Sustainable product policy

Sea Green Tree has extensive experience supporting European and national ecodesign and energy-labelling processes.

This includes:

• European Commission impact assessments and regulatory reviews;
• development and assessment of requirements for electronic displays, computers, servers, imaging equipment, set-top boxes and external power supplies;
• technical input to draft ecodesign measures for ICT products;
• assessment of energy-efficiency metrics, thresholds and test methods;
• evaluation of market, technology and compliance data;
• analysis of the interaction between ecodesign, energy labelling and innovation;
• briefings and technical advice for governments, environmental organisations and European institutions.

Current work includes leadership of the European Commission impact assessment supporting the review of ecodesign and energy-labelling requirements for electronic displays.

We support the translation of circular-economy objectives into measurable and implementable product requirements.

Areas of expertise include:

• durability and reliability;
• repairability and access to spare parts;
• software support and protection against premature obsolescence;
• reuse, upgrading and remanufacturing;
• recyclability and recoverability;
• recycled content;
• product information and consumer-facing scoring systems;
• Digital Product Passport requirements;
• environmental performance across the product lifecycle.

Our work considers both environmental ambition and the practical evidence, definitions and assessment methods required for implementation.

Standards provide the technical foundation for many sustainable product requirements. Sea Green Tree contributes to European and international standardisation processes and to the development of methods supporting regulatory compliance.

Experience includes:

• horizontal European standards for durability, repairability, reuse, remanufacturing, recyclability and recycled content;
• product-specific adaptation of horizontal methods;
• technical methods and scoring systems for smartphones, servers and other products;
• transitional test methods supporting European regulation;
• gap analysis of standards needed to support legislation;
• assessment of testing burden and market-surveillance feasibility;
• alignment between regulatory requirements, test methods and standards.

Sea Green Tree develops and assesses policy options using structured evidence, market data and technical analysis.

Capabilities include:

• regulatory impact assessment;
• technology and market trend analysis;
• reference, baseline and policy scenario modelling;
• assessment of environmental, economic and implementation impacts;
• lowest lifecycle cost analysis;
• analysis of innovation effects;
• assessment of impacts on manufacturers, consumers, SMEs and public authorities;
• auditing of modelling assumptions, evidence and references.

We place particular emphasis on making assumptions, uncertainties and trade-offs transparent to decision-makers.

Policy requirements must be capable of consistent verification and enforcement.

Our work includes:

• analysis of regulatory compliance requirements;
• evaluation of test-method reproducibility and comparability;
• assessment of testing burden for manufacturers and authorities;
• review of product databases and compliance information;
• selection of products for testing;
• analysis of market-surveillance evidence and enforcement barriers;
• development of digital approaches supporting assessment and verification.

This experience includes close work with testing organisations and assessment of methods for televisions, displays, ICT products and ENERGY STAR compliance.

Sustainable product policy is developed through negotiations involving public authorities, industry, civil society, technical experts and standardisation bodies.

Sea Green Tree provides evidence-based representation in European policy and standardisation discussions. Our role includes:

• developing technically robust negotiating positions;
• analysing regulatory and technical trade-offs;
• drafting position papers and proposed amendments;
• identifying where compromise is possible without undermining policy intent;
• translating complex evidence into concise negotiating arguments;
• working across competing institutional and commercial interests.

Experience includes representation of environmental civil-society interests in CEN and CENELEC processes and participation in European Commission stakeholder and regulatory discussions.

Sea Green Tree has worked on the alignment of product requirements, test methods and voluntary initiatives across European and international markets.

Experience includes:

• EU ENERGY STAR technical support and market evaluation;
• analysis of United States rulemaking and test-method developments;
• international alignment of television test methods and performance requirements;
• European Commission Codes of Conduct;
• voluntary agreements for imaging equipment;
• assessment of international standards, labels and regulatory approaches;
• analysis of the benefits and limitations of regulatory harmonisation.

We support the use of product-policy evidence in sustainable procurement and purchasing decisions.

Relevant work includes:

• development of green procurement specifications for government;
• assessment of ICT products against environmental criteria;
• development of retailer and buyer guidance;
• analysis of environmental information used at the point of purchase;
• development of repairability and circularity scorecards for retail decision-making.

We translate complex technical and regulatory evidence into material suited to policymakers, standards bodies, businesses, civil society and non-specialist audiences.

Outputs include:

• impact assessments;
• regulatory proposals;
• policy briefs and position papers;
• consultation responses;
• technical reports;
• standards proposals;
• stakeholder presentations;
• implementation guidance.

The aim is not simply to produce analysis, but to ensure that evidence can be used effectively in regulation, standardisation and enforcement.