PEF – European Product Environmental Footprint

Since 2011, the European Commission is working on future policies that will build a Single Market for green products.

Indeed, the European consumers are more and more aware of, and sensitive to the environmental impacts of their choices and behaviors, but are unable to neither trust producer’s claim nor make any relevant choice by looking at numerous environmental label – more than 400 environmental labels have been recorded worldwide, only some of them (not all!) being based on ISO standards.

In parallel, more and more companies in various sectors create value (or save money!) by (re)designing their products in order to minimize their life cycle impacts (eco-design), or innovating with new material made of waste or unused or misused co-product (circular economy).

In this context, in order to answer the needs expressed by the consumers and the European countries, the European Commission has built a harmonized methodology for the calculation of the environmental footprints of products and organizations (2011-2013 – PEF and OEF methodology development). This methodology is inspired from ISO 14040 (LCA) and ISO 14020 (Environmental communication) series, and is designed by DG Environment to replace all these standards – and alternative label supporting methodologies – in Europe. It includes additional specific requirements.

Since 2013, 26 pilot projects, plus other projects (“shadow projects”), in various sectors, have tested the methodology by developing their Product Category specific Rules, their assessment tools, the communication format and the verification process). This pilot phase, originally scheduled for 3 years, was extended by one and a half year to summer 2018 and has required a deep and intense commitment from a lot of stakeholders (large companies and SMEs, industry associations, technical experts (LCA, toxicology, etc.), Academia, NGO, consumers associations, Governmental associations, Members states representatives, EC departments, etc. including bodies from the US and Japan). Some pilots have stopped due to the difficulties they have encountered.

From September 2018, a new phase will start and will be the last step before the adoption of policies and directives, implementing PEF requirements in Europe, planned to be enforced by 2020.