Ecodesign self-regulation: A price too high?

Self-regulation has priority in the Ecodesign Directive, subject to meeting certain criteria intended to impose higher obligations than an Implementing Measure (IM) on industry. Only 4 self-regulatory approaches have been proposed to date. This paper explores the criteria set by the Commission, taking the Voluntary Agreement for Complex Set Top Boxes (VA for CSTBs) as a case study. Using the findings from the 1^st Independent Inspector report and experience of the operation of the VA the paper demonstrates that the VA meets those criteria, particularly in terms of environmental ambition, transparency and accountability, but that certain aspects of the status of the VA could mean that the benefits of self-regulation are diminished. Ways to improve the effectiveness of the VA , such as publicity to extend market coverage and exchanging experience between VAs, are presented.