Brussels, 1 April 2009: CECED, the European household appliance manufacturers’ association welcomes the decision taken by the European Commission and Member States to adopt an environmentally sound and sustainable Energy Label layout and ambitious Ecodesign targets for domestic refrigerators, freezers and washing machines.

During its meeting on 30 and 31 March the Committee on Ecodesign and Energy Labelling of Energy using Products (EuP) approved a label solution that allows manufacturers to identify the most energy-efficient technology without any disruption on the market or confusion for consumers. Appliances surpassing the current Class A criteria will be classified by the additional savings they provide when compared to Class A: A-20%, A-40% and so forth. With these new classes on top of the existing A-to-G energy scale, consumers attentive to their environmental footprint and energy costs will be able to make informed purchasing decisions.

In addition, the Committee agreed that Class A refrigerators and freezers and Class A washing machines will be phased out of the market by 2012 and 2013 respectively.

“The fact that the Committee has already identified dates when Class A appliances will be taken out of the market indicates how urgently we needed a new energy label layout,” said Luigi Meli, CECED Director General. “We are pleased to now have a tool that will support our efforts to continue improving the energy efficiency of our products well beyond Class A.”

Over the past 15 years, European domestic appliance manufacturers have dramatically increased the energy efficiency of their products by about 20% every 4 years without increasing prices to consumers. They have pioneered the use of energy labels to market top-of-the line, technologically advanced and efficient products to European consumers. Most refrigerators sold in the EU today consume as much as 70% less than what they consumed a decade ago.

“The new label layout is a winning solution for all parties,” Mr. Meli said. “It offers the consumer transparency on the energy efficiency levels that can be gained when comparing appliances, and it offers industry an opportunity to continue to work toward even greater energy savings and innovation. Technological competition between industry players will further boost progress on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions.”

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Press contact:

Denise Crenwelge

Tel: + 32 2 706 82 88

email: denise.crenwelge@ceced.eu

About CECED: CECED represents the household appliance manufacturing industry in Europe. Its member companies employ over 200,000 people, are mainly based in Europe, and have a turnover of about EUR 40 billion. If upstream and downstream business is taken together, the sector employs over 500,000 people. Direct Members are Arçelik, BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, Candy Group, De’Longhi, Electrolux AB, Fagor Group, Gorenje, Liebherr, Indesit Company, Ariston Thermo Group (formerly Merloni Termosanitari), Miele, Philips, Saeco, SEB and Whirlpool Europe. CECED’s member associations cover the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.