ChapterPDF Available

7. Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability

October 2023

DOI:10.14361/9783839463963-008

License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

In book: Durable Economies (pp.159-200)

Authors:

Carl Dalhammar

Lund University

Eléonore Maitre-Ekern

University of Oslo

Jessika Luth Richter

Lund University

Sahra Svensson-Hoglund

Virginia Tech

Show all 5 authorsHide

Leaking water infrastructures, heritage tourism, investments in artworks, failing electronics: Durability lies at the heart of a wide range of seemingly unrelated phenomena. In today's economies, which rest on ever-larger stocks of infrastructures, buildings, machinery and household goods, durable things are both a hugely significant source of wealth and a constant source of struggle. The contributors argue that a deeper engagement with durability is essential for reaching an understanding of how economies work; and for envisaging alternative economies built on principles of environmental stewardship and social justice. Placing durability at the core of economic analysis, this volume explores the work and tensions involved in the production and valuation of durability to outline a new agenda for more sustainable economies.

Citizens' roles in durable economies.

…

Definitions from standards and legal texts.

…

List of European standards relevant for the durability and repairability of products.

…

Examples of R2R standards set under the Ecodesign Directive.

…

Figures - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Content may be subject to copyright.

Available via license: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Content may be subject to copyright.

7. Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for

product durability

Carl Dalhammar, Eléonore Maitre- Ekern, Jessika Luth Richter, Sahra Svensson-

Hoglund, and Leonidas Milios

    

  

7.1 Introduction

           

             

             

         

           

           

          

           

             

             

             

         

          

            

              

       

            

          

           

160 Durable Economies

           

       

           

            

         

       

          

             

             

           

              

             

           

           

          

             

            

         

          

               

           

          

              

       

 

          

 

          

                

           

         



             

           

        

      

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 161

         

         

          

          

           

            

           

    

         

             

             

         

        

            

             

         

             

            

          

          

           

          

         

    

          

           

          

           

           

            

             

           

       

         

  

          

        

           

162 Durable Economies

          

             

        

            

          

       

           

               

         

           

            

         

          

        

          

           

         

          

          

        

      

          

  

            



   

          

    

             

         

        

        

          

           

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 163

          

         

          

            

       

             

           

            

        

         

            

          

           

     

           

           

           

          

              

          

            

            

           

         

            

            

          

         

          

      

  

164 Durable Economies

       

Concept Denition

Durability           

          

Reliability         

        

 

Maintenance               

   

Repair             

    

Spare part               

          

             

   

          

             

           

      

            

            

            

           

            

          

              

        

              

             

             

            

          

           

   

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 165

            

          

           

      

7.2 Reasons for premature obsolescence

              

           

          

           

            

            

          

             

                

              

        

          

            

          

             

         

          

         

          

      

          

          

    

Product failure or breakdown:       

          

           

       

166 Durable Economies

Lack of access to repair:         

           

    

Economic obsolescence:        

          

   

Technological or functional obsolescence:     

           

   

Symbolic obsolescence:      

        

          

          

            

            

            

          

              

          

  

            

       

            

         



       

           

           

           

           

              

             

            

          

     

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 167

         



          

           

          

            

          

        

          

   

           

           

          

         

           

         

            

   

          

          

           

            

           

           

        



7.3 Encouraging longer product lifetimes and durability:

rationale and strategies

             

         

            

           

               

              

168 Durable Economies

              

        

         

          

         

     

           

            

         

   

           

          

        

           

           

               

             

        

             

         

            

            

           

            

 

             

             

         

           

             

     

           

             

           

          

          

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 169

           

          

              

             

          

            

          

           

           

          

             

              

             

        

     

Term User Denition Level

 





 

        

      

     

      

  

 



        

       

       

  

    









       

     

      

    

    



170 Durable Economies

Term User Denition Level













       

    

      

     

     

    

       

       







 







        

         

     

   









         

     

      

      

    

      

    

    

     

     





















      

      

      

      

     

      

   



 

      

     

      



      

         

          

        

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 171

          

          

         

        

             

              

           

           

              

            

           

           

             

            

          

            

           

          

        

          

        

