The aim of EFFIGE is to improve the environmental performance of companies operating in the various merchandising sectors; this aim can be achieved by implementing the EU Product Environmental Footprint method (PEF) described in the Recommendation 179/2013/EU.
By using the PEF as an instrument that supports the in-house decision-making process of the companies – thus removing the any informational asymmetries on the final good market – EFFIGE will sustain the pilot companies and in particular the SMEs with the aim of improving its own environmental “hot spots”, thus introducing more sustainable products and services.
The EFFIGE project furthermore aims to:
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Prove the efficacy of the EU’s PEF method to sustain the improvement of the environmental qualities of the products obtained;
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Help to develop and spread the environmental footprint of the EU, which has become an absolute priority in the political programme of the European Commission in terms of the green economy and circular economy. The ultimate aim is for the PEF to gain territory in Italy and the EU, focusing on sectors that have not yet been involved in the European pilot studies. Thanks to the EFFIGE project, at least 21 PEFs will be conducted in accordance with Recommendation 179/2013/EU, in 4 different yet fully relevant supply chains: furniture, foundry, agri-food, catering;
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Develop “preparatory documents for the future rules on the PEF category” in sectors that are not presently covered by the PEF pilot studies promoted by the EU, with the aim of improving the comparability with regard to the environmental impact and environmental sustainability between companies operating in the same sector and, consequently, to allow consumers and companies to take more informed decisions
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Remove the typical difficulties that influence the implementation of the PEF within the SMEs, by creating back-up instruments that have already been experimented in the pilot tests, and are then used more widely in other production and territorial settings;
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Contribute, as requested by the Commission (Regulation 2013/179/EU), to the development of public databases that are dedicated to the environmental impact of the different manufacturing sectors, ready to be used by the SMEs to achieve the PEF;
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Develop clear guidelines and approaches to streamline communications in relation to the environmental performance of the various products, thus testing the instruments and means of communication of the Union, drafting and distributing “NO Greenwashing” guidelines thanks to the activities undertaken by the work group;
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Stimulate the integration of the PEF method in the other environmental policies of the UE, through various suggestions and guidelines devised by the workgroup for the integration of the PEF;
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Create instruments and approaches that are easy to repeat and transfer, dedicated to the green economy and have not yet been covered by pilot studies on the PEF.