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!
A number of important EU policies will be taking shape this year – ecodesign, the Clean Industrial Deal, circular vehicle design - to name but a few. ECOS will be closely following these files and participating in the development of related standards, secondary legislation, and design requirements. The ECOS Africa office will also be hosting a webinar with our Cameroonian member to exchange best practices from Europe and Africa for tackling greenwashing.
Our new five-year strategy will help deliver our vision of a healthy and clean environment, protected by robust rules that respect nature and its resources. In our 2025 work programme, we lay out how we will create momentum for ambitious, systemic change. We also take a deep dive on some key EU files for 2025 and analyse the EU’s new rules on packaging and ecodesign, which are now at the crucial stage of implementation – where secondary legislation and standards will play an important role.
In our final newsletter of 2024, we take a look back at just some of the year's highlights across our global network of members, experts, and partners - as well as our usual monthly updates. We extend our thanks to all of our members, experts, funders, partners, and colleagues for their tireless efforts this year - we look forward to continued success with you in 2025!
At our annual conference this month we released our new report, which shows that green public procurement could cut construction product emissions by almost half! Thanks to all of our supporters who attended the conference and provided insightful discussion. Elsewhere, we look to the ongoing Plastic Treaty negotiations this week. A lot is at stake, but there is still hope – we've outlined five essentials for an effective Plastics Treaty.
This October we marked World Standards Day by introducing some of the standards we’re working on to the wider public - a popular way to showcase our important work in this area. For over 20 years, we and our members have been raising the environmental voice in standardisation and pushing for ambitious, inclusive standards.
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