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1. Product requirements ensuring appropriate functioning and performance 1.1. Harmonised technical specifications adopted in accordance with Article 7(1) may, as appropriate for the products that they cover, specify that products shall be designed, manufactured and packaged in such a way that, over the product’s life cycle, one or more of the following functional and performance requirements are addressed in accordance with the state of the art and to the extent not covered by other Union legal acts:

(a) the intended purpose is effectively and reliably fulfilled;

(b) the fulfilment of the declared performance is not impaired;

(c) the fulfilment of the safety and environmental requirements set out in accordance with points 2.1 and 3.1 is not impaired;

(d) the functionality of the products is maintained.

1.2. Voluntary harmonised standards for product requirements referred to in Article 7(3) and common specifications conferring a presumption of conformity shall set out how any requirements in accordance with point 1.1 can be fulfilled, by, for example, the following:

(a) the use of specific materials which can be specified also in terms of their chemical composition;

(b) the specific dimensions and shapes of products or their components;

(c) the use of certain components which can be specified also in terms of materials, dimensions and shapes;

(d) the use of certain accessories and requirements for them;

(e) the ease of installation and deinstallation;

(f) the ease of maintenance or the lack of maintenance required for the expected life span;

(g) the characteristics of the product, including its cleanability, scratch resistance and break resistance, under usual operation conditions.

1.3. When specifying the functionality and performance product requirements, harmonised technical specifications may differentiate them on the basis of their classes of performance.

2. Product safety requirements

Safety relates to professionals (workers) and non-professionals (consumers, occupants), while they transport, install, maintain, use or dismantle the product, as well as while they treat the product for its end of life phase or its reuse or recycling.

2.1. Harmonised technical specifications established by delegated acts referred to in Article 7(1) may, as appropriate for the products they cover, specify that products shall be designed, manufactured, and packaged in such a way that one or more of the following inherent product safety risks are, over the product’s life cycle, addressed in accordance with the state of the art and to the extent they are not covered by other Union legal acts:

(a) chemical risks due to leaking or leaching;

(b) the risk of unbalanced composition in terms of substances resulting in flawed, safety-relevant functioning of products;

(c) mechanical risks;

(d) mechanical failure;

(e) physical failure;

(f) risks of electric failure;

(g) risks linked to electricity supply breakdown;

(h) risks linked to unintended charge or discharge of electricity;

(i) risks linked to software failure;

(j) risks of software manipulation;

(k) risks of incompatibility of substances or materials;

(l) risks linked to the incompatibility of different items, at least one of them being a product;

(m) the risk of not performing as intended, where the performance is safety relevant;

(n) the risk of misunderstanding instructions for use in a field affecting health and safety;

(o) the risk of unintended inappropriate installation or use;

(p) the risk of intended inappropriate use.

2.2. Voluntary harmonised standards and common specifications conferring a presumption of conformity shall set out how any requirements in accordance with point 2.1 can be fulfilled, by, for example, the following:

(a) defining the state of the art of possible risk reduction with regard to the respective product category, including the risk of incompatibility of different items, at least one of them being a product;

(b) providing technical solutions that avoid safety-related risks; or (c) where risk avoidance is not possible, reducing and mitigating risks by addressing them through warnings on the product, its packaging and in instructions for use.

2.3. When specifying the product safety requirements, harmonised technical specifications may differentiate these on the basis of their classes of performance.

3. Product environmental requirements Environment relates to the extraction and manufacturing of the materials, the manufacturing of the product, the transport of materials and products, its maintenance, its potential to remain as long as possible within a circular economy and its end of life phase.

3.1. Harmonised technical specifications established by delegated acts referred to in Article 7(1) may, as appropriate for the products they cover, specify that products shall be designed, manufactured, and packaged in such a way that one or more of the following inherent product environmental aspects are, over the product’s life cycle, addressed wherever possible without safety loss or by outweighing negative environmental impact, and to the extent not covered by other Union legal acts:

(a) maximising durability and reliability of the product or its components as expressed through a product’s technical lifetime indication of real use information on the product, resistance to stress or ageing mechanisms and in terms of the expected average life span, the minimum life span under worst but still realistic conditions, and in terms of the minimum life span requirements and prevention of premature obsolescence;

(b) minimising life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions;

(c) maximising reused, recycled and by-product content;

(d) the selection of safe, sustainable-by-design and environmentally benign substances;

(e) energy use and energy efficiency;

(f) resource efficiency;

(g) modularity;

(h) identifying which product or parts thereof can be reused after deinstallation (reusability), and in what quantities;

(i) upgradability;

(j) the ease of reparability during the expected life span, including compatibility with commonly available spare parts;

(k) the ease of maintenance and refurbishment during the expected life span;

(l) recyclability and the capability to be remanufactured;

(m) the capability of different materials or substances to be separated and recovered during dismantling or recycling procedures;

(n) sustainable sourcing;

(o) minimising the packaging/product ratio;

(p) amounts of waste generated, notably hazardous waste.

3.2. Voluntary harmonised standards and common specifications conferring a presumption of conformity shall set out how any requirements in accordance with point 3.1 can be fulfilled by, for example, the following:

(a) specifying what is the state of the art for addressing the environmental aspects with regard to the respective product category, including the minimum recycled content, whole life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, resource efficiency and reusability;

(b) providing technical solutions which avoid negative environmental effects and risks, including the generation of waste materials, or, where avoidance is not possible, reducing and mitigating negative effects and risks by addressing them through warnings on the product, its packaging and in instructions for use.

3.3. When specifying the product environmental requirements, harmonised technical specifications may differentiate them on the basis of their classes of performance.