An environmental assessment framework with respect to the Requirements of Energy-using, Products Directive

From August 2007, all member states of the European Union are required to enforce a new directive, 2005/32/EC, that affects any products that rely on any forms of energy as the source for operation. These products are referred to as energy-using products (EuPs), and the said directive (EuP directive) aims to achieve a higher level of environmental benefits by considering the environmental impacts throughout their whole life cycle. The EuP directive sets out to establish an outline for the eco-design requirements for EuPs. In this regard, environmental assessment, or more specifically life-cycle assessment, is the most fundamental tool to help manufacturers comply with the directive. This paper aims to discuss the background of the EuP directive and to propose a framework for assessment with respect to the directive, based on a pilot study with four products. One of these four products will be employed to demonstrate the application of the framework.