Chapter 14
Ecodesign and the Circular Economy:
Conflicting Policies in Europe
Carl Dalhammar, Leonidas Milios, and Jessika Luth Richter
Abstract The number of policies that address the various life cycle environmental
impacts of products are increasing, especially in Europe. With the rise of the Circular
Economy (CE) concept, the traditional product policies have been supported by new
ones that pursue new policy objectives such as increasing product lifetimes and
encourage more repairs. In this contribution we discuss principles for improving
synergies and reduce conflicts among different product policies. We then outline
some of the recent conflicts between policies that have emerged in the context of
the CE. We conclude that often the conflicts can be mitigated, or that it is possible
to reach a compromise. However, we need to accept that in many cases there is no
solution that will satisfy all involved stakeholders.
Keywords Circular economy · Policy mix · Product policy · Ecodesign
14.1 Introduction
The number of public policies that address the life cycle impacts of products are
increasing (Faure and Dalhammar 2018; Milios 2018). Thus far, these policies have
addressed a number of environmental aspects including: (1) chemicals in products
(2) collection and recycling of used products and (3) energy efficiency of products.
New policies are emerging to address issues such as product life span/durability
(Maitre-Ekern and Dalhammar 2016), or to incentivize product repairs (Svensson
et al. 2018). The Circular Economy (CE) concept has increased the interest for new
types of policies.
Policies can be both compulsory and voluntary, and be adopted both at the EU
level and Member State level. Table 14.1 outlines examples of the various policies
at the EU and Member State levels.
New policies are also being proposed or under discussion, such as right-torepair (R2R) laws and labelling schemes that provide consumers with information
C. Dalhammar (B) · L. Milios · J. L. Richter
IIIEE, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
e-mail: carl.dalhammar@iiiee.lu.se
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Y. Kishita et al. (eds.), EcoDesign and Sustainability I, Sustainable Production, Life Cycle
Engineering and Management, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6779-7_14
187
Ecodesign and the Circular Economy:
Conflicting Policies in Europe
Carl Dalhammar, Leonidas Milios, and Jessika Luth Richter
Abstract The number of policies that address the various life cycle environmental
impacts of products are increasing, especially in Europe. With the rise of the Circular
Economy (CE) concept, the traditional product policies have been supported by new
ones that pursue new policy objectives such as increasing product lifetimes and
encourage more repairs. In this contribution we discuss principles for improving
synergies and reduce conflicts among different product policies. We then outline
some of the recent conflicts between policies that have emerged in the context of
the CE. We conclude that often the conflicts can be mitigated, or that it is possible
to reach a compromise. However, we need to accept that in many cases there is no
solution that will satisfy all involved stakeholders.
Keywords Circular economy · Policy mix · Product policy · Ecodesign
14.1 Introduction
The number of public policies that address the life cycle impacts of products are
increasing (Faure and Dalhammar 2018; Milios 2018). Thus far, these policies have
addressed a number of environmental aspects including: (1) chemicals in products
(2) collection and recycling of used products and (3) energy efficiency of products.
New policies are emerging to address issues such as product life span/durability
(Maitre-Ekern and Dalhammar 2016), or to incentivize product repairs (Svensson
et al. 2018). The Circular Economy (CE) concept has increased the interest for new
types of policies.
Policies can be both compulsory and voluntary, and be adopted both at the EU
level and Member State level. Table 14.1 outlines examples of the various policies
at the EU and Member State levels.
New policies are also being proposed or under discussion, such as right-torepair (R2R) laws and labelling schemes that provide consumers with information
C. Dalhammar (B) · L. Milios · J. L. Richter
IIIEE, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
e-mail: carl.dalhammar@iiiee.lu.se
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Y. Kishita et al. (eds.), EcoDesign and Sustainability I, Sustainable Production, Life Cycle
Engineering and Management, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6779-7_14
187