LIFE

LIFE ENVIRONMENT |
LIFE and the circular economy
Putting PEF to the test
campaign was based on demonstrating that investments
in green products or certification could
boost business, turnover and consumer satisfaction.
Some 200 enterprises adopted ecodesign
initiatives, while the involvement of 8 000 stores
in the Coop supermarket chain led to a 19.5% increase
in the presence of green products in those
shops. Sales of green items rose by 21.1%.
The extraction/production and supply of raw materials or components tend
to be the biggest contributors to a product’s environmental footprint. However,
for many companies, particularly SMEs, it can be hard to obtain the
relevant data on the supply chain, particularly upstream.
Life PREFER (LIFE12 ENV/IT/000393) has used a cluster approach to
overcome these issues and enable local businesses in Italy to adopt the
PEF. This involves sharing a set of tools and resources with the participating
companies to help them apply the PEF methodology and improve their environmental
performance. According to project manager, Francesco Test, participating
businesses “have the opportunity to get a life-cycle assessment
of the flow of resources and waste that go through their gates, to identify
the environmental hotspots of their production processes, carry out specific
actions to reduce their impact on the environment and transparently communicate
the environmental performance of the product on the market.”
Thanks to Life PREFER, 38 companies have implemented the PEF and used
the results to improve the environmental footprint of their products. For
instance, by adopting new technology to reduce water use, redesigning production
facilities or processes to cut their environmental impact, installing
new low-energy lighting and introducing photovoltaic energy production.
Mr Testa notes that the PEF brings a range of socio-economic benefits to
companies that adopt the methodology, including “cost reductions, for example
through less energy consumption,” an increase in skills and know
how and improved market reputation, which can enhance overall competitiveness.
PEF also brings new green job opportunities.
Life PREFER’s approach is applicable elsewhere. Indeed, the project has already
taken action to spread the PEF methodology and support tools for
SMEs, promoting them in Romania and Spain, in the fields of tanning, textiles
and wine.
Thanks to the project, some 300 local authorities
increased their knowhow on suppliers, costs, ecolabels
and preparing green public procurement (GPP)
tenders. GPP increased by 15% among the participants,
a follow-up survey revealed.
Certified green
In order for consumption of green products to increase,
such products have to be on the market in
the first place. LIFE has contributed to these efforts
by co-funding projects that have helped achieve
environmental accreditation for particular product
groups, such as wines through Product Category
Rules (PCRs) (see HAproWINE feature article, pp.
44-46) and rubber products made from end-of-life
(EOL) tyres through the EU Ecolabel.
The DEPOTEC project (LIFE10 ENV/IE/000695)
constructed a demonstration plant to recycle waste
tyres using depolymerisation, making products that
can be used as substitute carbon filler materials
in the rubber manufacturing process. The project
contributed to the development of a comprehensive
series of environmental standards to facilitate
the accreditation of products made from EOL tyres
through the EU Ecolabel.
Around 3.2 million tonnes of used tyres are generated
in Europe every year. The introduction of
standards for products derived from these tyres is
key to their recognition as an alternative energy
source or secondary raw material. DEPOTEC found
that while there is a considerable amount of legislation
in place for the management and use of EOL
tyres, the implementation and use of this legislation
needs to be simplified to ensure high-quality
new products can be safely made in the quantities
demanded by the market.
The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) is another
avenue for helping consumers make choices
that support the circular economy. The PEF has
been developed under the Commission’s Single
Market for Green Products Initiative as a common
way of measuring environmental performance.
This harmonised metric incorporates a wide range
of environmental criteria and uses a life-cycle approach,
from the acquisition of raw materials to
processing, distribution, use and end-of-life processes,
as well as all the relevant related environmental
impacts, health effects and resource-related
threats. A LIFE project in Italy has tested PEF’s
effectiveness within different sectors (see box).
36