             

           

7.4 Policies promoting longer functional lifetimes and durability

             

           

           

           

           

172 Durable Economies

          



    

            

      

         

          

        

         

            

            

           

          

        

         

           

         

             

         

       

         

           

            

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 173

          

          

           

          

 

           

            



174 Durable Economies

       

European Union EU member states Other (local/regional)

Adopted

  

 

    

   

  

   

 

   

  

   

 

   

    

    

 

 

  

   

      

     



    

      

    

    

 

  

     

     



      



     

  

     

    

     

      

      



       

      

    



      



       

   

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 175

European Union EU member states Other (local/regional)

Proposed

   

  

  

  

  

   

   

   

 

   

  

   

 

  

  

     

      

  

     

   

       

      

     

  

     

176 Durable Economies

            

           

           

       

          

          

         

         

7.4.1 New European standardisation activities

          

        

           

         

            

              

         

          

   

        



             

     

          

          



             

            

          

            

        

   

          

   

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 177

            



Standard Main purpose

  

   

    

 

       



     

        

 

  

   

     

   

 

      

          

     

      

       

        

    

  

   

   

  



        

      

            



  

   

    

 



       

    

       

       

      

 

7.4.2 Policies for more durable design

         

            

         

    

Vacuum cleaners:         

            

        

178 Durable Economies

Lighting products:        

        

          

         



             

         

           

         

          

           

              

            

           

           

         

           

             

            

         

         



          

              

          

  

Reliability:        

          

     

Upgrade:          

          



             

            

   

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 179

            

            

            

           

          

             

            

             

           

           

         

          

             

        

               

         

           

        

         

             

           

           

          

       

          

            

      

7.4.3 Policies for supporting durability through ‘R’ strategies

           

             

         

        

         

          

           

180 Durable Economies

              

           

          

            

                

            

        

         

          

             

           

     

            

             

           

        

            

         

          

           

        

           

           

       

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 181

          

Product

group

Examples of criteria applied



 

 





 

 

 

  

 

 



Spare parts

          

   

     

       

       

       

         

        

Information

       



        

    

         

   

Dismantling

        

     

    

          

            

          

              

           

         

             

             

          

             

               

        

            

         

182 Durable Economies

          

 

            

            

              

           

             

    

          

           

           

           

          

              

       

            

              

            

           

           

           

        

         

          

           

   

         

          

          

         

       

         

       

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 183

7.4.4 Current policies that act as barriers

to longer lifetimes and repairs

           

            

             

          

           

         

             

            



            

         

       

          

       

          

          

    

            

            

            

        

           



        

         

             



            

           



             

           

           

184 Durable Economies

          

   

7.4.5 Policies addressing durability and citizens

          

              

            

              

             

  

      

          

            

           

              

           

             

        

            

             

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 185

          

            

              

            

            

        

            

            

            

           

           

                

             

        



         

              

            

           

         

          

          

            

          

             

         

            

           

         

       

     

            

           

         

            

           

         

             

186 Durable Economies

       

       

         

              

               

     

          

               

             

              

          

               

           

            

           

        

           

           

           

            

          

           

             

           

         

             

          

              

             

               

         

     

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 187

7.5 A critical discussion of policies and their relation

to a ‘durable economy’ for products

           

         

            

           

          

            

         

         

            

               

             

           

            

          

    

          

         

           

          

          

         

       

          

            

          

           

            

          

            

          

        

          

         

            

         

188 Durable Economies

            

            

              

               



         

        

         

         

         

            

          

 

          

            

             

             

             

             

            

           

             

              

            

           

          

         

           

     

            

             

         

          

           

          

           

            

           

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 189

            

           

             

          

          

            

            

         

            

          

          

          

            

           

           

        

            

         

              

         

           

           

          

          

           

          

            

             

             

         

         

           

          

         

         

            

            

190 Durable Economies

          

           

7.6 Conclusion and outlook

           

             

          

           

       

           

         

        

          

       

        

            

          

         

              

        

        

           

            

           

            

        

       

           

         

          

           

   

   

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 191

         

              

          

           

            

   

          

           

         

           

          

          

           

             

          

