by Shane Henson — June 14, 2013—The European Commission announced that it is proposing European Union (EU)-wide methods to assist member states and the private sector in measuring the environmental performance of products and organizations to ensure that the most resource-efficient and environmentally friendly products on the market are known and recognizable to consumers.
Today, companies wanting to highlight the environmental performance of their products face numerous obstacles, the European Commission notes. They have to choose between several methods promoted by governments and private initiatives, they are often forced to pay multiple costs for providing environmental information, and they face the mistrust of consumers confused by too many labels with information that makes products difficult to compare.
The European Commission says its Single Market for Green Products Initiative should bring comparable and reliable environmental information, building confidence for consumers, business partners, investors and other company stakeholders.
“By giving people reliable and comparable information about the environmental impacts and credentials of products and organizations, we enable them to choose. And by helping companies to align their methods we cut their costs and administrative burdens,” said Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik.
According to the European Commission, the initiative:
- Establishes two methods to measure environmental performance throughout the lifecycle: the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and the Organization Environmental Footprint (OEF);
- Recommends the use of these methods to member states, companies, private organizations and the financial community through a Commission Recommendation;
- Announces a three-year testing period to develop product and sector-specific rules through a multi-stakeholder process;
- Provides principles for communicating environmental performance, such as transparency, reliability, completeness, comparability and clarity; and
- Supports international efforts toward more coordination in methodological development and data availability.
The three-year testing period is expected to be launched soon after the adoption of the proposal. An open call for volunteers will soon be published by the European Commission on the Web portals for the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and the Organization Environmental Footprint (OEF), inviting companies and industrial and stakeholder organizations in the EU and beyond to participate in the development of product-group specific and sector-specific rules.
A second phase will build on an in-depth evaluation of the results of the three-year testing and additional actions carried out under the European Communication. Based on this evaluation, the European Commission will decide on further policy applications of the PEF and OEF methods, it says.
