Environmental standards development

Harmonizing environmental calculation rules

Measuring environmental sustainability can be a big challenge. Moreover, there exist many ways to calculate the environmental impact of a product or product value chain. Different companies use different methods and different background data. This makes it impossible to make fair comparisons between products for instance. It obstructs the way forward to create truly sustainable food systems. 

To tackle this challenge, we support industries and sectors to develop harmonized environmental calculation rules, based on the latest available international methodologies.

Blonk has been involved in the major global developments related to LCA and environmental standard development. Examples are the European Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method and PAS 2050. 

 

How we can help you

PEFCR development

We can support you to develop Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules in line with the European Commission's requirements. 

Harmonized sector footprint guidelines

Introduce harmonized footprint guidelines for your sector. Get consensus on how to calculate environmental footprints and get your sector on the same page. 

Training and capacity building

Increase understanding and knowledge on environmental footprinting, and make sure your sector get to started. 

Examples of our work

Case study

GRSB launches harmonized Carbon Footprint Guideline

The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) recently launched the GRSB Carbon Footprint Guideline, which will help sector-wide and global consistency in carbon footprint calculations for beef cattle production. Blonk advised on and developed the methodological approach and drafted the guideline in close collaboration with the GRSB Climate Science Committee.

Case study

Product Environmental Footprint

Measuring environmental sustainability of products is a big challenge. There exist many labels, which currently confuses consumers en producers. Therefore, the European Commission proposed to develop a standard method for measuring and communicating environmental performance throughout the life cycle. Over the last years the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method has been developed. Since 2015 Blonk has been involved intensively in the EU PEF developments:

case study

HortiFootprint Category Rules

There didn’t exist an up-to-date standard methodology to calculate the environmental impacts of horticultural products, like fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants. To meet consumer and industry stakeholder demands for environmental impact information, in 2018, a project was started to develop uniform calculation guidelines to be accepted across the whole horticultural value chain and in line with European directives. Blonk was part of the project team and involved as an expert.

case study

LCA standard for Growing Media Europe

Growing Media Europe (GME) is an international non-profit organization representing the producers of growing media and soil improvers at European level. Growing media are materials other than soil in situ in which plants and mushrooms are grown. For GME Blonk developed an uniform LCA Toolbox, in line with the European PEF method. A ‘task force’ of expert industry advisers were involved the development of the LCA standard.

CASE STUDY

Ecolabeling food products under a harmonised method

To make a fair comparison between the environmental impact of food products, consistent footprinting calculations are necessary. Foundation Earth, an independent, non-profit organisation established to issue front-of-pack environmental scores on food products, is working with Blonk and Deutsches Institut für Lebensmitteltechnik (DIL) to develop a harmonised methodology and establish a standard for European food product scoring.

More information

Get in touch

Jasper Scholten
Business Unit Manager | Consultants

Please get in touch with Jasper if you would like to learn more about our Environmental Standards Development services.