ECOS | Environmental Coalition on Standards

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Environmental transparency

Traceability

Value chains are increasingly long and complex in our globalised economy. This makes it difficult for actors down the chain, particularly end-consumers, to know what has happened upstream. The demand for sustainability information is growing, but credible information does not exist without traceability. Traceability tools, such as digital products passports or chain of custody systems, can help to understand a product’s true environmental impact. Our aim is to ensure all supply chain actors provide and receive accurate sustainability information on the materials and products they handle – encouraging companies to seek the highest possible level of traceability in their supply chains.

What we are working on

  • We support the development of the EU Digital Product Passport, which will enable the sharing of key product-related information, essential for sustainability and circularity.
  • We advocate for the use of chain of custody systems allowing for the highest degree of traceability, particularly for regulatory purposes.
  • ECOS participates in the development of international standards on chain of custody, ensuring that supply chain actors opting for mass balance or book-and-claims transparently communicate on lack of traceability in their value chains and take measures to mitigate associated risks.
  • ECOS advocates for a robust traceability system for energy carriers, in particular hydrogen, to ensure that their sources are renewable.
Who we work with

Alliances and campaigns

Related news

  • UNEA-6: Environmental challenges call for ambitious, global solutions

    More people than ever attended UNEA-6, the latest United Nations Environment Assembly held in Nairobi last month. ECOS was present and contributed to the negotiations, giving input to resolutions that shape the global environmental agenda. Consensus-based policymaking is a tough and compromising process, but there were some roses among the thorns. Find out more from our blog.

  • Join our call for an EU Directive on Sustainable Resource Management

    There is a crucial gap in current EU law. Resource overconsumption is not being addressed, even though it is predicted to continue rising. The need for an EU Directive on Sustainable Resource Management – with science-based and overarching reduction targets for resource use – has never been clearer.

  • Restoring nature will secure our future – winds of change must set us on the right path

    Nature is all around us – giving and sustaining life. But we must ensure that we see the forest for the trees. The impassioned debate that enveloped the EU’s Nature Restoration Law earlier this month demonstrated the importance of taking a breath and stepping back from the business of our daily routines. We must remember that we owe much to nature. Policymakers and regulators all over the world have a duty to protect it.

Contact person
Mathilde Crêpy
Head of Environmental Transparency+32 2 894 46 68 mathilde.crepy@ecostandard.org

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.

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