Energy & Sustainability (sustainability of consumer products (e.g. eco-design, environmental labelling), access and affordability of energy and consumer choice).
Energy and sustainability are becoming more and more relevant to consumers’ everyday lives. Consumers are willing and encouraged to save energy and protect the environment. To this aim, they try to reduce their energy consumption and buy ever more efficient products, and to find the best energy supplier adapted to their budget and preferences. Unfortunately, they are still not provided with the right tools to do so.
Access to affordable energy is now a real worry for consumers, particularly for vulnerable groups such as consumers with a low income. Despite the opening of the markets, competition remains limited and consumer choice is restricted.
Increasingly, consumers are willing to buy sustainable products, especially energy-efficient products, or switch to “sustainable” energy suppliers, in order to minimise their impact on the environment. Too often though, confusing information and a great variety of industry self-claims make this hard. What makes it even more complicated is that there are not enough sustainable products in EU shops and that they are barely identifiable.
What are our objectives?
We aim to…
... Ensure energy is affordable and available to all consumers
... Enable consumers to choose between various energy suppliers and products
... Improve the sustainability of products by reducing their impact on the environment
... Give consumers the possibility to make informed and sustainable choices between different energy suppliers and products
What is needed?
Consumers will benefit from the liberalised energy market, and sustainable choices will be easier for them if:
- The powers and independence of energy regulators are reinforced, and a strong and broad universal service obligation is enforced throughout Europe
- Offers on the market are easily comparable and consumers can easily switch supplier
- Consumers are provided with clear, regular and easily accessible information about their energy consumption and energy-using products
- More products are covered by EU sustainability-related legislation and all relevant environmental impacts of products are addressed
- Provision of sustainable products increases in EU shops and unsustainable products are taken off the market
- Clear, reliable, comparable and not misleading information addressing sustainability of products is available through improved labelling.
To contact our experts on the issue: sustainenergy[AT]beuc.eu*
Find out more in our recent documents on Energy
3rd Energy Package - Putting Regulators in the Driving Seat
The EU energy markets after the liberalisation: Consumers still waiting to reap the full benefits. Summary of results of a survey carried out among our member organisations within the EU in the first half of 2008
Press release - Energy Package: A missed opportunity
Find out more in our recent documents on Sustainability
Who should green the supply chain? A task for all: Speech at 2009 European Business Summit
Consumer interests in Eco-Design (Of Energy-Using Products) – Joint BEUC and ANEC position
Revision of the EU energy labelling scheme: input to the Commission Consultation
Energy using Products (EuP)– Consumer Project
Find out more about BEUC and ANEC’s work on eco-design, to ensure that consumers’ concerns are taken into account when defining the Implementing Measures of the Energy using Products Directive (EuP). The Directive aims at setting up eco-design requirements for energy-using products such as washing machines, dishwashers and televisions.
EU Eco-label
Information on the Eco-label, including the range of environmentally friendly products and services which carry it, and where to find them across Europe
* Where is the @?
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