【相關(guān)問答】PEF相關(guān)問題與解答

Questions&Answers

Questionsrelatedtothepilots

Representativitycriteria:doIhavetohaveto

ensuretheparticipationof51%ofthemarket

beforeapplying?

Whenwillyoucheckcompliancewithcriteria

regarding"representativeness"?

Representativitycriteria:Howdetailedshould

themarketanalysisbe?

Howwilltheparticipationofstakeholderswork?

Whenwillpackagingforfoodanddrinksbecovered?

Willthesecondphasebeopenonlyto"food,

feedanddrinkproducts"andsectors?

Whathappensifyoureceivemultiple

applicationsforthesameproductgroupor

sector?

Whatisthedefinitionofanintermediateproduct

forthepilot?

Whatisthedefinitionofanintermediateproduct

forthepilot?

Theguidanceallowstotestotherendoflife

formulasthan50/50.Whatdoesthismean?

DoIhavetosharesensitivedatawithotherpilot

participants?

QuestionsaboutthePEFandOEFmethods

AretheProductEnvironmentalFootprint(PEF)

andOrganisationEnvironmentalFootprint

(OEF)methodscompletelynewapproaches?

WhywasthereaneedtodevelopthePEFand

OEFmethods?

TheProductEnvironmentalFootprint(PEF)and

OrganisationEnvironmentalFootprint(OEF)

methodsarebasedonLifeCycleAssessment

(LCA).WhatisLCA?

WhydidtheCommissionchooseLCAasa

methodformeasuringenvironmental

performance?

Whyiscomparabilityanobjective?

WhatindicatorsdoPEFandOEFcover?

Dowehavetouseall14impactcategories?

Dowehavetouseall14impactcategories?

TherearetoomanyvariationsintheLCA

methodologyleadingtounreliableresults

Somelifecycleimpactcategoriesarenot

sufficientlymature

Lifecycledataisnotavailable

HowdothePEFandOEFmethodsfittogether?

Whatarethenextstepstocompletethe

methodologicalwork?

WhatisNormalisation?Whyisitneeded?

Whatisweighting?Whyisitneeded?

Aren'tPEFandOEFtoocomplexforSMEs?

Whatistherelationbetweentheworkdoneby

DGENV(PEF/OEF)andtheEnviFoodProtocol

developedbytheFoodRoundTable?

HowtheCommissionwillmanagepotential

divergencesbetweenthemethodological

requirementsintheEnvironmentalFootprint

methodsandthoseintheEnviFoodProtocol?

.

What'sthelinkofPEFmethodwithISO15804

andtheworkdonebyISOTC350?

WhatistherelationbetweenthePEF/OEFand

TheSustainabilityConsortium(TSC)?

Questionsrelatedtothepolicy

WhydidtheCommissiondecidetoincludea

RecommendationintheCommunication?

WhydidtheCommissiondecidetolauncha

secondpilotiftherehasalreadybeenonein

2011?

WillEnvironmentalFootprintingmeanthatthe

Commissionwillabandonexisting,well-

establishedtools?

Anotherlabelwilljustincreaseconfusionfor

consumers…let'snotforgetthatproductsdon't

justcarryenvironmentallabels,butalsoother

information(nutrition,ingredients,etc.)

HowisthePEFmethodgoingtobeusedin

existingEuropeanpoliciesliketheEUEcolabel?

AretheEnvironmentalFootprintmethodsto

goingtocompetewiththeEcodesignapproach?

What'sthelinkbetweentheOEFmethodand

EMAS?

What'stheroleofstandardisation?

Howdoestheinitiativeaddresstheissueof

communicatinginformationonthe

environmentalperformanceofproductsand

organisations?

HowwilltheuseofPEFandOEFaffect

internationaltrade?

QUESTIONSABOUTTHEPRODUCTENVIRONMENTALFOOTPRINT(PEF)ANDORGANISATIONENVIRONMENTALFOOTPRINT(OEF)METHODS

ArethePEFandOEFmethodscompletelynewapproaches?

No.Theyhavebeendevelopedbasedonexisting,well-established,testedandwidelyusedmethods,standardsandguidelines,suchastheInternationalLifeCycleReferenceDatabaseHandbook,ISO14040-44,ISO14064,PAS2050,BPX30,WRI/WBCSDGHGprotocol,SustainabilityConsortiumapproach,ISO14025,EcologicalFootprint,GlobalReportingInitiative,WRIGHGProtocol,CDPWaterFootprint,DEFRAguidanceonGHGreporting,ADEMEBilanCarboneandothers.

