scope whenever their products reach the EU market.
Manufacturer
Carries the heaviest load: ensure conformity, compile technical documentation, draw up the EU Declaration of Conformity, affix CE marking and create the Digital Product Passport. Includes non-EU manufacturers selling into the EU.
Importer
Must verify the manufacturer complied and the documentation exists before placing goods on the market — and is liable as a manufacturer if it places non-compliant goods.
Distributor
Must act with due care and not make available products it knows or suspects are non-compliant. Marketplaces and fulfilment providers are also drawn in.
Which role is yours decides how much you have to do. Work out your obligations with the ESPR obligations checker.
Ecodesign requirements: performance and information
A delegated act can impose two kinds of requirement on a product group.
- Performance requirements — limits or minimums on product aspects: durability and reliability, reusability and reparability, presence of substances of concern, energy and resource efficiency, recycled content, recyclability, and carbon and environmental footprint.
- Information requirements — what data must accompany the product, much of it carried via the Digital Product Passport: composition, substances of concern, instructions for use, repair and disposal, environmental performance, and a reparability or durability score where defined.
Exact thresholds do not exist yet
The Digital Product Passport (DPP)
One of the ESPR's headline tools is the Digital Product Passport — a machine-readable product dataset reached through a data carrier (a QR code, GS1 DataMatrix or RFID/NFC tag) linked to a unique product identifier, with differentiated “need-to-know” access for consumers, repairers, recyclers and authorities. CIRPASS
The DPP is big enough to have its own pillar. Read the full Digital Product Passport explainer — how it works, a worked example, the data it carries and when it arrives per sector.
The framework and its delegated acts
Because the ESPR is a framework, the work that decides your obligations happens in the delegated acts. The first ESPR Working Plan (2025–2030) was adopted on 16 April 2025, naming the priority product groups and indicative timing. European Commission, Green Forum
Priority product groups in the first Working Plan:
- Textiles (especially apparel)
- Furniture and mattresses
- Tyres
- Iron and steel
- Aluminium
Plus horizontal measures: a repairability-score framework and recycled-content rules, especially for electrical and electronic equipment. For the detail and status, see the ESPR delegated acts guide.
Indicative sequencing (not yet adopted)
The two firm near-term dates
Amid all the indicative timing, two dates are fixed in law and worth marking now.
- 19 July 2026 — unsold-goods destruction ban. Large companies may no longer destroy unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear. Medium-sized companies follow from around 2030; micro and small firms are exempt. Affected companies must also disclose, annually, the volumes of unsold products they discard and why. European Commission
- 18 February 2027 — the EU Battery Passport. Under the separate EU Battery Regulation (2023/1542), the first live DPP becomes mandatory for EV, light means of transport and industrial batteries over 2 kWh. It is the de-facto template for ESPR DPPs. Battery Passport
See how these sit against the indicative product-group dates on the ESPR & DPP timeline.
What to do now
You cannot finalise compliance against rules that are not written yet — but you can get ahead of them. A practical order:
- Confirm scope and timing. Check which product group(s) you fall in and when a delegated act is expected, with the scope & timing checker.
- Know your role and obligations. Manufacturer, importer or distributor — run the obligations checker.
- Start gathering product data. Composition, recycled content, durability and footprint data take time to assemble. See the likely DPP data fields.
- Watch the delegated acts. The rules that decide your numbers are being written now. Track them via the delegated-acts guide and timeline.
The fastest way to a concrete plan is the DPP Readiness Checklist.
By the numbers
The ESPR in a few figures
The regulation number. Adopted 13 June 2024, in force 18 July 2024.
The EU Battery Passport, the first live Digital Product Passport, becomes mandatory.
Large firms may no longer destroy unsold apparel, accessories and footwear.
Priority product groups in the first Working Plan: textiles, furniture, mattresses, tyres, iron & steel, aluminium.
Penalties are set by member states and must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive; the ESPR fixes no EU-wide fine. Reg. (EU) 2024/1781
FAQ
People also ask
- What is the ESPR?
- The ESPR is the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. It is a framework law, in force since 18 July 2024, that lets the EU set binding sustainability rules - on durability, reparability, recycled content, a Digital Product Passport and more - for almost any physical product sold in the EU. It replaced the older Ecodesign Directive.
- Does the ESPR apply to my product?
- Almost certainly, in time. The ESPR can cover nearly all physical goods placed on the EU market, including components and intermediate products. Only a short list is exempt: food, feed, medicinal and veterinary products, living plants, animals and micro-organisms, products of human origin, and reproductive material. But the binding rules for your product only bite once the Commission adopts a delegated act for your product group.
- What is the difference between the ESPR and the Ecodesign Directive?
- The old Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC) was a directive that each country had to transpose, and it only covered energy-related products such as appliances and lighting. The ESPR (2024/1781) is a regulation - directly applicable in all 27 member states with no transposition - and it expands scope to almost all physical goods, adding Digital Product Passports, a ban on destroying unsold goods, and green public procurement.
- When do Digital Product Passports become mandatory?
- It depends on the product. The first live DPP is the EU Battery Passport, mandatory from 18 February 2027 under the separate Battery Regulation. Under the ESPR itself, DPPs arrive product group by product group as delegated acts are adopted; textiles are the most-cited first consumer DPP, expected to apply around 2028. These ESPR dates are indicative, not yet fixed in law.
- Who has to comply with the ESPR?
- Economic operators: manufacturers (including non-EU manufacturers selling into the EU), importers, distributors, and also authorised representatives, fulfilment providers and online marketplaces. Manufacturers carry the heaviest load. Non-EU companies are squarely in scope whenever their products are placed on the EU market.
- What are the ecodesign requirements under the ESPR?
- They fall into two kinds. Performance requirements set limits or minimums on product aspects such as durability, reparability, recycled content, energy and resource efficiency, recyclability, substances of concern and carbon footprint. Information requirements set what data must accompany the product, much of it carried via the Digital Product Passport. Exact thresholds exist only once a product’s delegated act is adopted.
- What is the penalty for not complying with the ESPR?
- The ESPR does not fix EU-wide fines. Penalties are set by each member state and must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive". Market-surveillance authorities can also order recalls and withdrawals and ban a non-compliant product across all 27 EU countries.
- Is the ESPR in force yet?
- Yes. The ESPR entered into force on 18 July 2024 - its framework, the unsold-goods rules and the DPP architecture are law. But most product-specific obligations only take effect once the Commission adopts a delegated act for that product group, which is happening progressively from 2026 onward.
This is guidance, not legal advice
Sources
- [1]Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), full text (EUR-Lex)retrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [2]EUR-Lex summary: ecodesign requirements for sustainable productsretrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [3]European Commission, Green Forum: 2025-2030 ESPR Working Planretrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [4]European Commission: new EU rules to stop destruction of unsold clothes and shoesretrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [5]CIRPASS: the Digital Product Passport in a nutshellretrieved 8 Jun 2026
- [6]Switzerland Global Enterprise: introduction to the EU Battery Passportretrieved 8 Jun 2026
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