The possibility of calculating, comparing, and monitoring the environmental impact of a cut flower or pot plant in Europe according to a standard independent calculation method is getting closer now that a proposal for such a calculation system - the FloriPEFCR - was recently submitted to the European Commission. Brussels is expected to endorse the FloriPEFCR by the end of this year and then publish it on the European Commission's website.
The FloriPEFCR - in full: the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules for cut flowers and potted plants - will allow the development of software tools that allow ornamental growers to calculate the environmental impact of their products in an EU-recognised way. Once Brussels agrees to the submitted proposal for the FloriPEFCR, a process will then follow to approve the software tools that will be developed. These software tools will provide growers with tools to reduce the sector's carbon footprint and work towards greater trust and transparency. The software tools currently on the market - such as those from Greenhouse Sustainability, MPS, and Ecochain - do not yet work on the basis of an EU-recognised calculation system.
Consumers and trade in Europe are increasingly demanding demonstrably sustainably grown flowers and plants. The FloriPEFCR is a means of demonstrating the reliability of Dutch floriculture products and being transparent about their sustainable production, aspects that contribute to keeping the sector's reputation high.
Advantages of FloriPEFCR
The FloriPEFCR gives the sector a standard calculation method that brings a series of benefits:
- Growers can see exactly where the environmental impact of their product takes place so they can reduce that impact in a targeted way.
- There is uniformity, which prevents discussion about the calculation of footprints.
- Products can be compared fairly with each other. Growers can, therefore, see how they are doing compared to colleagues with the same product range.
- There is a basis for verified and reliable sustainability claims. This prevents 'greenwashing' or, in other words, companies cannot pretend to be more sustainable or socially responsible than they really are.
Until now, the EU lacked a recognized standardized method for calculating an environmental footprint. That is why a consortium of companies and international sector organizations, such as Floriculture Sustainability Initiative, Union Fleurs, MPS, Florverde, Natuur & Milieu, Blonk Consultants, PRé Sustainability and Royal FloraHolland, led by Wageningen University & Research, set to work on drafting European calculation rules to calculate the environmental footprint of ornamental plant products.
How does the FloriPEFCR methodology work?
The FloriPEFCR is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based method and contains unambiguous standard calculation rules for 16 so-called environmental impact categories. Examples of some impact categories are climate, land use, and fossil resource depletion. The method calculates the environmental impact per stem or per pot of a product, from the extraction of raw materials to the end of the product's life.
Fruit and vegetables
We are also working on a calculation system for footprint calculations that can be used in Europe for fruit and vegetables. To this end, GroentenFruit Huis is working with Freshfel Europe and others within the Freshfel Environmental Footprint Initiative. This project should lead to a so-called shadow PEFCR for fruit and vegetables by the end of 2024.
Source: Glastuinbouw Nederland