Questions AnswersQuestions related to the pilotsLife cycle data is not availableRepresentativity criteria:do I have to have toHow do the PEF and OEF methods fit together?ensure the participation of 51%of the marketWhat are the next steps to complete thebefore appl小ving2methodological work?When will you check compliance with criteriaWhat is Normalisation?Why is it needed?regarding "representativeness"?What is weighting?Why is it needed?Representativity criteria:How detailed shouldthe market analysis be?Aren't PEF and OEF too complex for SMEs?How will the participation of stakeholders work?What is the relation between the work done byWhen will packaging for food and drinks beDG ENV (PEF/OEF)and the EnviFood Protocoldeveloped by the Food Round Table?covered?Will the second phase be open only to "food.How the Commission will manage potentialfeed and drink products"and sectors?divergences between the methodologicalrequirements in the Environmental FootprintWhat happens if you receive multiplemethods and those in the EnviFood Protocol?applications for the same product group orsector?What's the link of PEF method with ISO 15804and the work done by ISO TC350?What is the definition of an intermediate productfor the pilot?What is the relation between the PEF/OEF andThe Sustainability Consortium (TSC)?What is the definition of an intermediate productfor the pilot?Questions related to the policyThe guidance allows to test other end of lifeWhy did the Commission decide to include aformulas than 50/50.What does this mean?Recommendation in the Communication?Why did the Commission decide to launch aDo I have to share sensitive data with other pilotparticipants?second pilot if there has already been one in2011?Questions about the PEF and OEF methodsWill Environmental Footprinting mean that theAre the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)Commission will abandon existing well-and Organisation Environmental Footprintestablished tools?(OEF)methods completely new approaches?Another label will just increase confusion forWhy was there a need to develop the PEF andconsumers...let's not forget that products don'tOEF methods?just carry environmental labels,but also otherinformation (nutrition,ingredients,etc.The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)andOrganisation Environmental Footprint (OEF)How is the PEF method going to be used inmethods are based on Life Cycle Assessmentexisting European policies like the EU Ecolabel?(LCA).What is LCA?Are the Environmental Footprint methods toWhy did the Commission choose LCA as agoing to compete with the Ecodesign approach?method for measuring environmentalWhat's the link between the OEF method andperformance?EMAS?Why is comparability an objective?What's the role of standardisation?What indicators do PEF and OEF cover?How does the initiative address the issue ofDo we have to use all 14 impact categories?communicating information on theDo we have to use all 14 impact categories?environmental performance of products andorganisations?There are too many variations in the LCAHow will the use of PEF and OEF affectmethodology leading to unreliable resultsinternational trade?Some life cycle impact categories are notQUESTIONS ABOUT THE PRODUCT ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT(PEF)ANDORGANISATION ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT (OEF)METHODSAre the PEF and OEF methods completely new approaches?No.They have been developed based on existing,well-established,tested and widelyused methods,standards and guidelines,such as the International Life Cycle ReferenceDatabase Handbook.ISO 14040-44.ISO 14064.PAS 2050.BP X30.WRI/WBCSDGHG protocol,Sustainability Consortium approach,ISO 14025,Ecological Footprint,Global Reporting Initiative,WRI GHG Protocol,CDP Water Footprint,DEFRAguidance on GHG reporting,ADEME Bilan Carbone and others.Why was there a need to develop the PEF and OEF methods?There is a proliferation of methods for measuring the environmental performance ofproducts and organisations.Considering the area of carbon measurement only,studiescarried out by the Commission identified 62 leading initiatives and methods on productcarbon footprinting and 80 on carbon reporting (status in 2010)'.Some Member Statesare considering voluntary or mandatory policies based on life cycle assessment;privateinitiatives are coming up with multi-criteria methods for measuring life cycleenvironmental performance.Other than creating confusion on the market,theproliferation of methods also leads to additional costs for companies trading acrossborders:they might need to measure their performance according to several,divergingmethodsMethods are generally diverging on several issues or leave some methodological choicesopen for the user.This means that it is not possible to compare the results ofmeasurements using different methods.But neither is comparability of twomeasurements carried out on the basis of the same method guaranteed due to the built-inflexibilities;and even comparability regarding the year-on-year performances of acompany depends on the consistency with which methodological choices were done.If consumers find environmental figures on products,they automatically tend to comparethem.However,today this comparison is misleading,as explained above.The PEF andOEF methods reduce methodological choices already at the level of the general method.Product category and sector-specific rules will furthermore be developed with the goal ofenabling comparison of environmental performances between similar products andcompanies active in similar sectors.The PEF and OEF methods are based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).What isLCA?LCA is defined as the "compilation and evaluation of the inputs,outputs and thepotential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle"(ISO14040:2006)Product Carbon Footprinting-a study on methodologies and initiatives,(2010),Company GHGemissions reporting-a study on methods and initiatives (2010)