Mandatory on many products such as smartphones and laptops, the repairability index will evolve into a durability index, with more comprehensive criteria. But its use will be restricted and temporary….
To encourage more eco-responsible production and consumption, the French Government set up a few years ago a repairability index for electrical and electronic devices for the general public. This is a rating system intended to combat the obsolescence – planned or not – of these devices, presented in the form of a score between 1 and 10, calculated according to several criteria, such as the availability of the technical documentation, ease of dismantling, or even the availability and price of spare parts. The goal is to encourage consumers to choose products with a better lifespan and to repair their devices. In this way, they become a powerful lever which will in turn encourage manufacturers to favor eco-design by improving the way they produce their devices, in order to benefit from a new marketing argument. Ultimately, this should help curb the production of electrical and electronic waste.
But, the 1er January 2024, the repairability index was to evolve into a durability index – which, like its predecessor, was to be displayed by all sellers on electrical and electronic devices intended for French consumers –, a system integrating new criteria such as robustness or reliability of products. Clearly, it is supposed to be more complete than its predecessor and take into account the ability of a device not to break down. Finally, after numerous obstacles and twists and turns – notably coming from the European Commission – the decree and orders necessary for the entry into force of the index were finally published in Official newspaper on April 7, 2024. The new rating will come into force in January 2025 for televisions and in April 2025 for washing machines, via the anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC law). A second wave of devices is expected to occur one day, including vacuum cleaners, electric lawn mowers, dishwashers and pressure washers.
Sustainability index: new parameters taken into account
Unsurprisingly, the durability index, in the form of a score out of 10, will use the traditional color code already used by the repairability index, going from red to green in order to make the index easier to read. The lower the score, the more the color will tend towards red and the less good the device will be for the environment. HAS Conversely, the higher the score, the more the color will tend towards green, and the more durable the equipment will be.
Small black point however: at the launch of the sustainability index, only televisions and washing machines were to be affected – initially, smartphones were supposed to be too. It must be displayed on the packaging or next to the price displayed when making a purchase in store. For online sales, it must be displayed on all pages allowing the purchase of the product concerned, close to the price and with an equivalent font size, so as to be readable on the screen. Afterwards, each manufacturer is free to affix it elsewhere, as a marketing argument.
Sustainability index: how is it calculated?
The new sustainability index is calculated based on three criteria. Obviously, there is the reparability of the product, which counts for 45 points, but also the reliability of it, which counts for 45 points. This shutter evaluates its resistance to dust and water – be careful, it does not guarantee the waterproofness of the device! – and takes into account the monitoring of security updates. Finally, the index includes an improvement factor which counts for 10 points, but can jump for “categories of equipment which do not take into account the family of improvement criteria”. Then, the score out of 100 is reduced to 10. The idea is not only to take into account the ease with which a smartphone can be repaired, but also to include its ability to last over time.
In these three main categories there are numerous sub-criteria specific to each type of device. For televisions, for example, a panel that can be dismantled in less than seven steps will earn three points, to which will be added two points if a common, non-proprietary tool is enough to dismantle it. If the attachments of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules are removable and reusable, they will earn two more points. As for washing machines, a device that only undergoes a reliability test of 1,400 cycles would not gain any points, whereas if the test involves more than 3,400, it will obtain six points. If it has a visible indicator which informs the consumer that it is time to descale the machine, he will gain one point, or even three points if the maintenance is automatic. The index has hundreds of criteria like that!
Durability index: is it really reliable?
There is, however, a small problem: if the durability index is intended to be more comprehensive than the repairability index, certain essential criteria are poorly represented in the final score. Let’s look at the section devoted to repairability for example. Part of the criteria concerns repairing the device yourself. However, this is a relatively rare practice among the general public, due to the technical knowledge it requires. Also evaluated are the documentation and the ease with which the consumer can disassemble their device. So many points of attention which are not relevant if you wish to have your device repaired by a certified repairer, by your operator or by the manufacturer. For example, iPhones – even if they are not affected at the moment – obtain a correct score due to the very detailed and easily accessible instructions many years after the product was released, but the devices are difficult to disassemble with parts expensive spare parts.
Also, before going to checkout, the simplest thing is to examine several elements communicated by the manufacturers or resellers. For example, for the repairability of a smartphone, we can rely on the ratings given by the company iFixit, the repair specialist. To know if a smartphone is waterproof and dustproof, simply examine its technical sheet to see if it has an IP certification. Finally, for updates, it is better to consult the manufacturer’s website directly, which often indicates when a device will receive updates.
It remains that, for the Stop Planned Obsolescence (HOP) associationthis index is a “revolution”. “As consumers, we not only want to know if a product can be repaired, but above all if it will work for a long time without breakdowns! This transparency on the durability of a product now removes a taboo anchored among manufacturers”explains Laetitia Vasseur, general director of the association.
Sustainability index: the thorny question of the European Commission
Originally scheduled for January 2024, the arrival of the sustainability index was delayed due to differences with the European Commission. In fact, the latter had revoked the system last November, to the great pleasure of the industrialists. As the future sustainability index potentially concerns European sellers, France was obliged to alert the European Commission of its arrival in August 2023. However, as reported The Informedthe latter had refused the implementing decree and the five sectoral decrees, with a ban on publication in Official newspaper until February.
The reason ? Its incompatibility with European law, given that a sustainability index at the European Union level must be put in place by 2025. French and European repairability indices would therefore be a duplicate and could have created confusion in terms of display – especially since, according to manufacturers, certain criteria required by the French index were different from the European index. Also, in mail addressed to the European Commission, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion announced that it had taken “note” of the critical opinion given last fall, and abandoned its project. Which greatly delighted the industrialists, the French Alliance of digital industrialists – which represents several manufacturers including Apple, Google and Xiaomi – and the Federation of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Industries having found that France was going too far in its supervision . We will therefore have a sustainability index in 2025, but limited and temporary.