ECOS

@ecos.ngo

2019 Followers 480 Following

ECOS - Environmental Coalition on Standards - is an international NGO advocating for environmentally friendly technical standards, policies, and laws.

Valeria Botta, Programme Director - ECOS. Event: Can the Circular Economy Act Deliver for Europe's Raw Materials? Quote: "The EU urgently needs a new model of resource management. Policymakers have already set a clear, legally binding path to climate neutrality, the same approach should be taken on how we extract, use, reuse and dispose of resources. The Circular Economy Act could define the long-term direction we are currently missing – safeguarding Europe’s competitiveness, geostrategic security, fostering innovation, and protecting the environment all at once."
Learn more in our joint letter!
ECOS webinar. Unboxing the EU Product Act
Cartoon showing the 'light costs' of wind and solar energy being held down by 'fat taxes' and 'heavy levies'. A person stands next to the scales saying 'why are we penalising electricity over fossil gas?'.
Webinar | Unboxing the EU Product Act. New Legislative Framework. Emily Best - Senior Programme Manager. www.ecostandard.org
Cartoon showing an energy management system coordinating EVs, heat pumps, grid connection, batteries, solar panels, and hot water. It is saying: 'I do the thinking so you don't have to!'
Cartoon showing a data centre eating up all the electricity, with a person standing in front of the image saying 'Oh, trust me, AI will solve the climate crisis... You wait and see'.
Cartoon showing taxes and levies making renewable electricity more expensive, with a person saying 'Why are we penalising electricity over fossil gas?'.
Cartoon of an energy label with a colourful scale of A-G, and a person climbing up the scale saying 'Energy efficiency should always be the first step'. The cartoon is highlighting the principle of Energy Efficiency First.
Why is this important? 1. Ensuring inclusiveness and representation of public interests - Crucial elements for the necessary democratic checks and balances and a credible representation of the European economic landscape. 2. Protecting the regulatory ambition and legal integrity - Annex III organisations actively participate in the drafting of technical standards, safeguarding the ambition of legal requirements and evaluating their suitability to support EU legislation. 3. National mobilisation - Annex III organisations support and mobilise their national and sectoral members, empowering them to engage directly in national standards-making. 4. Promoting EU values in international standardisation organisations - Ensuring that international standards used in Europe are in line with EU objectives, and inclusive of the voices and interests of societal stakeholders and SMEs.
Single Use Plastic Directive Implementing Decision. Fanny Rateau, Senior Programme Manager: "The European Commission has adopted the petrochemical industry’s creative accounting method of including recycled plastic content from ‘chemical recycling’, especially pyrolysis. This mass balance, fuel-exempt approach will artificially inflate recycled-content and legitimise lock-in technologies, rather than rewarding more circular recycling.”
A cartoon of two people standing on Europe saying 'You know, if we were smart, we'd be dependent on our own energy'
New Legislative Framework and Market Surveillance Regulation: How they can support sustainable products in the EU.
Representatives from Rethink Plastic alliance, European Environmental Bureau, Zero Waste Europe, and Environmental Coalition on Standards are standing with European Commissioner Jessika Roswall in front on an EU flag, smiling at the camera.
A group of formally dressed people, sitting and standing, smile at the camera. ECOS Executive Director, Justin Wilkes, at the ISO offices in Geneva, poses with other participants in the high-level roundtable to discuss 'The World Bank World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development.'
A red post box in the snow
Learn more in our feedback to the European Commission’s public consultation on the proposed revision of the EU’s Standardisation Regulation: www.ecostandard.org
EU Standardisation Regulation. Timely development and adoption. Timely delivery and adoption of European standards is key as they are necessary tools to comply with EU legislation but delays occur too often. The European Commission and European Standardisation Organisations should find ways to accelerate the timely development and adoption of standards.
EU Standardisation Regulation. Foster collaboration. European Standardisation Organisations and National Standardisation Bodies must foster inclusive collaboration and internal processes that reflect all interests at national, European, and international levels. This needs to be supported with stable and sustainable funding, to enable meaningful engagement.
EU Standardisation Regulation. Reinforce inclusiveness: The harmonised standardisation process must embed reinforced inclusiveness at every stage so that civil society organisations can participate on an equal footing with all other stakeholders.
EU Standardisation Regulation, ECOS recommendations: Reinforce inclusiveness, Foster collaboration, Timely development and adoption, Fast-track without compromising quality.
EU Circular Economy Act. Over 50 organisations are calling for the EU Circular Economy Act to be built on a dual legal basis so that it addresses both market harmonisation and environmental protection.
EU Circular Economy Act. Over 50 organisations are calling for the EU Circular Economy Act to be built on a dual legal basis so that it addresses both market harmonisation and environmental protection.
Call for experts: Bioeconomy and nature. We are seeking experts in fields related to bioeconomy and nature, such as forestry or agriculture - including food/feed, bioenergy, or biomaterials. Deadline: 1 February 2026
Title: Standards can deliver for the environment Text: A climate neutral, resilient, and circular economy will not happen without standards developed in an inclusive way. ECOS provides the necessary environmental expertise to create a level playing field for truly environmentally friendly solutions. #WorldStandardsDay www.ecostandard.org
Have you ever wondered... - how the energy consumption of your fridge is measured? - why every office printer uses A4 paper? #WorldStandardsDay www.ecostandard.org
Mathieu Rama, Senior Programme Manager at ECOS, said: "Microsoft hitting the snooze button by offering an extra year of Windows 10 updates to a limited group of consumers should not put us back to sleep. We need real solutions: stronger rules on software obsolescence to stop wasting precious resources - and at least fifteen years of security updates for all digital products."
Samy Portern, Senior Programme Manager at ECOS: "Nature sustains our economy and it is the basis of human well-being. With ISO 17298 businesses can now look at their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity through the familiar lens of ISO standards."