Promoting greener products through Environmental Product Declarations - 2 May 2012.
EMAS
registered organisations are successfully addressing indirect environmental
aspects, such as the environmental impact of product life cycles.
Acting as a responsible organisation involves systematic and strategic
management of both direct and indirect environmental aspects. EMAS provides
registered organisations with practical tools to address both direct
environmental aspects such as CO2 emission reductions or waste management and
indirect ones such as supply chain or product-related matters.
Especially in the production sector, a product’s life cycle, such as design,
packaging, transportation or possibilities for recycling, can cause significant
environmental impacts. In order to promote the development of
environmentally-friendly products, information about their life cycle impact
should be collected and communicated to customers and consumers.
EMAS registered organisations can publish Environmental Product Declarations
(EPD) (e.g. based on ISO 14025 – environmental labels and declarations, and ISO
14040 – life cycle assessment). These contain information about the
environmental impact that products have on the environment. These EPDs can be
validated externally by the independent environmental verifiers in the context
of validating the companies’ environmental statements.
The international rail systems manufacturer Bombardier, whose German and an
increasing number of other EU sites are EMAS registered, uses EPDs to provide
product-related information to stakeholders. Depending on their main use, many
of these EPDs are validated according to EMAS requirements.
Further information on Bombardier’s approach can be
found at:http://www.bombardier.com/en/transportation/sustainability
Source: www.ec.europa.eu
2 May, 2012.