ESPR replaces and broadens the old Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC, extending ecodesign requirements far beyond energy-related products to almost every physical good sold in the EU. It sets the legal basis for performance and information requirements — durability, reparability, recycled content, hazardous substances — and for the Digital Product Passport that carries them.
Crucially, ESPR itself does not list the exact fields per product. It empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts that set DPP requirements for each product group. The first working plan prioritises groups like textiles/apparel, iron and steel, aluminium, furniture and tyres, with rules and dates fixed only when each delegated act lands. Where you see a specific DPP date for a product group, it traces back to that group's delegated act, not to ESPR itself.
Frequently asked
Is the Digital Product Passport mandatory now under ESPR?
ESPR is in force, but the DPP obligation switches on per product group when that group's delegated act applies — not all at once. Product laws run their own passports on their own dates: batteries from 18 February 2027, detergents from 23 September 2029, toys from 1 August 2030, and cars and vans from 1 September 2032; no ESPR product-group delegated act has been adopted yet, so other groups get a date only when their act is adopted — as a rule at least 18 months after it enters into force (ESPR Art. 4(4)).
Which products does ESPR cover?
Almost any physical product placed on the EU market, with narrow exceptions (e.g. food, feed, medicinal products). The Commission sets specific requirements per prioritised product group through delegated acts rather than regulating every product at once.