Policy and strategic advice on life cycle related questions:
– Tailored advice on the implications of the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) developments for companies and associations of all industries, including at EU external trade partners. This builds on maki staff being main author of the first version of the Commission’s PEF and OEF guides and the founding ILCD Handbook documents as well as been multiple contractor to the Commission during the PEF/OEF pilot phase and the ongoing transition phase until 2024. (For more on the PEF/OEF, please see end of this page)
– Advise on the PEF for ongoing or future National LCA database efforts (see also our related White paper under “Publications”), regarding methodological, review, and other interoperability questions, including the ILCD and eILCD formats (that we have technically coordinated and specified), data networks, elementary flow lists and nomenclature.
– Advice on the development of new life cycle based policy and private instruments, including the adaptation of existing instruments such as the GHG Protocol, EU Ecodesign Directive, Ecolabel, Energy label, and the new Circular Economy package and EU Green Deal.
Decision support and strategic studies and advice:
– Life cycle based studies on strategic technology decisions
– Life cycle based studies on policy options
– “Classical” LCA studies of your products for internal weak-point analysis and decision support on alternative material and other design options or product comparisons
– Comparative integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) studies that consider environmental, cost and social aspects in an integrated analysis; we have specific expertise and experience in this area.
Review of data and studies:
With independent external reviews gaining more importance, we offer to add value and acceptance to your developments. We offer critical reviews against ISO 14040 and 14044, EN 15804+A1 and +A2, PEF/OEF, EF-compliant data sets, ILCD (“ILCD Data Network – entry-level” for data sets and “ILCD-compliance” for data sets and studies). maki staff have been consortium partners of the Remodelling project to deliver the official final product models for 9 represenative products on UPS and T-shirts and have reviewed several others and have lead the quality assurance of this complex 2-years-project. Previously maki staff have been two of the four official reviewers of the past 26 PEF/OEF pilot screening studies, and of other product systems, of data sets, and methodologies.
Data set and database development:
Depending on your needs we offer to prepare data sets that meet the Environmental Footprint (PEF/OEF) “EF-compliant data sets” requirements, the “International Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Data Network – entry-level” requirements” or are “ILCD-compliant”, are ISO 14040/44 conform data. Should you require to receive LCA data sets or models compatible with your existing LCA software, we offer to develop life cycle models in commercial software(s), with an GaBi license in-house, others on request (working experience in Umberto and SimaPro).
Moderation of stakeholder processes:
Based on our specific experience while working combined for over 10 years at the European Commission, we offer to support you with the planning and management of stakeholder processes on the development of LCA and related methodologies e.g. Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) schema documents, Product Category Rules (PCRs / PEFCRs) and manuals, as well as LCA and related studies.
Methodology development, evaluation and harmonisation:
Having technically coordinated several key guidance documents in LCA (ILCD Handbook series) and in support to the Product Environmental Footprinting (PEF guide, OEF guide) as well as systematically analysed many others existing Manuals (ranging from PAS 2050 to BP X30, GHG Protocol, ITU and ETSI guides…), and have participated in PEFCR development and as official reviewers of PEFCRs for the EU Commission, we offer to support the technical side of adopting or adapting tailored guides to the specifics of your industry.
Capacity building and expert courses:
– Specific advice on management decisions for companies that want to effectively and efficiently get started with LCA (need-to-knows, required expertise, compliance aspects, outsourcing, software & secondary data options, etc.), tailored to your specific needs and situation.
– Training for experts on advanced methodological issues (ISO, PEF/OEF guides, EN 15804, ILCD Handbook) in full depth e.g. for implementing studies, PCR/PEFCR development, data set development or review, but also for beginners. maki is consortium partner of the technical support contract to the European Commission during the ongoing PEF/OEF transition phase 2018 to mid of 2022 and a new contract mid 2022 to mid 2024, and we have in person supported PEFCR developments, developed data sets for the EF.
– Software training courses, particularly GaBi (developer-level expert)
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About the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)
The European Commission released the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Guide in April 2013 (updated December 2021), along with the Organizational Environmental Footprint (OEF) Guide, under the premise of the “Single Market for Green Products Initiative.” The objective is to support a single metric for a single market, thus enhancing transparency and fair competition. The ultimate aim is to provide incentives to report and reduce environmental impacts. The PEF and OEF underwent successful EU-wide pilot testing in 21 product groups and organisations, ranging from bottled water to hard disks, is now in its so-called transition phase until 2024, during which related EU policy instruments are being developed that consider using the EF, particularly under the “Green claims” initiative and the “Sustainable products initiative” (revision of the Ecodesign Directive) and about 10 other policies incl. delegated regulations for products as diverse as food and construction products.
The PEF Guide was developed using a harmonized approach, building on existing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based product claim standards and guides, such as the Commission’s ILCD Handbook, ISO 14040, ISO 14044, ISO 14025, PAS 2050, BP X30-323, GHG Protocol, etc.
maki staff Kirana Wolf and Marc-Andree Wolf have been technically leading the preceding ILCD Handbook and technical developments and the original PEF Method development at the European Commission, and continue to support the PEF/OEF development as external experts and contractors, including the Policy Impact Assessment of the “Green claims” initiative by the Commission.
More information at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/product_footprint.htm and https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12511-Environmental-claims-based-on-environmental-footprint-methods.
