The EU-funded SwitchMed programme has held an awareness raising event and a generic training session on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), preparing industries in Tunisia on what might become a reality for Tunisian companies, exporting green labeled products in the EU.

Under the premise of the “Single Market for Green Products Initiative”, the European Commission supports the development of a single metric for a single market to measure and make available, reliable and relevant information on the environmental footprint of products consistently, thus, ensuring a fair competition.

The EU’s PEF framework is now in its final stages and the resulting policies could affect the ability of Tunisian companies exporting green labeled products to the EU.

For businesses in Tunisia, the EU single market is one of the most important trading partners with huge export potential. Knowing which rules and regulations apply to the EU single market is not only essential in gaining access, but also critical in order to compete on equal terms with other competitors.

Recognising the potential impact of the Single Market for Green Products Initiative on Tunisian producers, SwitchMed, under the lead of UNIDO, organised the awareness raising event and training session.

Additionally, UNIDO, together with local experts, will conduct a pilot study in the olive oil production company Huilerie Loued, and the pasta manufacturer Pates Warda, both representing highly relevant sectors in the economic context of Tunisia’s export to the EU, to assess the impacts and preparedness of a future potential regulatory framework at a company level.

SwitchMed sustainable consumption and production programme aims to promote a switch by the Mediterranean economies towards sustainable consumption and production patterns and green economy, including low-emission development, through demonstration and dissemination of methods that improve resource and energy efficiency. It also seeks to minimise the environmental impacts associated with the life cycle of products and services and, where possible, to promote renewable energy.

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Press release

SwitchMed website