The Committee of Advertising Practice (“CAP”) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (“BCAP”) have launched a consultation on the removal of energy labelling rules and guidance in their respective Codes.

Currently, rules 11.8 and 11.9 of the CAP Code and rules 9.9 and 9.10 of the BCAP Code impose requirements relating to energy labelling and so-called ‘product fiche information’. As the consultation explains, these requirements were introduced in 2011 under the Energy Information Regulations 2011 which transposed Directive (EC) No 2012/30/EU into UK law.

In 2017, that Directive was repealed and replaced with Regulation EU 2017/1369, which amended energy labelling requirements and rescaled the energy efficient ratings for some of the products covered by the legislation. As a result of these changes, the existing CAP and BCAP rules and guidance no longer reflect the current legislative framework, and CAP and BCAP must consider how to update the rules.

As the consultation sets out, rather than update the rules, BCAP and CAP propose that the existing rules and guidance in this area are removed altogether. In support of these proposals, the consultation explains that the ASA has received no complaints under these rules for the whole duration of their being in force and there is no indication that there have been any problems with compliance.

Furthermore, the consultation is clear that “the removal of the rules from the Codes would not affect the requirements set out in legislation”. Instead, the Office for Product Safety and Standards would take over enforcing the legal requirements, a body which, according to the consultation, “is better placed to more effectively enforce the legal requirements”.

The consultation closes on 4 March 2025, and can be read here.