DIGITALEUROPE’s views on simplifying and harmonising environmental regulation

DIGITALEUROPE strongly supports the European Commission’s efforts to streamline environmental legislation, reduce administrative burden, and create a coherent framework that fosters innovation and sustainability. Current legislation is fragmented, duplicative, and administratively heavy, diverting resources away from innovation and sustainability goals.
Major EU laws such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products regulation, the Packaging and Packaging Waste regulation or the Right to Repair directive have been adopted in the last four years to further drive the transition to a circular economy. These new initiatives will themselves require many pieces of secondary legislation to be implemented. Today, a single electronic product may be covered by more than 35 different EU environmental regulations. The increasingly complex legal framework can only yield tangible benefits if the compliance burden doesn’t negatively affect innovation and investments.
We support a harmonised framework that enhances Europe’s competitiveness while safeguarding environmental integrity.

Our key recommendations:

• Ensure alignment across sustainability frameworks to avoid duplication and conflicting requirements.
• Promote digital-first reporting and labelling solutions (QR codes, online documentation) over outdated paper-based requirements.
• Discontinue the SCIP database and review substance requirements for clarity
• Maintain a risk-based approach to RoHS
• Streamline EU circularity and waste legislation
• Streamline permitting and reporting for data centers
• Simplify the EU Deforestation regulation