Standards underpin public policies – and can be the make or break of their environmentally ambitious implementation. Delays in standardisation can considerably slow down the implementation phase, create uncertainty for businesses, and hinder innovation - but speeding up the development of standards should not come at the expense of quality.
Annex III of the EU Standardisation Regulation supports representation of societal and small business interests in standards-making. It has opened the door to a wealth of knowledge and experience that gives balance, legitimacy, and real-life insight into standardisation, ensuring that European standards are fit for a future-proof Single Market.
Together with our member Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, we are organising an event in Stockholm looking at why and how civil society should get involved in standardisation in Sweden. 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 role standards can play to bring about circular economy.
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG-P) decision to create common emissions accounting standards has the potential to streamline and simplify procedures. However, this must be done in a way that lifts climate ambition, write Carbon Market Watch’s Benja Faecks and ECOS’s Thea Lyngseth.
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.
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.
