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The ESPR working plan, explained

ESPR is a framework — it does not regulate any product until the Commission chooses to. The instrument it uses to choose is the working plan: a published list of the product groups that get ecodesign requirements and a Digital Product Passport first. If you want to know when your product comes into scope, the working plan is where to look.

In one line: the first ESPR working plan names the priority product groups; each then gets its own delegated act fixing the exact rules, data set and date.

What the working plan is

Under ESPR (2024/1781), the Commission adopts a multi-year working plan naming priority product groups. It is the roadmap that turns the framework into concrete obligations, group by group, through delegated acts. Nothing becomes mandatory from the working plan itself — it sets the order of play.

The first priority groups

The first ESPR working plan focuses on textiles and apparel, iron and steel, aluminium, furniture (including mattresses), and tyres, alongside several energy-related product groups carried over from the previous ecodesign framework. Batteries are handled separately, under the EU Battery Regulation, whose passport is the first to become mandatory — 18 February 2027.

From working plan to your deadline

Being named in the working plan does not set your date — the delegated act for your group does. Each act fixes the exact data set, the granularity (model, batch or item) and the start date. The deadline table tracks what is scheduled.

If your product is on the list

A DPP programme takes six to twelve months to stand up, and supplier data collection is the critical path. If your group is in the first working plan, the sensible move is to start now rather than wait for the act to land. The free readiness check maps your products to their regulations and dates in two minutes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the ESPR working plan?
The European Commission's published list of priority product groups that get ecodesign requirements and a Digital Product Passport first under ESPR.
Which products are in the first ESPR working plan?
Textiles and apparel, iron and steel, aluminium, furniture, and tyres, plus several energy-related product groups.
Does the working plan set my deadline?
No — the delegated act for your specific product group sets the data set and date. The working plan sets the order.
Are batteries in the ESPR working plan?
Batteries are covered separately by the EU Battery Regulation, whose passport is the first mandatory one (18 February 2027).

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