The Commission services sees a voluntary agreement  for complex set top boxes as an alternative to regulation. The Steering Committee will meet in Brussels on 30 November 2011.

The impact assessment showed that the proposed voluntary agreement meets the criteria set out in the Ecodesign Directive. and that it offers similar energy savings to those that could be obtained from a possible regulation.

The Steering Committee of the Voluntary Agreement for Complex Set Top Boxes met in Brussels 15 February 2011. Key items discussed at the meeting of the Steering Committee were:

• Modified targets for Tier 1 to take into account recent technical developments.
• More demanding targets for Tier 2.
• Launching a call for tenders for the Independent inspector. This is to select an entity that will to report the results of the first reporting period in July 2011.

Background

This product group covers digital convertors for TVs, including additional features such as pay-TV and network connectivity.

Voluntary agreement for this product group has been suggested, partly since:

• The energy use of these devises is impacted by the way they are operated by the service providers.
• The function of these devices are quickly evolving, which requires a flexible approach in setting requirements.

Industry representatives have presented a draft voluntary agreement that is expected to be signed by a large number of companies.

Draft guidelines for Voluntary Agreements in general were discussed in Consultation Forum in March 2010. For more information, view the section on Voluntary Agreements.

Products & status