ASI Appointed as Member of the EU Ecodesign Forum

30 January 2025

ASI is proud to announce its appointment as a Member (Type C – Organisation) of the EU Expert Group on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and Energy Labelling (“the Ecodesign Forum”) under the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). This forum plays a key role in implementing the ESPR, driving the transition to sustainable and circular products across the EU.

As a multi-stakeholder organisation with over 380 members spanning the entire aluminium value chain, ASI is well-positioned to contribute to the forum’s objectives. Our expertise in creating standards for sustainability, circularity, and responsible sourcing aligns closely with the forum’s mission. ASI aims to support discussions on ecodesign requirements, preparing working plans, digital product passports, and measures to promote sustainable practices, including fostering product designs that enhance repairability and material recovery.

ASI’s participation in the forum provides a unique opportunity to represent the aluminium industry and its stakeholders’ interests. By leveraging our Performance Standard and Chain of Custody Standard, we aim to ensure practical and impactful outcomes. We will bring insights from the aluminium value chain, particularly highlighting aluminium’s exceptional circularity and critical role in sustainable product design. This involvement enables us to anticipate regulatory developments more effectively, enhancing our ability to support members in navigating evolving sustainability challenges and aligning their practices with future requirements. Furthermore, this engagement will strengthen ASI’s ongoing work on standards and sustainability initiatives, ensuring they remain relevant in the context of shifting policy frameworks.

What is the EU’s ESPR and its impact on the aluminium industry?

The ESPR is a pivotal EU initiative aimed at fostering sustainability and circularity across product lifecycles. Building on the success of the Ecodesign Directive, which primarily focused on energy efficiency, the ESPR broadens its scope to include a wide range of products and environmental considerations. Its goal is to make products more durable, repairable, recyclable, and energy-efficient while reducing their environmental and carbon footprints.

For the aluminium industry, the ESPR represents both an opportunity and a challenge. Aluminium is a key material in many sectors covered by the ESPR, including electronics. Notably, aluminium is also considered a targeted intermediate product in the ESPR’s work plan, highlighting its critical role in achieving circularity goals. With its inherent advantage of being 100% recyclable with minimal loss of quality, aluminium stands out as a model material for sustainable product design.

The ESPR’s requirements for Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are particularly relevant to the aluminium value chain. These passports will demand transparency about a product’s composition, recyclability, and carbon footprint. For the aluminium industry, this translates to an increased focus on traceability and sustainability reporting, aligning closely with initiatives like ASI’s Chain of Custody Standard.

However, the industry must also prepare for stricter ecodesign requirements and potential bans on the destruction of unsold products. These measures call for innovation in product design and recycling processes, as well as close collaboration with downstream users.

ASI’s appointment to the Ecodesign Forum highlights our commitment to advancing sustainability and circularity. We look forward to shaping the regulation’s implementation plan, driving environmental progress, and supporting innovation across industries.

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