Overview
The Environmental Footprint (EF) methods, comprising the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF), provide harmonised rules for conducting a reliable and transparent assessment of the environmental impacts of products and organisations throughout the life-cycle, from extraction of raw materials to the end of life of products.
Developed by the Commission in 2013 and updated in 2021, the Environmental Footprint methods provide companies with a reliable framework to quantify their environmental performance. This fosters transparency, provides access to credible environmental information, and supports informed decision-making by businesses and consumers, ultimately driving the transition towards sustainability.
Five reasons for businesses to embrace the Environmental Footprint
Obtain transparent, reliable and verifiable environmental information on your product or organisation.
Stand out in the market by offering more sustainable products.
Mitigate the negative impacts and risks associated with business practices.
Identify opportunities for supply chain optimisation leading to resource and cost savings.
Align with regulations and market demands for environmental reporting.
Governance of the Environmental Footprint
The European Commission recommends the use of Product Environmental Footprint and Organisation Environmental Footprint methods as a common way of measuring and communicating the environmental performance of products and organisations.
The Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment manages and coordinates the sound development and implementation of the EF methods to meet stakeholders’ needs and fulfil the EU’s policy requirements.
The Commission’s Joint Research Centre provides its worldwide leading expertise on LCA for developing robust EF methods with impartiality.
The Technical Advisory Board (TAB) is an Eexpert group that provides expertise and technical advice to the European Commission on methodological issues relating to the development and implementation of the EF methods, life cycle assessment and PEFCR/OEFSRs.
The EF Steering group, comprising EU Member States and NGOs, advises the European Commission on Environmental Footprint methods. It is part of the Sustainable Production and Consumption expert group and provides expertise on EF-related policies and voluntary actions.
Stakeholders can direct technical questions related to the PEF and OEF methods to the EF Helpdesk at this email address
Timeline
- 2013 - 2018Pilot phase
Pilot phase
The pilot phase, spanning from 2013 to 2018, was primarily aimed to test EF methods and refine the process for developing product- and sector-specific rules, verification approaches, and communication strategies for conveying environmental performance information of products and organisations. This resulted in methodological improvement suggestions that informed the following transition phase.
Learn more here - 2019- OngoingThe Transition Phase
The Environmental Footprint Transition phase, initiated in 2019 and expected to be concluded in 2025, aims to monitor the implementation of existing PEFCRs and OEFSRs, develop new ones, and advance methodological developments while integrating the latest scientific developments. Recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 was published during this phase, building on the pilot phase experience and based on technical input from the JRC. After the transition phase, the EF methods are expected to enter a phase of more stability and gradually wider application.
Learn more here - 2021Launch of the updated EF methods
On 16 December 2021, the European Commission published a set of updated recommendations on the use of the Environmental Footprint methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations.
Learn more - 2025New Environmental Footprint Methods Recommendation
The outcome of the transition phase will be reviewed regularly, in order to provide enough feedback to develop a new recommendation expected in 2025.