This report provides a blueprint for assessing the life-cycle environmental footprints of physical and chemical plastic recycling technologies, as well as a technical critique of a JRC study that uses Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare environmental impacts of plastic recycling technologies. Based on this critique, recommendations are provided for decision makers as to the value of the JRC study’s findings.
Read our technical briefing on the compensation method for heat pumps, a collaboration between ECOS, reaLIFEstandards, and Coolproducts.
Together with our member Ethikis, we organised an online workshop focusing on why and how civil society should get involved in standardisation and took a deep-dive into product durability. Missed the event? You can now watch the recording!
Our lives are touched by standards in many unseen ways. From the ground we walk on and the appliances in our homes to the food on our plates – standards are everywhere! ECOS seeks to make them better for the environment. Read on to get to know some of the standards we’ve been working on this year.
Together with our member Ethikis, we are organising an online workshop focusing on why and how civil society should get involved in standardisation in France. The effective participation of environmental NGOs in standards-making is key to making sure our planet is protected by robust rules – and this year we are focusing on the case of durability.
Through our Africa Office, we are developing partnerships with key regional players in standardisation and policy in the African region. A new Memorandum of Understanding between ECOS and ARSO, the African Organisation for Standardisation, will facilitate our closer collaboration on standardisation activities and the promotion of the effective participation of environmental stakeholders in the development of standards in Africa.
More than nine out of ten European households have a washing machine. While their energy efficiency has improved over the years, their overall sustainability still leaves a lot to be desired. Ensuring these appliances last for a long time is crucial if we want to manage global resources sustainably. This can be achieved by testing such products properly before they enter the market. With a new test methodology for washing machines in the pipeline, this could be just around the corner. Here’s how one new standard could help to make it happen.
Within the proposed text of the Global Plastics Treaty there are many calls to develop global voluntary standards. Standards are necessary to align and scale up technologies and systems that stem plastic pollution and manage our limited resources. Any standards created to implement the UN Global Plastic Treaty must include equitable participation from a wide range of impacted communities and sectors. Read our recommendations for how to achieve effective reference to standards in the Global Plastics Treaty.
Environmental issues are interconnected and unconstrained by borders, but priorities differ based on geography and context. We need global efforts that ensure environmental ambition – something ECOS has been progressively working towards as part of our international strategy. We have just opened a new office in Nairobi, Kenya, focusing on the African region. International growth will allow us to collaborate closer with like-minded organisations in different parts of the world and strengthen the environmental voice in the development of policies, standards, and laws.
Together with our member ZERO, we organised a hybrid workshop focusing on why and how civil society should get involved in standardisation. Missed the event? You can now watch the recording!
ECOS is co-funded by the European Commission and EFTA
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.
