22 September 2026

The circular economy becomes binding product law – Mini-Series

  • Articles
  • Legal
  • Governance / ESG

The EU and Switzerland are tightening the requirements for products, packaging and sustainability communication. An overview.

  • Dr. Martin Eckert

    Legal Partner

  • Adrian Peyer

    Of Counsel

Overview of the regulatory framework in the EU and Switzerland

In the EU, the circular economy is evolving from an environmental policy principle into a comprehensive product regime. In Switzerland, the revised Environmental Protection Act provides additional legal foundations. However, the actual level of regulation remains lower.

I. The EU’s regulatory framework

The EU brings together product design, product data, materials, packaging, repair and consumer communication. The individual instruments are functionally interlinked:

The following articles explore this framework in greater depth across the five key areas of implementation. They also demonstrate that product design, material data, packaging, repair models and environmental communication cannot be managed in isolation.

  1. Product design and product information: The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, establishes the framework for requirements relating to durability, reparability, recyclability, recycled content, material efficiency, substances, environmental footprint and product information. Specific obligations are set out in product-specific or horizontal delegated acts.
  2. Product data: The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is designed to make sustainability data available electronically throughout the value chain. The content, level of detail and access rights are defined on a product-by-product basis.
  3. Substances and material cycles: PFAS highlight the conflicting objectives between substance restrictions, durable products and high-quality secondary raw materials. Existing limit values for food contact packaging and the ongoing REACH restriction procedure require robust material and supply chain data. Further details can be found in the article «PFAS are putting material cycles to the test».
  4. Packaging: The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Regulation (EU) 2025/40, has been in force in phases since 12 August 2026. It combines restrictions on materials, packaging minimisation, recyclability, the use of recycled materials, reuse, labelling and extended producer responsibility.
  5. Product lifespan: Directive (EU) 2024/1799 on the promotion of repairs supplements ecodesign requirements with consumer rights relating to repairs. Member States were required to apply their regulations from 31 July 2026.
  6. Communication: Directive (EU) 2024/825, EmpCo, will tighten the requirements for environmental claims, sustainability labels, durability information and statements on reparability from 27 September 2026.
  7. Governance and reporting: For Swiss companies, Article 3(1)(x) of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG), the draft New Federal Act on Consumer Protection (NUFG) and the amended Climate Protection Ordinance link product and value chain data to obligations regarding evidence, governance and communication. These interconnections are examined in the article «Circularity claims also require robust evidence».

II. EU Circular Economy Act: Direction clear, content still to be determined

The proposed Circular Economy Act is intended, in particular, to promote a single market for waste and secondary raw materials, increase the supply of high-quality recycled materials and boost demand for secondary materials.

Key issues that remain to be clarified include the legal form, the substantive scope of application, the relationship to existing waste legislation, any potential recycling targets, criteria for determining when waste ceases to be waste, and transition periods. Companies should therefore treat the Circular Economy Act as a planning parameter rather than an existing compliance obligation (for more on this, see our magazine article: The EU Circular Economy Act: A Competitiveness Instrument with Global Reach).

III. Swiss Legal Framework

The revision of the Environmental Protection Act, adopted in 2024, strengthens resource conservation and the circular economy. It sets out the principles governing requirements for recyclable packaging, service life, reparability, reuse and material recovery. This framework is further specified, in particular, by the VVEA (amendments to the VVEA have been in force since 1 August 2026) and the new Packaging Ordinance (VerpV), which sets out fundamental requirements regarding resource conservation, necessary packaging dimensions, recyclability, recycled materials and substances of very high concern. The take-back and recovery of single-use plastic packaging and beverage cartons are also regulated; from 2030, design requirements will apply; from 2031, take-back and volume reporting; and from 2032, recovery rates of 55 per cent for plastic packaging and 70 per cent for beverage cartons. From 2028, the advance disposal charge will be extended to cover further types of glass packaging. The new Packaging Ordinance will come into force at the start of 2027.

IV. Implications for the Board of Directors and Executive Management

Members of the Board of Directors and Executive Management should engage in-depth with the circular economy and the associated regulations, as the circular economy offers strategic opportunities and can lead to cost savings and increased resilience (e.g. in supply chains).

Circular economy strategies – in particular extending product lifespans, reuse and the use of secondary raw materials – reduce dependence on primary raw materials and can thus minimise exposure to import bottlenecks, price volatility and material shortages; this is explicitly highlighted by both the FOEN and EU legislation as a benefit in terms of resilience and cost savings.

According to the Commission’s assessment, harmonised EU ecodesign rules are intended to reduce compliance costs, stimulate investment and innovation, and increase demand for more sustainable products. Public procurement also reinforces this demand effect: the ESPR enables binding green procurement criteria, whilst federal procurement authorities, in accordance with Article 30(4) of the Federal Procurement Act (BöB), provide for suitable technical specifications aimed at conserving natural resources or protecting the environment.

Costs are increasingly arising not just at the disposal stage, but already at the stages of packaging design, take-back, recyclability, technical evidence, reporting obligations and eco-modulated contributions under extended producer responsibility; under the PPWR, non-compliant packaging may trigger corrective measures, market withdrawal or a recall.
 
From 27 September 2026, the EmpCo Directive will tighten EU rules on environmental claims, sustainability labels, statements on reparability and premature obsolescence; in particular, certain generic environmental claims and insufficiently substantiated labels will be prohibited, whilst the PPWR additionally requires that claims regarding packaging go beyond statutory minimum requirements and are technically documented. This makes a robust circular economy and product data base both a prerequisite for credible marketing and a safeguard against legal proceedings, corrective measures and a loss of trust.
 

«Circular Economy» mini-series

Find out more about the individual regulations relating to the circular economy in our mini-series. The other articles in the mini-series cover the following topics:

  1. «PFAS are becoming a litmus test for material cycles»: PFAS regulation, recyclability, replacement parts and supply chain data.
  2. «Digital Product Passport and ESPR are transforming product management»: eco-design requirements, data architecture and governance.
  3. «The PPWR is already changing packaging today»: packaging design, recycled materials, reuse and producer responsibility.
  4. «Repair is becoming part of the business model»: right to repair, spare parts, software support and product lifespan.
  5. «Circularity claims also require robust evidence»: EmpCo, the Swiss Unfair Competition Act (UWG), the New Federal Act on Consumer Protection (NUFG) and the Climate Protection Ordinance.

The articles should be read as a coherent implementation chain: material and product data form the basis for compliance and repair; packaging and circularity strategies determine the operational framework; and robust evidence sets limits on permissible communication.

 
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