Who does what under Ecodesign ?

The manufacturer is the main person responsible for compliance with the ecodesign requirements.

He is defined as:
‘the natural or legal person who manufactures products covered by this Directive and is responsible for their conformity with this Directive in view of their being placed on the market and/or put into service under the manufacturer’s own name or trademark or for the manufacturer’s own use. In the absence of a manufacturer as defined in the first sentence of this point or of an importer as defined in point 8, any natural or legal person who places on the market and/or puts into service products covered by this Directive shall be considered a manufacturer”.   

As can be seen, the concept of ‘manufacturer’ is much broader than just the mere fact of manufacturing a product, it encompasses for example the fact of having a product designed or manufactured by a third party, and marketing that product under one’s own name or trademark.

Where subcontracting takes place, the manufacturer must retain the overall control for the product and ensure that he receives all the information that is necessary to fulfil his responsibilities according to the applicable acts.

Ecodesign does not require the manufacturer to be established in the European Union, so the obligations of the manufacturer are the same whether he is established in the Union or not.

Here are the main obligations of manufacturers under ecodesign:

• Ensure that an assessment of the product’s conformity with all the relevant requirements of the applicable implementing measure is carried out.
• Before placing the product on the market (or putting it into service), affix a CE marking and issue an EC declaration of conformity, whereby the manufacturer ensures and declares that the product complies with all relevant provisions of the applicable implementing measure.
• Compile a technical documentation file making possible an assessment of the conformity of the product with the requirements of the applicable implementing measure (more details in Annex IV(2) of the Directive)⁽¹⁾.
• Take all measures necessary to ensure that the product is manufactured in compliance with the relevant design specifications and with the requirements of the applicable⁽¹⁾.
• Keep relevant documents relating to the conformity assessment performed and declarations of conformity issued available for inspection by Member States for a period of 10 years after the last unit of that product has been manufactured. The relevant documents shall be made available within 10 days of receipt of a request by the competent authority of a Member State.
• Comply with the other applicable requirements of the implementing measure, e.g. with respect to the provision of information or resource efficiency.
• Cooperate with market surveillance authorities regarding actions which could eliminate or mitigate risks that are presented by products made available on the market by the manufacturer.
• Where a Member State authority ascertains that a product does not comply with the relevant provisions, the manufacturer must make the product comply and end the infringement under conditions imposed by the authority in charge.

⁽¹⁾ Assuming ‘Internal design control’ is chosen by the manufacturer for assessing conformity (Annex IV of the directive). If ‘Management system’ is chosen, see Annex V of the Directive for the specific obligations.

• Warning: Additional tasks for all economic operators do apply by virtue of the market surveillance Regulation 2019/1020 (see below). In particular, If a third-country manufacturer (outside the EU) places product directly on the EU market (without importer), he must make sure that there is an economic operator located in the EU (an appointed authorised representative or a fulfilment service provider) that is designated to perform certain tasks (see below).

NB: The manufacturer may appoint an authorised representative with a written mandate to act on its behalf in relation to specified tasks with regard to manufacturer's obligations.

NB: The affixing of markings on a product which are likely to mislead users as to the meaning or form of the CE marking is prohibited.

The authorised representative is defined as:

‘any natural or legal person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on its behalf in relation to specified tasks with regard to the manufacturer's obligations under the relevant Union harmonisation legislation or under the requirements of this Regulation; ‘

The authorised representative has the following obligations under ecodesign:

• Perform all the tasks as required in the mandate received by the manufacturer.
• Provide a copy of the mandate to the market surveillance authorities upon request, in a Union language determined by the market surveillance authority.
• Have the appropriate means to be able to fulfil their tasks.
• Cooperate with market surveillance authorities regarding actions which could eliminate or mitigate risks that are presented by products made available on the market by the authorised representative.

The authorized representative must be appointed by the manufacturer in writing and empowered to specifically perform certain tasks. It is of particular importance to define the contents and limits of the authorised representative’s tasks.

Commercial representatives of the manufacturer (such as authorised distributors or agents), are not to be confused with the authorised representative. The authorised representative who is appointed by a manufacturer may be an importer or a distributor in the meaning of Union harmonisation legislation, in which case he must also to fulfil the obligations of the importer or distributor).

Here are example of tasks that can be included in the authorised representative’s mandate:

• Keep the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation at the disposal of national surveillance authorities and cooperate with them at their request,
• Upon a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide that authority with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of a product,
• Cooperate with the competent national authorities, at their request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by products covered by their mandate.
• Affix the CE marking (and where relevant other markings) and the notified body’s number to the product,
• Draw up and sign the EU Declaration of Conformity,
• Act as the economic operator referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 to perform the tasks set out in paragraph (3) of that article.

Warning: The authorised representative of a third-country manufacturer is normally expected to perform additional tasks specified under Article 4 of the Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (see below).

The importer is defined as:

'any natural or legal person established in the Union who places a product from a third country on the Community market in the course of his business'

The importer is not a simple reseller of products, he is an important player in ensuring compliance with products placed on the EU market. In case of product non-compliance, the importer will be considered as first responsible by the national market surveillance authorities.

The importer has the following obligations under ecodesign:

• In the absence of an authorised representative who has a written mandate to perform these tasks:
  • Ensure that the product complies with the applicable requirements.
  • Keep and make available the EC declaration of conformity and the technical documentation.
  • Perform the tasks specified under Article 4 of the Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (see below).
• Cooperate with market surveillance authorities regarding actions which could eliminate or mitigate risks that are presented by products made available on the market by the importer.