ESTC delegation delivers PEF presentation

The ESTC delivered a presentation to the European Commission this morning to convince the commission to make the synthetic turf industry part of their panel that will develop a harmonised environmental footprint methodology.

The European Union wants to develop a harmonised environmental footprint methodology that should help to determine the environmental footprint of products. Harmonising the measuring criteria will help with the correct labelling of products and should close the door on so-called ‘green-washing’ practices whereby claims or logos are being used without having been validated by a qualified and independent authority. Most of these claims are about the environmental impact or friendliness of a product.

“The ESTC is in a perfect position to explain the shortcomings of current programmes and the need for a Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology. However, the number of seats at the table is limited and the synthetic turf industry is one of many industries that want to be in on it,” explained ESTC Director General, Stefan Diderich, upon his return. “As we recently decided to actively pursue a closer relationship with institutions like the EU, today’s presentation was the first but they will definitely see us more often in the future,” he adds.

“We explained why this process is important to our industry and why we feel we could make a meaningful contribution. Our presentation was received well but we will only hear in mid-October whether our proposal has been accepted.”