The European Parliamentary Committees are still consolidating the proposals for new Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations for large white goods. These will be made public after the Inter Service Consultation (probably in early July) and should be available for Member State representatives to vote on in October this year. However, it seems that they are still some way off a final draft for all categories.

The current proposed timings for cold appliances are a new energy label in 2020 with two tiers of Ecodesign requirements: one in 2020, the second in 2023.

The proposed Ecodesign requirements for dishwashers are also ambitious and, if implemented, will mean that only the more expensive models will remain on the market and none of them will attain the higher energy ratings.

As for washing machines, there is still disagreement about whether there are any benefits to including requirements for rinse performance, time taken, time held at set temperatures, and water usage. Our industry is arguing that this timetable is overly ambitious, certainly for dishwashers.

Decisions on the revised Standby Regulation are still awaiting the outcome of the European Commission’s consultation.