COMMISSION DECISION
of 6 June 2011
on establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the EU Ecolabel for notebook computers
(notified under document C(2011) 3736)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2011/330/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel (1), and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,
After consulting the European Union Eco-labelling Board,
Whereas:
(1)
Under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, the EU Ecolabel may be awarded to those products with a reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle.
(2)
Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 provides that specific EU Ecolabel criteria are to be established according to product groups.
(3)
Commission Decision 2001/687/EC (2) has established the ecological criteria and the related assessment and verification requirements for portable computers. Following the review of the criteria set out in that Decision, Commission Decision 2005/343/EC (3) has established revised criteria which are valid until 30 June 2011.
(4)
Those criteria have been further reviewed in the light of technological developments. In addition, in 2006, the agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the European Community (hereinafter ‘the Agreement’), approved by Council Decision 2006/1005/EC (4), as amended by Decision 2010/C 186/1 of 12 August 2009 of the Management entities under the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the European Community on the coordination of energy-efficiency labelling programmes for office equipment on the revision of the computer specifications in Annex C, part VIII, to the Agreement (hereinafter ‘ENERGY STAR v5.0’) (5) was concluded setting out the criteria for Energy Star.
(5)
Those new criteria, as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, should be valid for 3 years from the date of adoption of this Decision.
(6)
Decision 2005/343/EC should be replaced for reasons of clarity.
(7)
A transitional period should be allowed for producers whose products have been awarded the Ecolabel for portable computers on the basis of the criteria set out in Decision 2005/343/EC, so that they have sufficient time to adapt their products to comply with the revised criteria and requirements. Producers should also be allowed to submit applications based on the criteria set out in Decision 2005/343/EC or on the criteria set out in this Decision until the lapse of validity of that Decision.
(8)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
1. The product group ‘notebook computers’ shall comprise devices which have the following characteristics:
(a)
they perform logical operations and process data and are designed specifically for portability and to be operated for extended periods of time either with or without a direct connection to an AC power source;
(b)
they utilise an integrated computer display and are capable of operation off an integrated battery or other portable power source. If a notebook computer is delivered with an external power supply this power supply is considered part of the notebook computer.
2. For the purpose of this Decision, tablet personal computers, which may use touch-sensitive screens along with or instead of other input devices shall be considered notebook computers.
3. Digital picture frames shall not be considered notebook computers for the purpose of this Decision.
Article 2
In order to be awarded the EU Ecolabel under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, an item must fall within the product group ‘notebook computers’ as defined in Article 1 of this Decision and must comply with the ecological criteria as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, set out in the Annex to this Decision.
Article 3
The criteria for the product group ‘notebook computers’ as well as the related assessment and verification requirements, shall be valid for 3 years from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Article 4
For administrative purposes the code number assigned to the product group ‘notebook computers’ shall be ‘018’.
Article 5
Decision 2005/343/EC is repealed.
Article 6
1. By derogation from Article 5, applications for the EU Ecolabel for products falling within the product group ‘portable computers’ as defined in Decision 2005/343/EC submitted before the date of adoption of this Decision shall be evaluated in accordance with the conditions laid down in Decision 2005/343/EC.
2. Applications for the EU Ecolabel for products falling within the product group ‘notebook computers’ submitted from the date of adoption of this Decision but by 30 June 2011 at the latest may be based either on the criteria set out in Decision 2005/343/EC or on the criteria set out in this Decision.
Those applications shall be evaluated in accordance with the criteria on which they are based.
3. Where the Ecolabel is awarded on the basis of an application evaluated in accordance with the criteria set out in Decision 2005/343/EC, that Ecolabel may be used for 12 months from the date of adoption of this Decision.
Article 7
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 6 June 2011.