The Voluntary Agreement
The Games Consoles Voluntary Agreements (GCVA) for the European Union and for the UK aim to reduce the environmental impact of games consoles over their life cycle. They are also referred to as Self-Regulatory Initiatives, SRI.
They aim to improve energy and resource efficiency through better design, thus benefiting the environment without compromising console performance and gaming experience.
They are the result of many years of work carried out by the Signatories of the VA (Microsoft Corporation, Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.) in consultation with the various stakeholders, such as the European Commission, EU Member States, the UK government, and civil society organisations (CSO).
The VAs set energy and resource efficiency requirements for various types of mains-powered games consoles placed on the EU and the UK markets.
As such, the Voluntary Agreements bring many benefits to consumers:
Fast pace: games consoles technology can often evolve faster than regulation can realistically keep up with. The VAs are regularly reviewed, aiming to: (1) ensure that all relevant products of the Signatories are subject to energy and resource efficiency requirements, and (2) continue to deliver improvement at a pace unmatched by regulation. Since their inception, seven tiers of power caps for games consoles have been implemented.
Representativeness: the three Signatories of the VA represent a large majority of the games console placed on the EU and UK markets.
Inclusive and transparent process: the VA Steering Committees include the Signatories and respectively the European Commission and the UK government. Stakeholders (e.g. representatives of CSOs, Member States) can be directly involved in the discussions shaping the development of the VAs.
Lower cost to the EU and the UK: the self-regulatory process is less costly and requires fewer governmental resources compared to a regulation. The cost of administration, monitoring, reporting, and auditing by a third-party independent inspector (selected with the European Commission or the UK government, as applicable) is borne by the Signatories.
Strict compliance verification and reporting: Signatories of the VAs must follow strict annual reporting and verification requirements to be compliant. Each year at least one product is tested for compliance by the Independent Inspector. Consequences for non-compliance are also clearly defined.
Contribution to the circular economy: The VAs includes both energy and resource efficiency, as well as information provision requirements, on topics such as energy consumption, repairability and recyclability, thus aligning with the objectives of the EU and UK green transitions.
Complex nature of games consoles: games consoles are complex, multifunctional products, and – unlike other computing products – there are vast differences between each product generation and between each manufacturer’s devices. Functionality, performance, and form-factor all differ between them, making it difficult to harmonise and standardise regulatory requirements for games consoles. Despite those differences, and building on the expertise of the Signatories while taking into account the views from stakeholders, the VAs succeeded in establishing requirements for the Games Consoles.