JRC Publishes Consultation Plan for ESPR Methodologies

On 25 August 2026, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) published a consultation plan for the methodologies supporting the implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

The project started in July 2026 and will continue until mid-2028. It covers the methods that will be used to assess products and prepare future product-specific and horizontal ESPR requirements.

The work addresses several areas, including:

• Life-cycle environmental impacts
• Durability, repairability, recyclability and other circularity aspects
• Substances of concern
• Performance classes and labels
• Digital Product Passport data requirements
• Mandatory Green Public Procurement requirements
• Impacts on international trade and third countries
• EU open strategic autonomy

The first online workshop will take place on 23 October 2026, from 09:00 to 13:00. It will focus on the identification and tracking of substances of concern in products. The methodology also covers the preparation of possible restrictions on the use of substances.

A second workshop will take place on 26 October 2026, from 09:00 to 13:00. It will address methods for defining performance classes and labels.

Further consultations are planned for 2027. Life-cycle environmental impacts and horizontal requirements will be discussed in February. Circularity and the ranking of potential requirements will follow in March. The methodology for selecting data for the Digital Product Passport will be discussed in April.

For each methodology, the JRC will first hold an online workshop. A questionnaire will then remain open for written comments for approximately six weeks. The feedback will be reviewed and may lead to changes in the relevant report. The revised report will be published together with a Q&A addressing the main points raised by stakeholders.

Companies that want to participate should register as stakeholders. The consultation documents are publicly available, but links to the questionnaires will only be sent to registered participants.

The revised methodological reports are currently expected in December 2027. A draft interactive roadmap is planned for January 2028, followed by the final roadmap in June 2028. These dates remain indicative and may change.

For manufacturers and suppliers, the consultations offer an opportunity to comment on data availability, substance tracking, confidentiality, implementation costs and other practical issues before the methodologies are finalised.

Source: European Commission Joint Research Centre