The entire value chain of the video games industry (development, publishing, distribution, manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment) is affected by recent reforms to environmental law, at both national and European level.
These reforms have introduced numerous obligations, including:
Reporting: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
The CSRD strengthens and standardises companies' reporting obligations, particularly as regards the environment (pollution, circular economy, etc.).
Gradually applicable in France from 1 January 2024, its implementation requires companies to plan ahead.
Eco-design of products
France has introduced numerous measures aimed at extending the life of products (offence of programmed obsolescence, availability of spare parts, ban on the destruction of products, variation of eco-taxes according to environmental performance, etc.).
The recent adoption of the European ‘Ecodesign’ regulation will soon impose new obligations on the entire sector, such as the introduction of a Digital Product Passport.
Managing waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
In the European Union and in France, there is a major waste prevention and management mechanism in the form of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
Under this EPR scheme, which is an application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle, those responsible for placing products on the market are required to ensure the prevention and management of waste from these products at the end of their life cycle. This places a number of obligations on them.
Video games sector players are of course impacted, since there are more than twenty EPR channels in France, including the WEEE channel, which is of particular interest to this sector.
Paying particular attention to greenwashing
When it comes to marketing campaigns (for products or otherwise), it is vital to pay close attention to the rules governing advertising, and more specifically to environmental claims so as not to fall into the trap of greenwashing.
This vigilance is all the more necessary given that European and French legal provisions have become more demanding in recent years (see in particular at European level the draft directive presented on 22 March 2023 by the European Commission on green claims and ecolabels, and Directive 2024/825 of 28 February 2024).
Our support
We advise our clients on legal, regulatory and contractual issues relating to environmental law (circular economy, waste management, industrial environment, etc.). We also assist our clients in their relations and negotiations with their counterparts and the administrative authorities, as well as in pre-litigation and litigation.
