Brussels, 04/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - Will it provide a boost for green goods or simply be additional red tape with no added value for consumers? The harmonised methodology on the Commission drawing board for calculating the environmental footprint of goods, services and organisations in order to assess, display and benchmark their environmental performance based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) has failed to win over both the industry and consumers. Orgalime, the European engineering industries association, and ANEC, the European consumer voice in standardisation, are fearful that the methodology and its use in policy-making could increase complexity and costs while providing little, if any, benefit for industry and the consumer. The initiative is currently undergoing impact assessment, as part of DG Environment's proposal for a communication on “Unlocking the Single Market for Green Products”.
ANEC Secretary General Stephen Russell argues that the LCA methodology has definite advantages when analysing the environmental performance of products, but its dependency on numerous subjective choices, lack of data and limited precision are major shortcomings. “Information for consumers, based on LCA indicators, is not helpful and, indeed, constitutes a step in the wrong direction. LCA alone cannot suitably characterise all environmental impacts. ANEC believes sound environmental assessments require a mix of tools, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of each”, he says. Orgalime Director General Adrian Harris is of the view that “LCA can be a useful tool for companies' own product innovation and development processes, and it can be helpful for identifying life cycle stages with the highest contributions to overall life cycle impacts. However, it is not meant for comparability of different products.”
The new harmonised methodology is due to be presented by the Commission in the course of the month of December before, thereafter, being incorporated into relevant policy instruments, such as the eco-design directive for energy-related products (2009/125/EC). (AN/transl.fl)