            

           

        

           

              



           

  

          

         



            

            

      

         

        

  

          

          

          

            

192 Durable Economies
             
         
        
7.7 Acknowledgements
           
         
         
       
         
       
References
          
    


            
       
      

          
          
          
             
        
        
    

            
         
  
            
           
         

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 193
   
    

            
        


          
       

            
        
    
         
         
      

       
        
          
        
         
          
    
            
          
        
        

           
        

           
           
        
          
   

194 Durable Economies
            
         
         
     
        
       
    
         
  

            
        
         
       
 
           
        
       
   
        
   
        
            

         
        

            
   

              
     


        
         
 

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 195
             
          
  
             
 
          
          
            
           
            
          
   
             

            
  

               
          
 
        
           
       

            
           
   
           
     

           
     

           
         
 
            
               

196 Durable Economies
            
  
           
              
           
          
 
           
          
 
          

           
      

            
         
          
       

           
       

           
           
   
        
       
        

       
          
         
    
         
          
    

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 197
        
         
  
            
          
        
          
         

          
         
    
           
        
   

           
         
        

          
     
         
             
       
         
     

           
        
       

         
        
   
           
   

198 Durable Economies
          
          
          
 
             
         
          

           
      
       
 
     

         
         
          
     
           
           
        
           
      

           
  
            
        



           
     
   
            
          
          
           

7 Dalhammar et al.: Regulation with a lasting impact? Policies for product durability 199
            

         
     


        
           

    
   

            
         
      

            
         
     
              
        
 

Drivers and Barriers for “Circular” Consumer Electronics in the European Union

Conference Paper

Jun 2024

A Methodological Proposal for Determining Priority Product Categories Towards the Development of a Reparability Score in the European Union

Conference Paper

Jun 2024

A key strategy towards the transition to a circular economy is to increase the lifetime of products, contributing to the reduction of material throughput in the economy. The increase of product lifetimes is typically achieved through better product design, repair and re-use. Among these product-life extension strategies, repair constitutes a key pillar of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) proposed by the European Commission. A way of expressing the reparability of products, with the aim of stimulating design change and guiding consumers' purchasing decisions, is by defining a reparability score. Given the wide range of product groups that fall under the scope of the ESPR, it is important to determine an effective and structured process of prioritizing products for which the 'reparability scoring' concept is most relevant and applicable. This systematic prioritization merits the development of a distinct method by itself. The aim of this study is to develop such a methodology by employing qualitative and semi-quantitative criteria to determine the relevance of a product group both in relation to reparability in general and specifically to a reparability score/index. The selected criteria reflect characteristics related to a product's expected use and user behavior (e.g. frequent and variable failures, value, lifetime as expected by the user), or to its design sophistication (distinct components, use of software etc.). Finally, a pilot application of the assessment criteria is performed and the results are presented in this article.

Consumers in the circular economy

Chapter

Full-text available

Dec 2020

Taking stock for repair and refurbishing: A review of harvesting of spare parts from electrical and electronic products

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022
J IND ECOL

A circular economy (CE) calls for the value of materials and products to be maintained and recovered through narrowing, closing, and slowing loops. However, there remain challenges in capturing value through reuse of components in refurbished and repaired products. In this paper, we provide an overview of the research and practice of harvesting spare parts from used and waste electrical and electronic equipment (white goods and consumer electronic products). Through a literature review and case studies of Norway, Sweden, and California, we provide an overview of drivers and barriers for spare part harvesting. Applying a stakeholder value mapping framework, we identify the key stakeholders involved in spare part harvesting and map the values captured, missed, and destroyed to identify opportunities for increased value retention. Finally, we suggest further refinements for policy to upscale spare part harvesting in light of CE goals and objectives.

Accelerating circular economy solutions to achieve the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022

Circular economy seems a vital enabler for sustainable use of natural resources which is also important for achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals. Therefore, a special session addressing issues of “sustainable solutions and remarkable practices in circular economy focusing materials downstream” was held at the 16th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology, where researchers and attendees worldwide were convened to share their experiences and visions. Presentations focusing on many key points such as new strategies, innovative technologies, management methods, and practical cases were discussed during the session. Accordingly, this article compiled all these distinctive presentations and gave insights into the pathway of circular economy towards the sustainable development goals. We summarized that the transition to circular economy can keep the value of resources and products at a high level and minimize waste production; the focus of governmental policies and plans with the involvement of public-private-partnership on 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) helps to improve the use of natural resources and take a step ahead to approach or achieve the sustainability.