WhywasthereaneedtodevelopthePEFandOEFmethods?

Thereisaproliferationofmethodsformeasuringtheenvironmentalperformanceofproductsandorganisations.Consideringtheareaofcarbonmeasurementonly,studiescarriedoutbytheCommissionidentified62leadinginitiativesandmethodsonproductcarbonfootprintingand80oncarbonreporting(statusin2010)1.SomeMemberStatesareconsideringvoluntaryormandatorypoliciesbasedonlifecycleassessment;privateinitiativesarecomingupwithmulti-criteriamethodsformeasuringlifecycleenvironmentalperformance.Otherthancreatingconfusiononthemarket,theproliferationofmethodsalsoleadstoadditionalcostsforcompaniestradingacrossborders:theymightneedtomeasuretheirperformanceaccordingtoseveral,divergingmethods.

Methodsaregenerallydivergingonseveralissuesorleavesomemethodologicalchoicesopenfortheuser.Thismeansthatitisnotpossibletocomparetheresultsofmeasurementsusingdifferentmethods.Butneitheriscomparabilityoftwomeasurementscarriedoutonthebasisofthesamemethodguaranteedduetothebuilt-inflexibilities;andevencomparabilityregardingtheyear-on-yearperformancesofacompanydependsontheconsistencywithwhichmethodologicalchoicesweredone.

Ifconsumersfindenvironmentalfiguresonproducts,theyautomaticallytendtocomparethem.However,todaythiscomparisonismisleading,asexplainedabove.ThePEFandOEFmethodsreducemethodologicalchoicesalreadyatthelevelofthegeneralmethod.Productcategoryandsector-specificruleswillfurthermorebedevelopedwiththegoalofenablingcomparisonofenvironmentalperformancesbetweensimilarproductsandcompaniesactiveinsimilarsectors.

ThePEFandOEFmethodsarebasedonLifeCycleAssessment(LCA).WhatisLCA?

LCAisdefinedasthe“compilationandevaluationoftheinputs,outputsandthepotentialenvironmentalimpactsofaproductsystemthroughoutitslifecycle”(ISO14040:2006).

1ProductCarbonFootprinting–astudyonmethodologiesandinitiatives,(2010);CompanyGHGemissionsreporting-astudyonmethodsandinitiatives(2010)

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Thelifecycleincludestheextraction,transportation,processing,useanddisposal(orreuse/recycling).Thisincludesbothdirectimpacts(e.g.impactsontheproductionsite,impactsoftransportvehiclescontrolledbythecompany)andindirectimpacts(e.g.occurringinthesupplychain,atextraction,iftheseactivitiesarenotcontrolledbythecompany;occurringintheusestage).

ThePEFandOEFmethodsaimtocoveralllifecyclestages–however,itispossiblethatforcertainproductsororganisationssomelifecyclestagesmaybeexcluded,eitherbecausethelifecyclestageisnotrelevantfortheenvironmentalperformanceoftheproduct/organisation,orbecauseitisimpossibletogetrepresentativeinformation(e.g.forintermediateproductsitisimpossibletocalculateimpactsintheusestage).

WhydidtheCommissionchooseLCAasamethodformeasuringenvironmentalperformance?

Therearemanypossiblemethodsformeasuringenvironmentalperformance,whetherofproductsororganisations.

Someofthemethodsfocusonasinglelifecyclestage,i.e.environmentalimpactsdirectlycausedduringaspecificlifecyclestageoftheproduct/organisation,e.g.thehazardouswasteresultingfromproductionortonnesofraremetalsusedforproducingtheproduct.

Othermethodsincludeenvironmentalimpactscausedduringthewholelifecycle,i.e.includingimpactsinotherstagesofthelifecycle,e.g.extraction,logistics,use,endoflife.LifeCycleAssessmenttakesalifecycleperspective.Theadvantageofthislifecycleapproachisthatittakesaholisticviewattheproductandatthevaluechainandavoidspossibleburdenshiftingtootherlifecyclestages.Itmoreoverhelpsidentifying"hotspots"–elementsinthelifecyclethatcontributemosttotheenvironmentalimpact.Thus,organisationscaninterveneinastrategicway,e.g.throughthedesignoftheirproductstomakesurethatthehotspotsarereduced,obtainingbothhigherenvironmentalbenefitandpossibilityforhighercostsavings.If,forexample,onlytheproductionstagewaslookedupon,problems,risksandopportunitiesupstreamanddownstreaminthevaluechainwouldnotbedetected.

