ECOS welcomes EU Standardisation Strategy: ‘an unprecedented chance to ensure that standards truly work for the environment’

Today, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has presented the European Commission’s Standardisation Strategy, emphasising the geostrategic importance of standardisation for the EU.

ECOS believes that the new Strategy should help boost inclusiveness in standards-setting, making them a key tool for climate action globally.

ECOS welcomes the creation of a high-level group to defend EU interests at the international level, in support of Green Deal and digital transition, but we need more than an ongoing reflection on inclusiveness. We need immediate actions to make sure civil society can effectively participate at the international level and avoid a democratic deficit in European standards.

Justin Wilkes, Executive Director, ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards:

‘This strategy is long overdue and a welcome step that has the potential to maintain Europe as a global standards-setter. Standards have an important role to play in the inevitable move to climate neutrality and environmental sustainability – but we are not there yet. This is an unprecedented chance to ensure that standards truly work for the environment’ .

We hope the newly-released Strategy will guide the European Commission towards encouraging better standards for the environment globally, improving the following: 

• Standards must work proactively to achieve environmental ambition.
  The European Commission should use the European Standardisation system to better identify, eliminate and amend standards that are barriers to the deployment of clean technologies, environment-friendly materials or secondary raw materials. For example, paving the way for the uptake of low-carbon cements, or natural refrigerants such as propane. However, the Commission must maintain environmentally ambitious policy goals and the supremacy of mandatory legislation over voluntary standards in areas of public interest where the environment is crucial.

• Europe’s environmental ambition should be translated into worldwide standards.
  Environmentally ambitious standards are essential for Europe to achieve its geostrategic ambition, and support the European Green Deal. Where existing international standards fall short in matching the European environmental ambition (e.g. e-mobility), Europe should push the global agenda, inspiring other countries to follow its lead.

• Inclusiveness as a necessary principle in international, regional and national standardisation. Europe has developed a unique system for standard-setting that focuses on the inclusiveness of otherwise under-represented societal stakeholders. However, when technical standards are developed at international or national level, stakeholder engagement is neither guaranteed nor sufficient. For societal interests to effectively participate there needs to be real political push at all levels. The EU Standardisation Strategy should push strongly for the effective participation of relevant civil society experts in standardisation processes everywhere.
• Further improvements in the governance and functioning of the European Standardisation System.
  Despite progress, European standardisation is still confronted with challenges which the Standardisation Strategy must address if Europe is to achieve its strategic objectives, namely, the European Green Deal. The European Commission’s role, particularly when developing harmonised standards to underpin legal requirements, must be reinforced in line with the provisions in Regulation (EU) 1025/2012. Furthermore, the regulatory and standardisation processes need to be better aligned for the timely delivery of the necessary standards.

For more information:

• Read our media briefing on the EU Standardisation Strategy.
• Join our online event on 16 February at 10.30am (CET).
  EU Standardisation Strategy: A real change for European standards-setting?
  Representatives from the European Commission and CEN-CENELEC will share their views together with our Executive Director, Justin Wilkes.