Sustainability Consortium and Product Environmental Footprint World Forum to Collaborate

Berlin, German – The Sustainability Consortium and the Product Environmental Footprint World Forum are joining forces for the first time for a combined summit meeting, providing members and attendees from corporations, NGOs, governments and civil society organizations a unique opportunity to network and collaborate on shared solutions to the issues of product sustainability. This cooperative meeting is reflective of a larger alignment between the two organizations, with TSC committed to contributing to, learning from, incorporating and collaborating with the PEF World Forum, a program focused on convening stakeholders in the development of the European Commission Product Environmental Footprint program.

The combined event encompasses the second PEF World Summit and the third TSC Member Summit. All events take place from Tuesday, Sept. 30, to Thursday, Oct. 2, at Kalkscheune, a “green” event space in the heart of Berlin, Germany. This is the first European site for a TSC Member Summit. The joint PEF World Forum/TSC Plenary Day is scheduled for Oct. 1, with additional PEF World Forum sessions available to TSC members on October 2.

A small selection of the speakers and panelists include Karen Hamilton, vice president, sustainability for Unilever; Michele Galatola, European Commission, DG Environment leading the Environmental Footprint project; Ulf Jaeckel,responsible for products at the German ministry for environment and co-leading UNEPs Consumer Information Programme; and representatives from companies such as Ahold, AkzoNobel, BASF, Hewlett-Packard, Mars, Marks & Spencer, Nestlé Waters, Procter & Gamble and Walmart.  Also participating in the events, including the TSC Working Group sessions, are organizations such as Carbon Disclosure Project , Cotton Incorporated, Environmental Defence Fund, World Animal Protection and Solidaridad. Sheila Bonini, who in early September joined TSC as CEO after a long career at McKinsey & Co., will also speak.

Some of the topics to be addressed include:

• EU Environmental Footprint Initiative Update and Outcomes
• Identification and Management of Environmental and Social Hotspots in Supply Chains
• Making Biodiversity Relevant to Business
• A Conversation with TSC Key Retailers
• Environmental Policy Options and Self-regulation
• Trade implications of environmental footprinting
• Open Workshop of the Consumer Information Lab
• Product LCA guidelines for the chemical sector
• Implementation of TSC products and services

To review the full agenda and details on the TSC Member Summit, click here or visit www.sustainabilityconsortium.org/membersummit. To learn more about the PEF World Forum, click here or visit: www.pef-world-forum.org/

The Consumer Product Sustainability Mission

Product sustainability is a complex global issue with wide-reaching implications for business, consumers, society and the planet. Both PEF World Forum and TSC are working within their spheres of influence to drive and expedite the sustainability journey across multiple sectors, issues and geographies. Each organization operates on different but complementary tracks in the effort, with a focus on alignment and harmonization.

Assessing, improving, and communicating the sustainability of products remains one of the core challenges for industry, retailers, and consumers. The integration of meaningful and practical key sustainability indicators into existing business processes is the enabling breakthrough objective in mainstreaming sustainability in global supply chains. The EU Environmental Footprint process is regarded as having the potential to cater such a goal. The mission of the PEF World Forum is to enable businesses to follow and contribute to important international processes like EU PEF and other initiatives. PEF World Forum delivers a neutral platform to bring together relevant stakeholders to jointly work on practical solutions of implementing and communicating product sustainability, while also directly engaging with businesses in pathfinder projects or as a member of international harmonisation and pilot processes.

The mission of TSC is to develop science-based, stakeholder-informed tools, methodologies, and strategies for driving consumer product sustainability and business value, including environmental, social and economic impact. The TSC knowledge base and research tools, built through stakeholder collaboration, currently address more than 1,000 consumer products categories across sectors. During the Member Summit, representatives of many of the 100 TSC member organizations will participate in Working Group Meetings and general sessions to outline future priorities and projects and expedite implementation of tools and strategies.

About the Product Environmental Footprint World Forum

The PEF World Forum – formerly known as PCF World Forum – is a neutral platform for companies and their stakeholders to reflect and act on challenges, practical experiences, initiatives, tools and insights towards climate-conscious and environmentally sound value chains. The PEF World Forum is a network of international organisations and an enabler for new collaborations, projects and ideas. Founded in 2009, the PEF World Forum has become the world's leading network in carbon and environmental footprinting, attracting more than 1.000 delegates from over 40 countries in recent PEF summits, workshops and conferences. The PEF World Forum is operated by Berlin based think-do-tank THEMA1. More information, go to www.pef-world-forum.org.

About The Sustainability Consortium

The Sustainability Consortium is a global organization operating at the dynamic intersection of science and business to drive consumer product sustainability, with diverse participants working collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that advances innovation. TSC develops transparent methodologies, tools and strategies for a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social and economic imperatives. Based in science and focused on impact, TSC advocates for a credible, scalable and transparent process and system. The Sustainability Consortium is comprised of 100 members, including NGOs, civil society and corporations from all corners of business. 

The Sustainability Consortium is jointly administered by Arizona State University and the University of Arkansas, with additional operations at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and Nanjing University in China. More information: www.sustainabilityconsortium.org