Stefan Willms, Frank Jankowiak and Jerome Blum, together with the ECLASS Working Group "Sustainability", are developing new concepts for the standardized description of product data on sustainability aspects for the ECLASS Standard.
- Five Key Indicators: ECLASS defines five essential indicators - water, energy, resources consumption, land use, and the product carbon footprint (PCF). The PCF reveals a product's CO2 footprint throughout its life cycle. These indicators are paramount in the pursuit of sustainability.
- Making Sustainability Accessible: These five indicators serve as a user-friendly entry point into the world of product-related sustainability for already more than 4,000 companies using ECLASS and spanning various sectors worldwide.
- Mapping Sustainability: The new Release 14.0 will be published end of Nov 2023 and provides even more aspects for information on sustainability of products.
- Secure and Comparable Data: ECLASS facilitates data exchange, enabling secure and comparative analysis. This is vital for conscious buyers, resource-efficient production, and even for smart machines that make informed decisions.
- Data Quality Assurance: ECLASS utilizes qualifiers to ensure data quality, allowing users to understand the reliability of the information.
- Future Compliance: ECLASS is aligned with the evolving regulatory landscape. New laws and directives are pushing for transparent data collection and reporting of sustainability indicators at both the company and product levels.
- EU's Digital Product Passport: The EU is planning a mandatory digital product passport, starting in 2025, which will encompass environmental aspects. ECLASS is already evolving to meet these requirements.