Somemethodsfocusonasingleenvironmentalindicator(e.g.waterfootprint),whilstotherstakeamulti-criteriaapproach(Ecolabel,LifeCycleAssessment).Theadvantageoflookingatseveralenvironmentalindicatorsisthatpossibleburdenshiftingtootherimpactcategoriesisavoided.Amulti-criteriaapproachthusallowsforcorrectdecisiontaking:theimprovementofoneenvironmentalindicatorwillnotresultinthedeteriorationofanother.

Forexample,inthecaseofanenergy-usingproduct,whereonlyenergyuseduringusestageismeasured,improvementsinenergyefficiency(duringtheusestage)mightgohandinhandwithanincreaseintheamountofmaterialsneededtoproducetheappliance–withalltheenvironmentalimpactsassociatedtoextractionofmaterialsorresourcedepletionthattheproducerwillnotbeawareof.Iftheproducerhasfullinformation,he/shecandecideonlifecycleimprovementsthatbalancebetterbetweenthetwo(orseveral)indicators.

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LCAcoversthewholevaluechainanditisamulti-criteriamethod.Itisfoundthebesttoolcurrentlyavailablefortargetingimprovementsofenvironmentalperformanceofbothproductsandorganisations.

Whyiscomparabilityanobjective?

OneofthedifferencesbetweenthePEFandOEFmethodsandotherleadingmethodsisthefactthatittakesmethodologicalchoicesinordertopromoteconsistencyandcomparabilityofresults.Themainreasonsforthisare:

?Companiescanbenchmarktheirperformancewithintheirsectororproductcategory:theycanunderstandhowtheirenvironmentalperformanceisincomparisontotheirpeersandcanbettertargettheirimprovementefforts;

?Benchmarkingisastrongreputationalincentive:formanycompanies,beingagoodenvironmentalperformerispartoftheirbusinessvaluesandstrategy.Productcategoryandsectorbenchmarkscreateadriveforstrongimprovementsandhavethepotentialofshiftingtheperformanceofthewholesectororproductcategoryupwards;

?Itenablesconsumerstotakebetterinformedpurchasingdecisionsbycomparingtheperformanceofproductsinthesameproductcategory;

?Investorscanbettertargettheirdecisionsknowinghowcompaniesperformincomparisontopeersintheirsector–theycanbetterassesstheleveltowhichacompanydealswithrelevantenvironmentalimpact;

?Governmentalactorscanbettertargettheirincentives:byknowingtheperformanceofbeneficiarieswithintheirsector,theycanavoidEnvironmentallyHarmfulSubsidiesandcanreinforceactioningapareas;theycanprovideincentivesforsustainableconsumptionfocussingonreliablygreenalternatives;

?Basisforfuturepolicy:reliable,comparablequantificationofenvironmentalperformanceisapre-conditiontoanypolicythatwouldeventuallydefineminimumenvironmentalperformancerequirementsandforreliablylinkingeconomicinstrumentstoenvironmentalperformance;furthermore,itmakestargetedpolicyinterventionspossibletocoverweakperformanceareas.

WhatindicatorsdothePEFandOEFmethodcover?

ThePEFandOEFmethodcanpotentiallycover14impactcategories:climatechange;ozonedepletion;humantoxicity-cancereffects;humantoxicity-non-cancereffects;particulatematter/respiratoryinorganics;ionisingradiation;photochemicalozoneformation;acidification;eutrophication–terrestrial;eutrophication–aquatic;ecotoxicity-freshwateraquatic;landuse;resourcedepletion-water;resourcedepletion–mineralandfossilfuel.

Dowehavetouseall14impactcategories?

No.Themethodinstructsonhowtoidentifyrelevantimpactcategoriesstartingfromthelistof14defaultcategories.ThisistobedoneforindividualsectorsinOEFSRsor

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productcategoriesinPEFCRs.Thecalculationofimpactsisnotrequiredfortheirrelevantimpactcategories.

InthecaseofPEF,iftheinformationisusedtocommunicateenvironmentalperformancetoconsumers,alimitednumberofimpactcategoriescouldbeused(max3-4)inordertoguaranteethatconsumerscaneasilygrasptheinformation2.However,communicationaspectsarenotpartofthePEFandOEFmethods.

Whydoweneedthechoicebetween14impactcategories?

