Planned for January 2024, Where Did the Durability Index Go?

Since the launch of the repairability index in January 2021, France has been a pioneer in considering the impacts of our electronic devices. However, at the end of 2023 Europe halted the deployment of the durability index, which was supposed to take effect on January 1, 2024.

The repairability index has been part of the landscape in France for the past 3 years. This score, ranging from zero to ten, assesses the repairability of some electronic devices and household appliances.

Its display is mandatory for smartphones and laptops. A way to inform consumers about the ease (or difficulty) of repairing their future device at the time of purchase.

December 15, 2022: to strengthen this labeling, the Ministry of Ecological Transition launches its Repair Bonus, a device designed to encourage the French to repair their devices instead of discarding them. The incentive is financial: bring a broken or faulty equipment to a QualiRépar repairer, and an amount (defined according to the type of device) will be deducted from your bill.

The deployment of these devices has given France real legitimacy on these issues. The country has thus outpaced Europe on reparability issues. To go further, and following a public consultation, the State announced in September 2023:

In accordance with Article 16-II of Law No. 2020-105 of February 10, 2020, relating to the fight against waste and the circular economy, the reparability index will, from January 1, 2024, be progressively improved and replaced by a new mandatory display: the durability index.

The interest of this new index? It aims to be more comprehensive than its predecessor, which focuses exclusively on reparability issues. Namely, what happens once a device is damaged or breaks down. The durability index takes a more comprehensive approach to the lifespan of our equipment, how they are designed, their resistance...

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From this month onwards, this index should have been displayed on the relevant devices by sellers targeting French consumers. That was without counting the opinion of European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, rendered on October 27, 2023.

He decrees that the French index competes with a European regulation, which came into effect on September 20, 2023, and provides for "energy labeling of smartphones and tablets" starting from June 20, 2025. This labeling will display information on:

• their energy efficiency
• their longevity
• their protection against dust and water
• their resistance to accidental falls
• their reparability.

The notified project introduces a durability index which consists of a score out of ten to be displayed at the time of purchase, in order to inform the consumer about the durability of smartphones.

After studying the project of the French durability index, Europe's conclusions are unequivocal:

The Commission notes that the methodology developed by the French authorities [...] diverges from the scope and some of the parameters used for the calculation of the reparability index. Such an approach will lead to divergent indices, depending on the market to which the product is intended, which can not only be restrictive for economic operators but also lead to confusion regarding the information provided to consumers.

With European decisions taking precedence over national law, France is therefore forced to rethink its approach. Stay tuned on February 3, 2024, to get updates on a (hypothetical) French durability index. Until then, the reparability index will remain the only reference for French consumers.

References:

• Ministry of Ecological Transition - Reparability index
• Vie Publique - Draft regulatory texts on the durability index
• European Commission - Thierry Breton: Notifications 2023/477-481/FR (provided by l'Informé)

[Cover Photo: Mingwei Lim]

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