Barriers and enablers for implementing circular economy business models: Evidence from the electrical and electronic equipment and agri-food value chains

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2021

The circular economy is a key element of the European Green Deal as a concept that can support the transition towards a more sustainable growth model. While in recent years there has been a growth of circular economy industrial applications, evidence suggests that the uptake of circular approaches in many sectors is still limited. This report provides evidence on barriers and enablers to the implementation of circular economy business models in two value chains that exhibit high levels of waste generation: the electrical and electronic equipment and agri-food value chains. Data and information were collected through in-depth interviews with 41 case study companies that were involved in the EU-funded CIRC4Life project, as well as from additional cases of firms putting such models into practice. The results show that companies implementing circularity approaches face a variety of barriers originating from existing policies, economic factors, supply chains, technology, consumer preferences and internal company organisation. Several facilitating factors within these categories (i.e. enablers) are also identified. This report furthermore provides insights on how the Covid-19 crisis has affected the companies' circularity activities. To help overcome existing barriers and support the circular transition in these two value chains, the authors have the following recommendations: increase the use of different forms of financial support; better align requirements stemming from different pieces of legislation; improve consumers' understanding of circular solutions; and support transparency and traceability across supply chains.

Repair in the Circular Economy: Towards a National Swedish Strategy

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Sep 2021

Extending the lifetime of products is seen as a key objective for realising the vision of a Circular Economy. One way to increase the lifespan of products is to enable more repair activities. However, consumers encounter a variety of barriers for repairs, prompting public authorities in Europe and the US to adopt or propose policies in support of consumer repairs. Sweden has recently adopted a circular economy action plan, where increasing the number of consumer repairs is a stated objective. However, Sweden has so far only adopted a few repair policies, most notably through the tax reliefs for the repair sector that were implemented in 2017. The aim of this contribution is to research how Sweden could develop a more comprehensive policy mix for promoting consumer repairs, also by taking into consideration initiatives from other countries and regions. The research is based on a literature review and semistructured interviews with policymakers and other relevant actors in Sweden, Europe and the US. The study shows that a lot of interesting initiatives aiming at increasing repairs are currently being proposed. The new requirements related to repairs, developed within the European Union’s (EU) Ecodesign Directive, have been positively received but the process is cumbersome and it will take time before their full effect becomes evident. Initiatives, such as the French repairability index and the French repair fund will create incentives for the producers to design more repairable products and make it easier for consumers to repair. On the same track, the Repair Network of Vienna with its repair vouchers makes repairs cheaper and more trustworthy. Also, the US policy proposals on right-to-repair laws would help to create an open market for repairs for a lot of products. Sweden has the possibility to gain knowledge through the implementation of similar policies, and by considering new policies suggested in literature and by the interviewees. Thus there is potential for Sweden to be a frontrunner in creating a more resource efficient society through increased repair activity. Concluding, some preliminary proposals for a future policy mix are presented.

Circular business models for electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries: An analysis of current practices of vehicle manufacturers and policies in the EU

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2021
RESOUR CONSERV RECY

With the burgeoning transition towards electrified vehicle fleets, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have come into focus for different stakeholders due to high costs, supply risks, production-related resource and energy demands and environmental concerns. Circular business models (CBMs) and Circular Economy (CE) strategies to slow and close resource loops are discussed as potential solutions. With a focus on circular business model elements and influencing factors, this research reviews literature on CE strategies for LIBs and benchmarks their current adoption amongst European vehicle manufacturers. These were identified by analysing companies’ websites and interviewing representatives from six companies. In addition, observation of a single manufacturer revealed further context-specific and internal factors. Finally, it reviews the external policy drivers and barriers for CE strategies for LIBs and discusses how policy can be further developed. The results demonstrate that many manufacturers are pursuing CE strategies, mostly focussed on repair, refurbishing, and repurposing. Variation in the operationalisation appears to be linked to the degree of manufacturer involvement, indicating that CBMs are context-specific and dependant on internal factors. All CBMs were found to require close collaboration between different stakeholders to build trust and reduce uncertainties. The necessity to design for disassembly and to build expertise to thoroughly diagnose the state of health of LIBs to enable life extending CBMs was highlighted. While the late 2020 proposal for new EU legislation for batteries contains ambitious new requirements that will incentivise CE strategies, there is still a need to consider further policy development to ensure adherence to the waste hierarchy. This article is open access through the DOI link

