Advancing the green path in Ukraine – the Product Environmental Footprint and its benefits for manufacturing enterprises

On 20 October 2022, stakeholders interested in or working on green economy, circular economy, resource efficient and cleaner production (RECP), and environmental protection were invited to an online event about the introduction of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) under the European Union’s Single Market for Green Product (SMGP) initiative.

The target audience consisted of representatives from organizations, industrial enterprises, local and national authorities and agencies, business associations, NGOs and other stakeholders.

The objective of the event was to introduce the potential impact of PEF as a tool for national industrial branches to export to the EU Single Market. In this sense, the manufacturing sector in Ukraine was offered the opportunity to apply the PEF methodology to specific products, based on the interest of local industries, the capacity of national experts, and the available data to conduct Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of specific products in the country.

What is Product Environmental Footprint?

PEF is a multi-criteria measurement of the environmental performance of a good or service throughout its life cycle. It was introduced by the European Commission in 2013 under the Single Market for Green Products (SMGP) initiative to enhance comparability within a product category, and give clear indicators to producers and consumers. PEF information is produced with the purpose to reduce the environmental impacts of goods, taking into account their supply chain activities (from the extraction of raw materials, through production and use, to final waste management). In brief, PEF is the EU-recommended tool to quantify a good’s environmental impacts.

Currently, in the EU’s Eastern Partnership (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. Here, the planned work for 2022-2023 includes:

  • mapping existing practices and barriers to introducing PEF and comparing those to the available labelling schemes
  • raising awareness and understanding of the opportunities and benefits of the SMGP initiative through PEF application
  • leading the way to piloting and promoting PEF in selected EaP industries

The EU4Environment Programme will:

  • make local stakeholders aware of the potential benefits and impact of applying PEF
  • create local capacity in the EaP region
  • help the national industries be better prepared for policies involving PEF
  • provide learning opportunities for local experts to master the PEF application within their national context

Read more about PEF and the SMGP initiative from our dedicated leaflet available in English and Ukrainian.

Agenda

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