{"id":5779,"date":"2026-05-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eadtrust.eu\/?p=5779"},"modified":"2026-05-18T09:45:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:45:40","slug":"espr-2025-2030-working-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eadtrust.eu\/en\/blog\/espr-2025-2030-working-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"The ESPR 2025\u20132030 Working Plan: the priority products and the timeline every company should know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 16 April 2025, the European Commission published the document that turns the ESPR from an abstract legal framework into a concrete timeline with names and dates. The Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025\u20132030<\/strong> <\/a>sets out, sector by sector, which product groups will receive ecodesign requirements over the next five years, when the delegated acts are expected to be adopted, and when the Digital Product Passports<\/strong><\/a> will arrive. It is the missing roadmap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you run a company that manufactures or imports physical products in Europe, this document is more relevant to your planning than any market forecast for the next three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because it is imminent for all sectors (the timelines are staggered and in some cases extend until 2029), but because product design cycles, certification processes, and the data architecture required for the DPP are not prepared in a matter of weeks. The plan has already been adopted. The countdown has already started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definitions to understand the ESPR 2025\u20132030 Working Plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ESPR Working Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Communication from the European Commission, adopted on 16 April 2025, specifying the priority product groups for ESPR delegated acts<\/strong> and the estimated timelines for the next five years. It covers the 2025\u20132030 period, with a mid-term review planned for 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horizontal measure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A delegated act establishing ecodesign requirements<\/em> applicable to a common characteristic shared across several product groups simultaneously (such as reparability or recycled content), rather than applying to a single specific product group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repairability index<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A rating from A to E assessing how easy a product is to repair, calculated using parameters such as the availability of spare parts, access to technical documentation, ease of disassembly, and the guaranteed duration of software updates. Already mandatory for smartphones and tablets<\/strong> since June 2025; planned as a horizontal measure for electronics and small household appliances in the delegated act expected around 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transitional period (Directive 2009\/125\/EC)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Period during which products regulated under the former Ecodesign Directive remain <\/a>subject to its existing delegated acts, without the need to adopt new requirements under the ESPR. For 19 product groups<\/strong>, this period expires on 31 December 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prohibition on the destruction of unsold products<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Obligation established under Article 25 of the ESPR prohibiting large companies from destroying unsold clothing, accessories, and footwear<\/strong> from 19 July 2026 onwards, extending to medium-sized enterprises in 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What exactly is the ESPR Working Plan and why is it the most important document?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Regulation (EU) 2024\/1781<\/a> does not directly establish the technical requirements for each product. What it establishes is the mechanism: the Commission adopts delegated acts, product group by product group, setting the specific thresholds for durability, reparability, recycled content, and the remaining parameters. And in order to know in what order and when those delegated acts will be adopted, the Commission publishes a working plan covering at least three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article 18 of the ESPR establishes that the first working plan had to be adopted before 19 April 2025<\/strong> and that this first plan had to prioritise specific product groups explicitly listed in the Regulation itself. The Commission published the plan on 16 April 2025, three days before the deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For companies, the working plan does three things that the Regulation alone cannot do. First, it defines the scope: not all physical products will receive ecodesign requirements at the same time, only the groups included in the plan. Second, it establishes timelines that allow companies to plan ahead: product design cycles in sectors such as textiles or furniture are measured in years, not months. Third, it defines when the Digital Product Passport<\/strong> will become mandatory for each sector, because DPPs arrive at least eighteen months after the adoption of the corresponding delegated act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan covers a five-year period<\/strong>, with a mid-term review scheduled for 2028. This means that what is not included in this first plan is not necessarily excluded forever: the 2028 review is when the Commission may incorporate new product groups into the next cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ESPR Working Plan is not a policy document: it is a compliance timeline.<\/strong> Knowing which groups are included, under what deadlines, and with what type of requirements is the starting point for any investment decision relating to product design, data architecture, or supply chain processes over the next five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which products are included in the 2025\u20132030 Working Plan?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The plan distinguishes between three types of content: new final products, intermediate products, horizontal measures, and a set of products carried over from the previous plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New final products: the four priority groups<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The plan includes four groups of final products that had not previously been subject to ecodesign requirements under the former Directive: steel and iron, aluminium, textiles <\/strong>(clothing and footwear as a category), and tyres.<\/strong> These four groups are explicitly identified as priorities in Article 18 of the ESPR itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n