What is the EU Green Deal?
A set of policies that the EU has launched in 2019 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to create a resource-efficient economy, with the objective of becoming climate neutral by 2050.
What are the key policies?
- Climate Law: set of legislative proposals to achieve net-zero carbon by 2050 and half emissions by 20230.
- Farm to Fork Strategy: Reduce the EU food system’s environmental and climate footprint by promoting biodiversity.
- Circular Economy Action Plan: Eliminate waste and reduce the use of natural resources by design across the product lifecycle.
- Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): setting mandatory reporting standards.
- All other policies and initiatives: Here you can access the European Commission – Green Deal timeline and the European Council and Council of the EU – Green Deal & Fit for 55 with all key policies and initiatives from 2019 until today.
What is the ask to businesses?
- Carbon reduction and energy measures: monitor carbon pricing rules, carbon leakage using carbon taxes, climate-neutral investments. Reduce supply chain emissions and renovating requirements for energy performance among other measures.
- Consumer Information: provide transparent and credible information, including data on product labels, and marketing claims. All businesses will need to adopt standardised methods to measure impacts, disclose progress, and meet the requirements.
- Packaging & Materials: choose alternative materials to reduce climate and pollution footprint across the lifecycle.
- Supply Chains & Traceability: make products traceable across the supply chain. Additionally, eliminate waste by design (less packing and waste), certify practices, and use shared methodologies to trace the lifecycle.
- Chemicals & biodiversity: adopt the restrictions on the type and amounts of fertilised and pesticides in agriculture. Eliminate chemicals in materials, and transition to sustainable textiles.
- Corporate Governance & Reporting: manage sustainability-related matters as part of their governance strategies. In addition, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will establish sector-specific, SME, and non-EU companies’ reporting standards.
- Trade: adapt to new trade dynamics impacting imports and exports of goods. Furthermore, sustainability requirements will be key within the EU and globally.
- Sector-specific requirements. A deep dive into the EU Green deal initiatives to learn how your company will be affected can be found in the EU official website: European Commission – Green Deal.
Sources:
The EU Green Deal – How will it impact my business?
Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits
EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
European Council and Council of the EU – Green Deal & Fit for 55