New EU rules for ecodesign and energy labelling will apply to smartphones and tablets beginning June 20, 2025. As part of the effort to extend product lifetimes by improving repairability, upgradeability, and battery life, these rules aim to better inform buyers about how long a device battery will last, how easy it is to repair, and how well it should stand the test of time.
Blog by:
Andreas Nobell
We can all agree that enabling more informed purchasing is a positive step. However, for this to have real impact, buyers must be able to trust the sustainability claims made by manufacturers. Our 30+ years of experience managing TCO Certified demonstrates that such claims must be independently verified—especially in the complex electronics sector. Without independent verification, the risk of greenwashing remains high.
Will buyers be able to trust the claims?
To comply with the new rules, manufacturers must upload technical documentation and a declaration of conformity to the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling (EPREL) database before selling their products in the EU.
However, the rules lack a crucial element: a requirement for independent verification of the data provided. All sustainability information made available to buyers will be self-declared by manufacturers.
The risks of self-declaration
Why does this matter? Take battery life as an example. The upcoming EU rules require mobile device batteries to retain at least 80% capacity after 800 cycles—a higher benchmark than commonly tested for today. In our experience with TCO Certified, batteries are most often tested for 300 cycles.
Here again, the EU rules do not require independent verification of these self-declared battery test results, nor do they require submission of test reports. This creates a clear risk of greenwashing, misleading buyers, and ultimately failing to deliver the intended sustainability benefits.
Without verification, the door to greenwashing remains open
One intended outcome of these new rules is to empower consumers and institutional buyers to select products based on credible information about battery life and repairability. Yet, ambitious criteria are only as meaningful as the system verifying compliance. In practice, independent verification is the only way to ensure transparency and accuracy, allowing purchasers to make genuinely informed choices that support sustainability.
The important question remains: Who will verify the accuracy of these declarations? In a complex product category rife with shortcuts and loopholes, experience shows that independent verification is essential for progress.
Listen to Andreas Nobell talk about how battery longevity and replaceability work in TCO Certified.
