Freshfel introduces unified environmental guidelines for the fruit and vegetable sector

The European Fresh Produce Association (Freshfel) has published its standardized Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules for Fresh Produce (FreshProducePEFCR). The report serves as a roadmap for measuring environmental footprints across the fruit and vegetable industries. 

The goal is to help stakeholders align with EU sustainability goals and respond to growing demands for transparency from supply chains and consumers. The organization is now taking steps to implement these guidelines across the industry.

FreshProducePEFCR, born out of Freshfel’s Environmental Footprint Initiative

Launched in 2022, the Environmental Footprint Initiative set out to create a fresh approach to measuring the produce industry’s impact, including a robust database and industry-approved tools.

According to Freshfel, the methodology uses a holistic approach with 16 indicators to measure a product’s environmental impact, spanning water use, land use, and other factors.

By the end of 2025, technical teams wrapped up the talks in two specialized workshops on energy allocation for Combined Heat and Power systems, ensuring the methodology relies on the most accurate and effective models to minimize environmental impact.

Experts, growers, and stakeholders reached consensus that exergy allocation most effectively reflects environmental impact and encourages growers to embrace more sustainable practices.

Exergy heat allocation is the distribution of energy flows among different outputs, components, or users within a thermal system.

With the development phase drawing to a close, Freshfel announces that FreshProducePEFCR is ready for the next stage: adoption and implementation by businesses across the fresh produce sector.

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