Promoting ecodesign for advancement of innovation, competiveness and environmental improvements: assessing the potential of the Ecodesign Directive in a dynamic setting.

The European Union's Ecodesign Directive is a unique piece of legislation, including 1) it is built on the concept of life cycle thinking, 2) it is one of very few successful policies for energy efficiency and CO2 reductions, 3) it is one of the few possible policy options at the EU level for achieving resource efficiency objectives. In the light of this, there are several areas that need further research.