This month we hosted a webinar to discuss the proposed EU Product Act and we co-hosted a session on the Industrial Accelerator Act – missed it? Watch back the recordings in this edition of our newsletter. We also announced some new vacancies in the ECOS team this month – and shared a new interview with our latest member - we invite you to join the ECOS network! All this and more in this edition of the ECOS newsletter.
This month we unpack the EU’s packaging regulations, take a look at the potential of the EU Digital Product Passport, and assess how the Public Procurement Directives could decarbonise heavy industry. We also published our annual report for 2025, detail a new project from our ECOS Africa office, and share plenty of upcoming events and opportunities to meet with the ECOS team, as well the usual updates from our international network of members and partners.
This month, we explain the importance and value of civil society representation in European standardisation, helping to build stronger standards. We also have an update from our ECOS Africa office, as we continue to work with national partners on standards and a Green Public Procurement (GPP) approach to low-carbon construction, and in our latest blog we discuss our valuable collaboration with partners in Kenya to inform the EU’s end of waste criteria.
Standards can have a great impact on our societies and our environment; therefore including civil society organisations with environmental expertise throughout the standards-making process can help to build stronger standards that work for society. ECOS is turning 25 this year! Learn about our priorities in our Work Programme for 2026 and we also take a look back at our successes from last year.
In our final newsletter of the year we share our expert insight on the European Standardisation Regulation and published a new factsheet on Environmental Attribute Certificates for steel (and how to ensure the right calculation methods are used). This month we also wrote about the benefits of energy labelling and had an interview with the European Commission’s DG ENV discussing how public procurement can accelerate a sustainable and competitive construction sector. Plus all the usual updates from our international network, including a new vacancy and calls for experts.
This month we called on EU leaders to include the essential environmental angle in the legal basis for the EU’s Circular Economy Act. We also reviewed the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy and published a new factsheet on standards that underpin global trade rules for raw materials. Looking ahead we share a new vacancy in the team and write about expectations for the next United Nations Environment Assembly.
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.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.