Page 48 - FINAT Yearbook 2015

UPDATE ON LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS 2014-2015
THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR
THE EUROPEAN LABEL INDUSTRY
The regulatory landscape is always on the move, meaning that vigilance is key to remain on top of current developments. Food labelling saw the most significant changes over the last year, while other areas of interest remained relatively stagnant. At the ISO level, a project to establish specifications for labels and label materials was launched on the initiative of two multinational customers from Sweden. To support the industry in addres- sing legal requirements, FINAT moved forward with a number of joint initiatives in the area of Lifecycle Assess- ment (LCA) and food contact guidance. Alongside VskE, FINAT joined DIN as part of the mirror taskforce to provide the necessary expertise for the development of label procurement specifications.
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HARMONIZED LCA SECTOR APPROACH FOR THE LABEL- LING INDUSTRY
At their ‘Sustainability Summit’ in Tokyo in 2012 the L9, the platform of label associations globally, therefore defined insight in the environmental performance of products of the self-adhesive labelling industry as one of the key challenges for the industry. More and more multinational customers from label producers are asking for metrics to assess the (comparative) environmental footprint of their product as one of the factors to determine the choice of product decoration.
To help members meet this demand, FINAT issued a Request for Proposal to several agencies for a project with the goal to provide an LCA guidance document and roadmap for members, including case studies. Based on the proposals received, PRé Consultancy of The Netherlands was selected. Meanwhile, our North American sister organization TLMI has confirmed their support of the project.
The project kicked off last spring with a joint TLMI/FINAT working group put in place and the consultancy firm formally appointed. The LCA harmonization
project will provide the following deliverables, with the goal of having results available by Labelexpo 2015:
1. General document explaining the basics of the LCA methodology and its applications;
2. A document with an overview of the practice in LCA relevant to the self-adhesive industry;
3. Guidance document with harmonized LCA approach for the self-adhesive label industry and overview of available tools;
4. Two case studies illustrating the application of LCA in the industry;
FINAT YEARBOOK 2015 |