The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology is an important initiative introduced by the European Commission in 2013 to support companies wishing to market their products as environmentally friendly.
PEF methodology is designed to assist companies measure the environmental performance of their products and position themselves in the market of sustainable products in the EU Single Market. The PEF method entails a multi-criteria measurement of the environmental performance of a good or service throughout its life cycle. It considers the entire resource cycle and environmental factors in product manufacturing across all stages and provides concrete rules that reduce freedom of interpretation and promote stringent data quality and verification requirements.
In the Eastern Partner (EaP) region, the PEF methodology is promoted as an activity led by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), through the EU-funded EU4Environment Action. The following article gathers all efforts of the EU4Environment Action together with partner organizations on efforts of introduction of PEF in the EaP region.
Country-wide efforts
In each EaP country the current frameworks concerning initiatives targeting greening of products, including eco-labelling, organic agriculture, and the promotion of green industries were explored with the aim to review the country readiness to introduce the EU Single Market for Green Products (SMGP) initiative and the PEF methodology in the particular EaP region.
The following reports examine the key concepts of Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and their impact on policymaking and business development in each EaP region. Furthermore, the report aims to derive future recommendations for further development of greening mechanisms to achieve SMPG readiness for the given country.
Business-specific approach
Furthermore, 8 enterprises have undergone a PEF assessment in Georgia and Ukraine with the assistance of the in-filed experts. Throughout this process, primary motivating factors, key findings, and tailored business recommendations were identified. Based on those inputs following business cases were completed:
Georgia:
- Apron Kitchen Line (English | Georgian)
- Dambalkhacho (English | Georgian)
- Handicraft For Kids (English | Georgian)
- Royal Brand (English | Georgian)
- Santa LLC (English | Georgian)
Ukraine:
If you are a business owner and you wish to make your product more competitive in the EU market of sustainable products, read this article: Why undertake the Product Environmental Footprint study for my enterprise?
Additionally, you can watch a video on introducing PEF as a tool for Ukrainian companies here.
Relevance of PEF to different stakeholders
Read more about the introduction of the EU Single Market for Green Products, PEF, and LCA as well as their relationship with key stakeholders (export-oriented companies, Government institution, professionals, and more) in the Eastern Partnership region here.
Read more about the PEF methodology and its introduction in the Eastern Partner (EaP) countries in our leaflet that is available in English, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Romanian, and Ukrainian.