This month we marked World Standards Day – a day to recognise and celebrate the collaborative efforts of thousands of experts worldwide who develop standards. We participated in important discussions on e-waste with our partners in Africa to mark International E-waste Day. We also celebrated the EU’s new Soil Monitoring Law this month and looked at opportunities to address environmental and social aspects together in the European Affordable Housing Plan.
In our September newsletter, catch up on what you might have missed over the Summer - from the environmental impacts of data centres to defining ‘regenerative’ bioeconomy. We're also looking ahead to World Standards Day in just a few weeks (14 October), we’ve been writing about the importance of inclusiveness in standardisation. We will also be hosting an event with our members in Sweden to help engage civil society in the development of standards at national level.
The European Standardisation Regulation holds strategic importance for ECOS and is now under revision. Watch this space, as the public consultation is expected in the coming weeks. In other news, we have a new European standard for testing the durability of washing machines and we also discuss ‘the big question’ - what kinds of hydrogen now qualify as ‘low-carbon’ in the EU?
This month, ECOS Members, Experts, and partners met in Brussels for stimulating exchanges, learning about standards, and shaping priorities for the ECOS network. Also in June, we celebrated the African Day of Standardisation. Developing standards with environmental consideration can help to develop clean technologies, promote circularity, manage waste, or protect the natural ecosystems that produce raw materials – growing in importance for Africa and global trade.
Public procurement can accelerate the industrial transition whilst simultaneously advancing competitiveness and sustainability in Europe. This month ECOS launched a new coalition on green public procurement at a special event hosted in the European Parliament. 'Buy Better to Build Better' brings together 35 stakeholders from across the construction value chain, civil society, and public authorities, who aim to make green public procurement the default approach in Europe’s construction sector.
ECOS has long advocated for ecodesign principles to apply broadly across products and sectors. This month, the first working plan for the ESPR was published, bringing us one step closer. These new ecodesign rules will eventually apply to almost all products sold on the EU market, but we are only at the beginning of a lengthy implementation process. We will continue to push for the most ambitious implementation.
We have released our Annual Report for 2024, a summary of the impact and progress we made last year across our network. A network that continues to grow - as we also welcome two new members this month. We also have two publications to share this month, one offering a framework to reduce the negative impacts of an unfair and unsustainable textile sector, and another showing the way to decarbonise heating and cooling within five years. All this and more in our March newsletter!
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