Skip to main content

Environment Act: Powers on ecodesign and information

  • Published on February 10, 2022

The Environment Act 2021 gives each of the 4 nations in the UK powers on Ecodesign and Product Information, enabling the introduction of regulations to support sustainable production and consumption. 

The new powers acquired in the Environment Act 2021 extend UK Government’s ability to introduce ecodesign requirements to a much wider range of goods, not limited to energy-related products. The Environment Act 2021 also grants a power relating to product information that will enable the introduction of labelling or information schemes to support more informed consumer choices.

With these new powers UK Government is able, for example, to set requirements relating to the durability, repairability and recyclability of products, and also to require that information or labels on these characteristics is made available to consumers. In addition, with these new powers we now have the regulatory means to implement ‘product passports’, where information about the material content of products is made available to other actors in the product lifecycle, for example recyclers.

We are now considering the most impactful areas in which these powers may be used, starting with textiles and then exploring other high impact product groups such as furniture.

You might also be Interested in