Local governments’ perspective on implementing the circular economy: A framework for future solutions

Article

Full-text available

May 2021
J CLEAN PROD

With half of the global population living in urban areas, prevailing unsustainable production and consumption patterns, and ecological crises, the circular economy topic gains momentum. However, the implementation of the circular economy from a local governance point of view has been explored in a rather fragmented manner, although public policies remain crucial in driving countries towards more circular systems. This paper aims to explore whether and how local governments contribute to circular economy implementation by applying Voß et al.’s (2007) steering framework for sustainable development. By using desk research analysis and focus group and individual interview discussions with representatives of municipalities and regional waste management centres, we identified challenges for implementing the circular economy with a lack of local governments’ contribution, namely municipal waste management, textile waste, distribution of human resources, networking, and local business. Finally, we created a framework for circular solutions by mapping national and foreign practices through five perspectives, namely learning, sharing vision, reflexive governance, regulation, and negotiation in networks.

Product destruction: Exploring unsustainable production-consumption systems and appropriate policy responses

Article

Nov 2022

The practice of product destruction, whereby retailers or manufacturers dispose of viable consumer products such as unsold goods or customer returns, is an extreme expression of the linearity of our current production-consumption system. This qualitative exploratory study aims to uncover why companies engage in this highly unsustainable and resource-inefficient behaviour and to explore the potential policy interventions required to effectively address the issue. In-depth interviews were conducted with eleven experts from the textiles and electronics sectors to understand the driving forces behind this practice and provide a bottom-up perspective on appropriate policy interventions. The research identified two distinct sets of factors that contribute to product destruction. Upstream factors influence overall levels of customer returns and unsold stock and primarily include aspects of the retailer's business model, consumer expectations and product design. Downstream factors drive companies to dispose of these products rather than to pursue product life-extension strategies such as repair and reuse. Key downstream factors include economic incentives, profit-margin considerations, liability and brand integrity concerns, the availability of reuse networks and management issues. Consequently, to meaningfully address product destruction, a policy mix is required to simultaneously target upstream and downstream factors and change the behaviour of different actors, from manufacturers and retailers to consumers and reuse organisations.

Throwaway culture and the circular economy

Chapter

May 2022

Taina Pihlajarinne

Ecodesign Spinning towards the Circular Economy – the Contribution of New Standards on Material Efficiency

Conference Paper

May 2021

Whilst the concept of ecodesign is intended to account for the environmental impacts of the product across its whole lifecycle, European ecodesign policy to date has been heavily focused upon energy efficiency in the use phase. The Ecodesign Directive and Energy Labelling Regulation have achieved substantial energy savings since their inception. For many products, the magnitude of savings available from further tightening existing energy efficiency requirements is now often outweighed by savings that can be achieved by material efficiency requirements. Further, there are some products for which there are limited gains to be made in energy efficiency but for material efficiency. In the Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan from 2015, a new direction was defined for ecodesign policy, to systematically examine considerations such as reparability, durability, upgradability, recyclability, or the identification of certain materials or substances. The Commission consequently issued a standardisation request (M/543, 2015) to the European Standardization Organisations (CEN / CENELEC / ETSI) to develop generic / horizontal standards relevant to energy-related products that address these major aspects of material efficiency. In this study we evaluate the potential contribution of these new standards (with specific focus on the standards for repair, durability and recyclability) to future developments under the European Ecodesign Directive. Opportunities for the impact of these standards to be enhanced by future work are highlighted.