(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 (EU) 2015/2099 (2) established EU Ecolabel criteria and related assessment and verification requirements for the product group ‘growing media, soil improvers and mulch’. The period of validity of those criteria and requirements has been extended to 30 June 2022 by Commission Decision (EU) 2019/1134 (3).

(4)

In order to better reflect best practice in the market for the product group and to take account of policy developments, potential future windows of opportunity for increased uptake and the market`s demand for sustainable products, it is appropriate to establish a new set of criteria for growing media and soil improvers.

(5)

The EU Ecolabel Fitness check Report (4) of 30 June 2017, reviewing the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, concluded on the need to develop a more strategic approach for the EU Ecolabel, including the bundling of closely related product groups where appropriate.

(6)

In line with those conclusions, it is appropriate to revise the criteria for the product group ‘growing media, soil improvers and mulch’, and to ensure harmonisation with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).

(7)

In line with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009, point (6) of the preamble and Part I of Annex I to that Regulation, the product group name should be modified to ‘growing media and soil improvers’ to better reflect product functionality, since ‘mulch’ is considered to be a type of soil improver.

(8)

Harmonisation with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 should also increase the market visibility of the EU Ecolabel for growing media and soil improvers products and reduce the administrative burden for national authorities. Additionally, certain modifications should be made to the definitions within the product group ‘growing media and soil improvers’, notably to harmonise terminology with Regulation (EU) 2019/1009.

(9)

The New Circular Economy Action Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe (6) adopted on 11 March 2020 stipulates that the durability, recyclability and recycled content requirements are to be more systematically included in the EU Ecolabel criteria.

(10)

The revised EU Ecolabel criteria for growing media and soil improvers should aim, in particular, to promote products that have limited environmental impact along their life cycle, and that are produced using material-efficient and energy-efficient processes. In order to contribute towards the transition to a more circular economy, the criteria should promote the inclusion, in growing media and soil improvers, of recycled organic matter and nutrients, and they should encourage the recovery of mineral growing media at their end-of-life phase. The revised criteria should guarantee the products’ safety for human, animals or plant health and/or for the environment by setting limits on the presence of hazardous substances, such as heavy metals and organic pollutants, and by ensuring controlled sourcing of minerals. Considering efforts towards climate neutrality and the decarbonisation of European industry, the criteria should set mandatory requirements on CO2 emissions and energy consumption for expanded minerals and mineral wool manufacturing and should incentivise the incorporation of recycled/recovered material content in growing media.

(11)

The new criteria and related assessment and verification requirements should remain valid until 30 June 2030, taking into account the innovation cycle for the product group.

(12)

For reasons of legal certainty, Decision (EU) 2015/2099 should be repealed.

(13)

A transitional period should be allowed for producers whose products have been awarded the EU Ecolabel for growing media, soil improvers and mulch on the basis of the criteria set out in Decision (EU) 2015/2099, so that they have sufficient time to adapt their products to comply with the new criteria and requirements. For a limited period after adoption of this Decision, producers should also be allowed to submit applications based either on the criteria established by Decision (EU) 2015/2099 or on the new criteria established by this Decision. EU Ecolabel licences awarded in accordance with the criteria set out in Decision (EU) 2015/2099 should be allowed to be used for 12 months from the date of adoption of this Decision.

(14)

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,