FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2017 A new study, commissioned by CIEL, ECOS, and the Oeko-Institute shows that most of the information made available by the Sponsorship Testing Programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is of little to no value for the regulatory risk assessment of nanomaterials. The study published today […]

It is frustrating to see our old electronics being trashed, including at local recycling centres, especially when we know they could have been used by someone else. Waste policies favouring recycling over re-use, including the lack of separate EU targets for preparing for re-use, have led to a situation where waste collection and logistics systems […]

08/02/2017 Today, 31 European and international NGOs publish a letter to Member States proposing actions on a number of chemicals substances to be discussed at a meeting next week. The NGOs call on Member States to vote in favour of a Commission proposal to add 4 phthalates to the SVHC list because of their endocrine disrupting […]

There is an increasing trend towards replacing conventional fossil-based plastics with bioplastics. Governments and industry are using the green-sounding credentials of bioplastics to promote them as speeding the reduction in fossil fuel use and solving the ever-growing plastic pollution and marine litter issues. However, there is clear evidence that bioplastics do not solve many of […]

As part of the European Commission’s “Clean energy for all Europeans”, the Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-2019 has finally been released. 18 months delayed, as part of Coolproducts we welcome the apparent re-start of work on a policy that delivers tremendously on energy savings and greenhouse gases emissions. We warmly welcome: Seven new products will be […]

The European Plastics Alignment Process (EPAP) held its third meeting in December. We joined over 15 environmental NGOs to discuss the role of civil society in the global combat against plastics pollution. Participants refined their strategies and advocacy work in the context of the EU Circular Economy Package and the upcoming EU strategy on plastics. […]

ECOS half-heartedly welcomes the provisions regulating EU bioenergy in the EU ‘Winter Energy Package’. We acknowledge the requirement for Member States to rely on clear sustainability criteria in their production of both biofuels and bioliquids. This should include environmental and biodiversity criteria, such as land protection. We welcome the added consideration for the real greenhouse […]

ECOS warmly welcomes the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the future of standardisation. In this Opinion, the ‘house of civil society’ once again calls for greater transparency and an improved representation of civil society in the standardisation system. The Committee calls for: better access to standardisation work for NGOs and SMEs […]

ECOS’ conference “Nanomaterials: State of Emergence or state of Emergency” was held in December together with the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the German Institute for Applied Ecology Öko-Institut. It was organised in the context of the three organisations’ work on the safe development of nanomaterials in Europe.  The organisers shared recent analysis of […]