European Economic
and Social Committee
Companies using renewable and fossil raw materials BASF (Germany), Cargill Dow (USA), Novamont (Italy), Rodenburg Biopolymers (Netherlands) and supporting EU federations IBAW, PlasticsEurope ERRMA
Summary of the initiative
Name
Companies using renewable and fossil raw materials BASF (Germany), Cargill Dow (USA), Novamont (Italy), Rodenburg Biopolymers (Netherlands) and supporting EU federations IBAW, PlasticsEurope ERRMA
Objective(s)
Negotiated among companies using renewable as well as fossil raw materials, the unilateral self-commitment foresees to set up a certification and labelling scheme. Participating manufacturers commit to: submit their products to extensive tests for the verification of their compostability by approved test laboratories in accordance with recognised test methods described in EN 13432. DIN CERTCO selects and approves competent test laboratories; submit their packaging materials and products for certification by an independent certification body (DIN CERTCO in Germany and IBAW); and label their packaging products with a specific symbol to inform consumers, retailers and other interested stakeholders. DG ENTR played a facilitating role through its informal working group on renewable raw materials for industry. But this Environmental Agreement (EA) is not a response by stakeholders to pending legislation nor was it initiated by the Commission. Commission services however acknowledged the existence of the EA by an exchange of letters with the industry concerned. Current developments: The former EU-ERRMA-WG has been integrated into the Sustainable Chemistry European Technology Platform (SusChem). This also changed its chair from a Commission representative (DG Enterprise) to the Secretary of ERRMA thus making it solely industry based. <A href="http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/policy-integration/voluntary-approaches/polymer-products/index_en.htm">http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/policy-integration/voluntary-approaches/polymer-products/index_en.htm</A>
Description of the Initiative
Sector
Sector
Self/Co-Regulation Basic Act
Self/Co-Regulation Basic Act
PRIVATE ACT
Year
2004
Title of Act
Unilateral Industry self-commitment concerning biodegradable and compostable polymer products
Review, Revision or Sunset Clause Year
2014
NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT
Year
2005
Title of Act
Letter of acknowledgment by the Commission (DG ENTR)
Geographical Coverage
Description
Description
Problems that lead to the introduction of Self/Co-Regulation and the adoption of the Founding Act
-
Target Group(s)
-
Type of Instrument(s)
Unilateral Industry self-commitment
Level(s) at which private rules should be defined and applied
Type of Financing
Entirely private financing
Type of Monitoring
| Conduct an initial survey of compliance capacity of future regulatees | Conduct regular visits and spot checks | Initiate complaints procedures | Maintain database of those bounded by the norms | Produce regular reports | Receive complaints and verify if norms were breached or not | Reflexive dialogue with the - stakeholders | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Commission | ||||||||
| National public authority | ||||||||
| International public authority | ||||||||
| Private regulator (code owner) | yes | yes | ||||||
| Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors) | yes | yes | yes | |||||
| Self-appointed private parties (e.g. NGOs) |
Succinct description of the type of Monitoring
Independent private regulators with a mandate = the certificate issuers. The industry and industry associations also monitor compliance. The monitoring is carried out under the supervision of IBAW (International Biodegradable Polymers Association) and DIN CERTCO. All certification institutes (EA accredited, the European Co-operation for Accreditation and the European network of the certification of compostability) are involved. IBAW together with DIN CERTCO act as the coordinator. IBAW collaborates with DIN CERTCO and other EU certification bodies performing certification based on EN 13432. IBAW/DIN CERTCO act as the coordinator with the EU network of 13432 certification and collect relevant information for the monitoring. Progress is assessed every 2 years. Information to be supplied to the European Commission will relate to the number of companies involved and the volumes of certified materials and products produced.
Type of Enforcement
| Faming, shaming and blaming | Judicial sanctions | Membership suspension/exclusion | Private fines | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private Regulator | |||||
| Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors) | yes | ||||
| Court system | |||||
| Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) / Online dispute resolution (ODR) |
Succinct description of the type of Enforcement
-
Results of Commission Monitoring
Year of last Monitoring Results
2006
Link / Reference of Evaluation
-
Downloads
SMO self- and co-regulation database - private code 23