C – Evaluation of environmental improvement

This action is aimed at assessing how the efficiency measures implemented during the project affect the environmental performance of the companies and the products.

It is composed of 3 sub-actions:

• C.1.1 Environmental company performance monitoring

This sub-action is aimed at demonstrating how the PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) implementation can also support the environmental improvement of the organisations. A methodology and some key performance indicators will be defined for the environmental performance monitoring  of the companies. These indicators will be measured at the first year and at the end of the project and will be included in the improvement plan (Action B.3).

Also the achieved improvements will be assessed by comparing the PEF results before and after the application of the improvement plan in the pilot companies.

The effectiveness of the measures adopted will be assessed in each company and on average basis in each sector.

• C.1.2 Product environmental performance

This sub-action is aimed at demonstrating the suitability of PEF for supporting processes of environmental improvement.

The improvement measures implemented during the project will be assessed by comparing the environmental impacts of each product investigated in EFFIGE, before and after the application of the improvement plan, by using specific indicators and the results of the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) studies.

• C.1.3 Updating of Life Performance indicators

This sub-action is aimed at reviewing and updating the Life Project Specific Indicators Table, which will be used to assess the impact of EFFIGE. The indicators, including both qualitative and quantitative data, will be monitored all through the project. Examples of such indicators are the PEF environmental impact categories, the production of waste, the fuel consumption.

The first sub-action concerns the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methodology, that allows the assessment of the life cycle costs of a product/service including not only the financial costs but also the social and environmental externalities costs.

The externalities, relative to environmental and social impacts, are internalized in monetary units. A LCC analysis will be carried out in the initial stage of the project, for the evaluation of the costs of the supply chain before the project measures implementation, and in the final stage of the project, in order to assess the eventual economic benefits of the actions implementation.

The economic feasibility study will include an analysis of a project’s costs and revenues in an effort to determine whether or not it is logical and possible to complete.

The results of study will include:

• The company investments

• The cost of PEF

• The cost saving after the PEF implementation and other socio economic emerged advantages

• An analysis on the market opportunities for PEF products.

The second the sub-action concerns a survey which involve companies operating in the supply chains involved in the project in order to understand the change in consumption and everyday life behaviour due to projects local initiatives.

A methodology to monitor and assess the socioeconomic project impacts will be defined. The methodology will allow to assess the project impacts in the 4 project years. The main socioeconomic topics to monitor will be:

• Job opportunities increase in the productive chains involved in the project;

• Skills and competences improvement in the productive chains involved in the project;

• Market performance of PEF products and generally of project productive fields;

• Market performance of pilot companies;

• Capital investments;

• Cost reduction.