Sustainable Consumption Pledge

Companies publish their progress in meeting their pledge commitments at least once a year.

Companies publish their progress in meeting their pledge commitments at least once a year.

The Commission is inviting companies to take a voluntary pledge to support sustainable consumption, beyond what is required by law.

This initiative is part of the New Consumer Agenda. A pilot was launched in January 2021, and several companies (including small businesses) have already taken the pledge.

By taking the pledge, your company commits to the first point below and at least one of the others:

1. identify your carbon footprint and reduce it by setting targets that can be measured and checked in the coming years
2. identify your environmental footprint (which relates to other environmental indicators, such as impacts related to water, air, resources, land use and toxicity) and reduce it (e.g. through registering your company with the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), awarding your products with the EU Ecolabel, or increasing the visibility of EU Ecolabel products)
3. increase ‘circularity’ in your activities  (e.g. use more recycled or sustainably-sourced material, generate less waste, lower energy consumption in production processes)
4. respect social sustainability across your company’s supply chain (e.g. describe internal processes that ensure sustainable production, register your products with recognised labels)

The guidelines on how to apply give more details on the commitments when taking the pledge.

1. Read carefully these guidelines and its Annex. Select the best fitting criteria(s) for your business and draft a pledge proposal (you may draw inspiration from the pledges already published, see below). 
2. You can apply at any time via the online form or by sending your company pledge to JUST-SCPec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JUST-SCP[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) ,
3. Your pledge application will be reviewed thoroughly by the Commission services to make sure it corresponds to the pledge criteria. After reviewing your application, the Commission will contact you and inform you if your pledge is selected or if elements need to be adapted for the pledge to be selected/finalised . 
4. After receiving confirmation that your company’s pledge has been selected:
   -The Commission will publish your pledge on its website and announce it on its social media channels,  
   - The Commission will provide a communication toolkit (including visuals) for your company to communicate on its own terms,
   - A year after publication, and at least once each year from then on, you must publish your progress in meeting your company commitments.

Apply now! 

Business-to-consumer companies of all sizes that manufacture non-food products or provide services (including retailers) may apply. Business-to-business companies may also do so, clearly stating in their application how their company’s commitments impact sustainable consumption and production.

They need to be either based in the EU or able to show significant activity in the EU.

Food companies are encouraged to join the Code of Conduct for responsible business and marketing practices.

Apply now!

The Pilot phase of the Pledge (“Green Consumption Pledge”) was launched in January 2021; it focused on carbon emissions identification and reduction, and led to the selection of 11 pledging companies, announced as part of two events:

25 January 2021: Pilot phase launch event

10 June 2021: 6 additional companies take the pledge

The Pledge then evolved to keep the focus on carbon footprint identification and reduction, and to also call companies to commit to other aspects of sustainability. Hence its change of name to "Sustainable Consumption Pledge". 

The Pledge speeds up businesses’ contribution to the European Green Deal and complements upcoming laws on sustainable production, consumption and corporate governance. It also complements other voluntary sustainability initiatives:

European Climate Pact - the Climate Pact is a movement that allows people, communities, cities and organisations to participate in action to tackle climate change across Europe. Part of the European Green Deal, it offers the opportunity to share information, debate and start change.

EU Green Digital Coalition - this is a group of ICT companies committed to supporting the green and digital transformation of the EU.

EU Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact – for data centre operators.