Green industry: six months to build the "Triple E"

A jungle, a mess, a forest... The words of Industry Minister Roland Lescure, who came to launch the "Triple E" standard on Thursday, July 20, 2023, in Bercy, gave an idea of the confusion that reigns in the French economic landscape between standards, labels, indicators, certifications, etc. Companies may feel that they are accumulating "green" accolades and investing heavily for a return on investment that ultimately remains unclear. Not to mention the planet, which is paying a high price for this cacophony.

So, to clear the way and enable French manufacturers to make the environmental shift without disregarding existing ecological progress initiatives that everyone is familiar with, such as the famous ISO 14001 standard, the government has entrusted AFNOR with the task of developing the Triple E standard, an "umbrella" that will bring both "clarity and excellence," according to Roland Lescure. This request is part of the green industry bill sponsored by Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, with a deliverable expected in 2024. "The environmental transition is no longer a constraint, but an opportunity for companies to retain their talent, investors, and competitiveness," added Roland Lescure. "Triple E will give us direction. And this umbrella, [which will initially be] blue, white, and red, will very quickly become European."

Triple E: SMEs and mid-sized companies welcome at the standardization table

The Triple E standard will list criteria enabling manufacturers to claim European environmental excellence and apply for the associated recognition mark (label or certification).

This is where voluntary standardization comes in: what could be better than AFNOR's normative engineering, with its 21,000 professionals involved in standardization committees, to create this reference framework? We are talking here about voluntary standards, documents listing best practices that are quite distinct from regulations, which are mandatory.

The work must be efficient and focused: the goal is to launch Triple E within six months. To achieve this, there are no secrets: we must unite. We must bring together manufacturers and associations of all sizes, from all sectors and at all levels of maturity.

Marie Bonnet-Jacqui, inspector with the General Inspectorate for the Environment and Sustainable Development (IGEDD), has agreed to chair the new AFNOR commission. Aware that she is taking on a mammoth task, she pointed out that nothing is more complicated than keeping things simple. "Especially when you start from a very dense existing base. But Triple E will be the label for manufacturers. It will not focus on products but on processes. It will provide a guarantee to public and private buyers, assuring them of the environmental excellence of their suppliers. To microbusinesses and SMEs, I say don't be intimidated by the presence of large firms and large groups. Come along; I will ensure that the balance is respected," she said at the meeting on July 20. You can get in touch here (requires a Norminfo account).

Triple E: an equivalence grid with existing reference systems

The content of the reference framework will necessarily address carbon. On this point, Bruno Millienne, representative for Yvelines, who spearheaded the project during the consultation prior to the parliamentary shuttle, pointed out that France has the most decarbonized energy mix in Europe, along with Sweden and Finland. "We are in the lead, but we are not capitalizing on this position. Triple E will give us the opportunity to gather the best standards, explore some 30 existing texts, and consolidate them into a single standard that, in the medium term, should appeal to other European Union countries. " Above all, it will become a marker of choice for signaling ecological efforts to lenders wishing to green their investments and to public buyers encouraged to buy green, local, circular, and decarbonized products.

Franck Lebeugle, Director of Standardization Activities at AFNOR, emphasized that the project should be viewed as an "umbrella standard" encompassing issues addressed by existing, internationally recognized voluntary standards, such as ISO 14001 on environmental management, ISO 50001 on energy management, and others on life cycle, greenhouse gas emissions, the circular economy, and biodiversity. Added to this is a "made in France" angle, which should make Triple E a guarantee of territorial attractiveness for local authorities hosting companies committed to this approach to excellence. "This standard will operate on the basis of eco-equivalence with existing environmental systems: players who already have one of the corresponding certifications will be able to be recognized as 'Triple E' by verifying this equivalence," explains Lina Ismail, who is coordinating the project for AFNOR.

The dates for the next meetings of this new commission have been announced: August 29, September 12, September 28, and October 10, 2023. Do you work in manufacturing or the extractive industry? Are you involved in the banking sector and responsible for financing companies committed to ecological transition? Are you a strategy director or sustainable development manager? Then you have a say in drafting the standard!