Welcome back from summer holidays! In preparation for the Design and Sustainability Workshop in Torino on 22-23 October, this week’s in-depth piece addresses, with Olimpia Migliore’s great expertise, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which took force this past 18 July. It is the cornerstone of the European Commission’s approach to more environmentally-sustainable and circular products, particularly automotive ones, and especially for the car interior value chain, where plastic is more prevalent than anywhere else in or on a vehicle.
ESPR emphasizes the need for products to be more durable, repairable, and recyclable. Metal and ferrous materials do not represent a big issue today, even if most of them could be better recycled. The main challenge is in increasing the recycle rate of materials is coming from car soft and hard trim, which accounts for more than half of auto-interior plastics.
Sincerely yours,
