Product Environmental Footprint

Question 1

What is PEF?

Answer 1

Product Environmental Footprint

PEF is a multi-criteria measure of the environmental performance of products and services along the life cycle

PEF process was aiming at implementing LCA in policy and in the market

Question 2

What are the goals of PEF?

Answer 2

• Harmonization of existing LCA based methods
• “Comparability over flexibility”

–> Decreases the flexibility provided by the ISO standards regarding methodological choices in order to generate more comparability

• -> What does this mean in reality?
• new label?
• another method for analysing environmental hotspots?
• for product comparisons?
• -> not clear what it is until now

Question 3

Why PEF?

Answer 3

There are too many environmental labels but not too many LCA based labels.

Question: Will PEF stop the label flood? Will PEF help consumers?

• Probably not!
• A new voluntary label will not kill other labels…
• For doing so, PEF would need to be mandatory

Question 4

What are examples for LCA based labels?

Answer 4

Blue Angel, Ecoflower

Question 5

What are the differences between LCA and PEF?

Answer 5

ISO 14040/44

• LCA addresses the environ-mental aspects and potential environmental impacts through-out a product’s life cycle”
• Standardized method

PEF method

• „General method to measure and communicate the potential life cycle environmental impact of a product “
• Non-legislative act
• Approach: „Comparability over Flexibility“

Question 6

PEF/PEFCR vs ISO/PCR

Answer 6

ISO/PCR
•Not for comparisons
•Results have to be presented for each category
•basis is the LCA (ISO 14040/44)
•EPDs are developed on basis of PCRs

PEF/PEFCR 
•Potentially for comparisons
•Potentially a label
• basis is the PEF
•one PEF result
• not clear what is developed on basis of PEFCR

Question 7

What are the goals of the PEF transition phase? (ongoing until 2021)

Answer 7

–Monitor the implementation of the existing PEFCRs (product category-specific rules)(are companies using it?)

–Development of new PEFCRs und revision of existing PEFCRs

–Fine-tuning of methodological aspects (e.g. definition of functional unit to include performance aspects)

–Propose and decide how PEF will be used in the future (not clear yet)

Question 8

What are the problems of PEF according to TU Berlin?

Answer 8

The idea of PEF –a harmonized LCA based method & comparability –is generally good..

BUT there are many methodological / practical challenges & many ongoing controversial discussions, e.g.

–PEF partly contradicts the existing ISO 14040/44 standard –> should not be

–Product performance (e.g. quality) is often not taken into account, but necessary for fair comparability of products (e.g., wine of discounter store vs excellent wine from small winery –> is it fair to compare them?)

it is still unclear for which purpose PEF will be used:

• A new label for consumers and product comparisons?
• For green public procurement?
• Input for existing environmental measurement/declaration systems?
• Internal use (process and product optimization)?