Relevantimpactcategoriesaredifferentfordifferentsectorsorproductcategories.Forexample,climatechange(GHGemissions)isveryimportantforenergy-intensivesectors,whilsttheyarenotasimportantforexampleforcosmetics–whereitwouldbemorethewateruseandtoxicityaspectsthatdefineenvironmentalperformance.

Totakeintoaccount14impactcategorieswillmakeitpossibletofocusonthe3-4impactcategoriesthatdefinetheenvironmentalperformanceofaproductinreality,andfocuscommunicationandimprovementonthose.Furthermore,ithelpsorganisationsfocusonimprovingenvironmentalperformancewhereitmostmatters,andensuresthattrade-offsbetweenimportantimpactsareavoided.

TherearetoomanyvariationsintheLCAmethodleadingtounreliableresults

TheworkontheEnvironmentalFootprintaimstoaddressexactlythisissue.Throughourresearchofexistingleadingmethodsintheareawehaverealisedthatinexistingstandardsthereisalotofleewayforuserstomakemethodologicalchoices,whichleadstoincomparabilityofresultsandinconsistencies.Therefore,theEnvironmentalFootprintmethodsaremoreprescriptive.ProductcategoryspecificrulesandOrganisationspecificsectorruleswillfurthermoreensurethatenvironmentalperformanceisquantifiedinexactlythesamewayforsimilarproducts/organisations.

Somelifecycleimpactassessmentmodelsarenotsufficientlymature

TheEuropeanCommission’sin-housescienceservice,theJointResearchCentrehasanin-depthunderstandingofthelevelofmaturityofmethodsformeasuringenvironmentalimpacts.Inthemethodsandtheproductcategoryspecificruleswe'lltakethisintoconsideration.

SensitivityanalysisoftheimpactcategorieswiththehighestuncertaintylevelcanbereportedinaPEF/OEFstudyasadditionalenvironmentalinformation.

Lifecycledataisnotavailable

TheCommissionisawareofthisissueandplantoworkontheavailabilityofhigh-qualitylifecycledata.Onepartoftheworkistodiscussandcooperatewithinternationaltradepartners;torelyontheUnitedNationsEnvironmentalProgrammetobuildcapacity

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Differentoptionsforcommunicatingenvironmentalinformationforproducts,

BIOIS/DG

Environment,2012

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indevelopingcountriestoenablethemtoprovidethenecessaryinformation;andtofurtherdeveloptheEuropeanLifeCycleDatabase,managedbytheJointResearchCentre.Anotherpartoftheworkisthemethodologytestingexercisewe'replanningfor2013.Thiswillgiveusthepossibilitytotesteffectiveapproachestogatherreliableprimarylifecycledatainsupplychains.

HowdothePEFandOEFmethodsfittogether?

.PEFisforcalculatingtheenvironmentalperformanceofanindividualproduct(i.e.goodorservice),thusitdisaggregatesenvironmentalperformanceinformationtorepresentasingleproduct.

OEFisforcalculatingtheenvironmentalperformanceofawell-definedproductportfolio.OEFcanbecalculatedusingaggregateddata–thus,thereisnoneedtocalculateindividualPEFsandsumthemupinordertogettheOEFresult.

Havingthesamebasisandmanyrulesincommonguaranteesthatorganisationscalculatingboththeirproductandorganisationfootprintcanexploitsynergiesandreducethecost.

Fororganisation-levelreportingitispossibletoaggregateproductportfolios'resultstoprovideinformationontheaggregateperformanceofanentireorganisationandtrackchangestoitsperformancethroughtime.

Comparisonsareonlypossiblewithinthesameproductcategoryorbusinessunitsproducingacomparableproductportfolio.

Whatarethenextstepstocompletethemethodologicalwork?

PEFandOEFmethodscanbeusedforavarietyofapplications.Themethodscouldbeusedforthefollowingapplications:

?in-houseimprovementofproductenvironmentalperformance(designforenvironment),

?communication(B2BandB2C)oftheenvironmentalperformanceofaproductororganisation(withoutcomparisonsagainstsimilarproductsororganisations),

?improvementofproductionprocessesalongthelifecycle.

