Eco-design and energy labeling are a systematic and comprehensive design approach for products and make an important contribution to improving the energy and resource efficiency of products over their entire life cycle. So-called implementing measures set out specific eco-design and labeling requirements for a particular product group. These are regulations issued by the European Commission. These implementing measures are directly applicable and do not require further transposition into national law. The manufacturers or importers concerned must ensure that their products meet the specified requirements in the respective implementing measure. Only then may they be placed on the market in the EU. They issue a declaration of conformity for the product as confirmation and affix the CE conformity mark to it. Products may well fall under several eco-design implementing measures but also other European regulations, such as product safety law.
The federal states are responsible for monitoring ecodesign and energy label requirements in Germany. In this context, the range of tasks for market surveillance is specified by the Market Surveillance Act (MüG). The tasks include, for example, spot checks of products and the examination of documentation. The Bavarian Trade Supervisory Offices at the governments have specialized in the area of market surveillance.
If you have any questions about the quality requirements of technical products, or if you suspect that a product does not meet the prescribed quality requirements, you can contact the responsible trade supervisory office at the governments directly. Your contact for the area of ecodesign and energy label requirements is the trade supervisory office at the government of Swabia. As an instrument for the exchange of information on unsafe products and product risks, the Internet-based Information and Communication System for Europe-wide Market Surveillance of Technical Products (ICSMS) (see "Online Procedure") is also available to consumers and authorities.
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