In December 2021, the Commission adopted a revised Recommendation on the use of Environmental Footprint methods, helping companies to calculate their environmental performance based on reliable, verifiable and comparable information. The recommendation also allows other actors (such as public administrations, NGOs and business partners) to access this information. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has been driving the scientific and technical developments to ensure robustness and impartiality.

There is a transition phase between the end of the Environmental Footprint pilot phase and the possible adoption of policies implementing the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) methods. This transition phase aims to provide a framework for:

• monitoring the implementation of existing Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) and Organisation Environmental Footprint Sector Rules (OEFSRs)
• developing new PEFCRs/ OEFSRs
• developing new methods.

The second public consultation on the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for apparel and footwear is now live and will be open until Sunday 28 April 2024.

Please note that you will need an ECAS account to complete the survey. If you have technical questions related to the PEF and OEF methods, please contact the Helpdesk.