However,whenevertheintentionistomakeacomparisonagainstotherproductsororganisations,somefurthermethodologicalfeatureswillbedeveloped.Inparticular:

?ProductEnvironmentalFootprintCategoryRules(PEFCRs)andOrganizationEnvironmentalFootprintSectoralRules(OEFSRs)willneedtobedevelopedforproductcategoriesandsectorsthroughamulti-stakeholderprocess.Thesewouldbedevelopedwiththeco-operationofvolunteeringstakeholdersandindustryduringthe3-yeartestingproposedintheCommunicationBuildingtheSingleMarketforGreenProducts:Facilitatingbetterinformationontheenvironmentalperformanceofproductsandorganisations.

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?Actionstosimplifyandincreasetheuser-friendlinessoftheimplementationoftheOEFandPEFmethodsbyindividualorganisations.ThisincludestheencouragementofdevelopmentofsimplifiedinterfacesandpromotingresearchforsupplychaincooperationinLifeCycleAssessment.

WhatisNormalisation?Whyisitneeded?

Normalisationisan(optional)impactassessmentstepforbetterunderstandingtheresultsandtocomparethedifferentimpactcategoriesofanenvironmentalfootprintstudy.Thenormalisedimpactcategoriesprovideinsightinthemagnitudeoftheimpactcategoriesrelativetoareferenceunit(e.g.CO2emissionsofaproductrelativetotheCO2emittedbyanEUcitizen).

ThenormalisationstepisnotmandatorywhenusingthePEFmethod.Itcouldbeusedasawaytoidentifythemostrelevantenvironmentalimpacts.Inthepilotphase,normalisationfactorswillbemadeavailablebytheJointResearchCentreandwillbeused.Thefeasibilityofthisapproachwillbethenconsideredtogetherwithothermethodologicalissuesattheendofthepilotphase.

Whatisweighting?Whyisitneeded?

Weightingisan(optional)impactassessmentstepforbetterunderstandingtheresultsandcomparethedifferentimpactcategoriesofanenvironmentalfootprintstudy.Weightingfactorsreflecttheperceivedrelativeimportanceoftheenvironmentalfootprintimpactcategoriesconsidered.Weightedresultsforimpactcategoriescanthenbecomparedtoassesstheirrelativeimportance(e.g.climatechangemorerelevantthantoxicity).Resultscanalsobeaggregatedacrossenvironmentalfootprintimpactcategoriestoobtainseveralaggregatedvaluesorasingleoverallimpactindicator.Thisismoreapoliticalthanatechnicaldecisiontomake.

Aren'tthePEFandOEFmethodstoocomplexforSMEs?

SMEsthatarepartofinternationalsupplychainsorthatarecompetingwithbigproducersonthemarketofgreenproductsalreadyfacemultiplerequestsofprovidinglifecycleenvironmentalinformationbasedondivergingmethods.Thisleadstohighcostsforthem.Acommonmethodologicalreferencewillreducecomplexityandcosts.

Asthisisavoluntaryinitiative,therewouldbenoobligationorneedtoapplythePEF/OEFmethods.ThisappliesalsoforSMEsthatareonlyactivelocally,arenotpartofthesupplychainsofmultinationalsorarenotthemselvesinternationallyactive.

Forthosewhofacerequestsforlifecycleenvironmentalinformation,andforthosewhowishtoembarkonaPEForOEFprocess,theCommissiontakeseffortstomakeiteasierandlesscostlyby

?providinginitialtoolsthathelpSMEstoprovideenvironmentalinformationbasedonthePEFandOEFmethods;

?payingspecialattentiontotheinvolvementofSMEorganisationsandSMEsinthedevelopmentofPEFCRsandOEFSRs,especiallyinkeypointsaffectingthem;

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?makingsurethatPEFCRsandOEFSRsrepresentasimplificationintheapplicationofthePEFandOEFmethod;

?testinginnovativeapproachesfordatagatheringthatmakeiteasierforSMEstoprovideinformation;

?encouragingotherrelevantactorsthroughtheRecommendationtoalsotakeSMEs'needsintoaccountandprovidetoolstoassistthem.

WhatistherelationbetweentheworkdonebyDGENV(PEF/OEF)andtheEnviFoodProtocoldevelopedbytheEuropeanFoodSCPRoundTable?

TheCommissionisco-chairingalltheWorkingGroupsintheFoodSCPRoundTable,whichhoweverremainsmainlyanindustry-driveninitiative.TheEnviFoodprotocolisgoingtobecomplaintwiththePEFmethod.WeseetheEnviFoodProtocolasthedocumenttranslatingthePEFrequirementtothefood,feedanddrinksectorbutwithoutbeingsospecifictobeconsideredasasetofProductEnvironmentalFootprintCategoryRules.TheagreementwehavewiththevariousmembersoftheFoodSCPRoundTableistostartworkingtogetherfrom2014onwardstothedevelopmentofasetoffoodrelatedPEFcategoryrules.

