The Technical Secretariat behind the FreshProducePEFCR is gearing up for the launch of its second public consultation on calculating environmental footprints, which will open on 13 January 2025
The Technical Secretariat of the FreshProducePEFCR, which is developing technical rules for calculating the environmental footprint of fruits and vegetables as part of Freshfel´s Environmental Footprint Initiative, is hosting an open webinar on 13 January 2025 in order to engage stakeholders and outline the next steps.
A four-week consultation will aim to refine these technical rules to tailor them to the requirements of the business. “The aim of the second public consultation is to ensure that we have a comprehensive, practical set of rules that reflect the needs of the sector,” said Jeroen Weststrate of Wageningen Research, who will explain during the webinar how the rules have changed since the first consultation and provide insights into the second round of feedback collection.
“We are particularly encouraging feedback from sector experts and LCA professionals with expertise in fresh produce,” he said.
The first public consultation was held in April 2024 and garnered major sector interest, with 129 comments coming from 90 unique respondents – findings that have been incorporated into an updated draft of the FreshProducePEFCR.
January’s webinar will be held at 15:00-16:00 CET, with additional speakers including Gil Kaufman of Freshfel Europe on the importance of the PEFCR for the fruit and vegetables sector, and Nikki Hulzebos from the Dutch Fresh Produce Centre on how the framework has been developed.
Those wishing to register for the webinar, which will be via Zoom and in English, can do so here.
“With the environmental impact of fresh produce under increasing scrutiny, this consultation provides an essential opportunity for the sector to shape the future of sustainability standards,” Freshfel Europe stated.