HowwilltheCommissionmanagepotentialdivergencesbetweenthemethodologicalrequirementsintheEnvironmentalFootprintmethodsandthoseintheEnviFoodProtocol?

TheCommissionconsidersthispossibilitysomehowunlikely,consideringthatthesamecolleagueswhodevelopedtheEFmethodsarealsoco-chairingtheWorkingGroupintheFoodSCPRoundTablethatisresponsiblefordraftingtheENVIFOODProtocol.Itisofparamountimportancethatacoherentandconsistentapproachispromotedthroughoutallsectors.Somedifferencesmightbeexpectedandacceptedifdulyjustified.TheCommissionandtheFoodSCPRoundTablewillworktogethertoreducedifferenceswheneverpossibleasthisasthebestwaytoensurereliabilityandcomparabilityofinformation.

What'sthelinkofthePEFmethodwithEN15804andtheworkdonebyCENTC350?

ThemostimportantoutcomeoftheworkofCENTC350relatedtothePEFmethodistheEN15804:Sustainabilityofconstructionworks-Environmentalproductdeclarations-Corerulesfortheproductcategoryofconstructionproducts.

WhiletheworkofCENTC350focusesonconstructionproducts,thePEFmethodismoregeneralasitcanbeappliedtoalltypesofproducts.TheEN15804thusismoresituatedatthelevelofPEFcategoryrulestobedevelopedinordertoprovidemorespecificrequirementsfordifferentproductcategoriesthanthegeneralPEFmethod.ThisisthereforeanimportantsourcetobeconsideredwhendevelopingPEFcategoryrulesforconstructionproducts.

WhatistherelationbetweenthePEF/OEFandTheSustainabilityConsortium(TSC)?

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TSC

()

isworldwideco-operationofcompanies,universitiesandNGO’sworkingonharmonisationofsustainabilitymeasurementofproducts.

TheSustainabilityMeasurement&ReportingSystem(SMRS)developedbyTSCidentifieshotspotsandimprovementopportunitiesatthecategory-levelfordifferentconsumerproducts.ThisworkdrawsonLCAstudiesformanyenvironmentalhotspotsandalsonon-LCA-basedscientificresearchforothersustainabilityissuessuchassocialissuesandbiodiversity.ThisworkisusedbyTSCmemberstoshareanunderstandingofsustainabilityissuesanddriversintheirowncompanyandintheirsupplychains(training,innovation,agreeingaboutimprovementplansinsupplychains).TheyalsosetKPIsthatcompaniescanusetoassesstheirproductperformanceandreportthattoB2Bcustomers.

ThiscomplimentsthePEF,whichoperatesattheindividualproductlevelandwithanobjectivetosupportconsumer-facingdeclarations.TSC’sworkcanactasastartingpoint&steppingstoneforcompaniesstartingontheirproductsustainabilityjourney.

TSCanticipatesworkingcloselywiththeCommissiontopilotbothapproachesinparallel.Thiswilldemonstrateahighdegreeofalignmentbetweenthetwoapproachesandalsoshowhowcompaniesworkingwithoneorganizationcanalsobenefitfromworkingwiththeother.

QUESTIONSRELATEDTOTHEPOLICY

WhydidtheCommissiondecidetoissueaRecommendationontheuseofthePEFandOEFmethods?

TheproblemthattheSingleMarketforGreenProductspackageaimstoresolvefirstofallistheproliferationofmethods.TheRecommendationisatoolthatcanbeahelptoreducetheproliferationinaneffectiveway,but,inthemeanwhile,enablesavoluntaryapplicationofthePEFandOEFmethods.

WhydidtheCommissiondecidetolaunchasecondpilotiftherehasalreadybeenonein2011?

In2011theCommissionorganisedafirstroad-testincollaborationwithanumberofvolunteeringindustries.Food,feedanddrinks,Retailers,PublicAdministrations,ICT,Waterservices,Energyproduction,Paper,Mining,Chemicals,Footwear,Televisionsweretheproducts/sectorsforwhichthedraftPEF/OEFmethodshavebeentested.Theresultsofthispilotcontributedtomodifythedraftmethodsmakingthemmoreimplementable.

ThepilotsthattheCommissionwillstartin2013havecompletelydifferentobjectives.Itwillnotbe