sustainability regulation

Nearly all governments around the world remain committed to address climate change, despite recent political upheavals. In the EU, this has led to the introduction and implementation of a wide-ranging set of policies designed to reduce emissions, develop more economic self-reliance and establish a circular economy.

For companies, environmental regulation has complex implications, adding compliance costs but also incentivising operational changes to improve their own efficiency. In the ICT sector, there are also opportunities to deploy digital solutions to help other organisations work in a more environmentally-friendly way.

Our Sustainability service deciphers the complexity of environmental regulation, making it easy to understand how interrelated EU policies affect your organisation. Start your personal demo today and find out what our independent, expert insight could do for you.

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general topics covered

EU environmental policy

Stay up to date on EU environmental policies. Our Sustainability service provides clarity, insight and commentary on the key aspects of the European Green Deal, including the rules to address:

Emissions reduction
Renewable energy and energy efficiency
Ecodesign and critical raw materials
Waste and recycling
Corporate sustainability reporting
Consumer protection

National and international developments

Climate change is a global issue. Our independent reporting and analysis cover major environmental developments on the world stage, including:

IPCC assessments and reports
COP meetings and their outcomes
National environmental targets and policy

The impact on the ICT sector

Emissions from ICT are among the fastest growing across all industrial sectors, in particular due to massive increased demand for data centre capacity. In addition, e-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU. To address these and other challenges, the EU has introduced a number of measures targeted specifically at the ICT sector, while recognising the importance of the digital sector for EU competitiveness. Our ICT sustainability module explores environmental rules and their implications for the ICT sector, covering topics such as:

Environmental impacts of digitisation and innovation
Code of conduct for telecoms networks
Rules and best practices for data centres
Actions taken by telecoms operators, ICT companies, and sectoral regulators
Transparency and reporting rules

The impact on the transport and delivery sector

The transport sector currently accounts for more than 30% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. However, EU actions to address the environmental impact of the sector face a number of challenges, including increasing transport volumes and e-commerce, slower than anticipated take-up of electric vehicles, and stalling public sector transport use. Our transport sustainability module explores environmental rules and their implications for the transport and delivery sector, covering topics such as:

CO2 emission standards for vehicles
Alternative fuels and the related infrastructure
Sustainable and smart mobility
Actions taken by logistics and delivery operators, and by sectoral regulators
Transparency and reporting rules

latest intelligence

BEREC workshop on digital sufficiency – is efficiency enough?

17 September 26 Peter Dunn

The workshop discussed the environmental impacts of digital networks and services, asking whether growth in usage is environmentally sustainable. Some argued that efficiency would not address the growing environmental footprint of the sector and that other measures would be needed to curb and manage growth, meeting society’s needs while preventing over‑consumption. However, others pointed out the relatively low total environmental impact of the digital sector, the efficiency gains made and the potential future contribution that digital tools could make to address climate change.

Glossary of sustainability terms

01 September 26 Peter Dunn

Glossary of sustainability terms

Sustainability Podcast: environmental impact of the postal sector

25 August 26 Emilie Degand

Sustainability podcast on the environmental impact of the postal sector

Explainer: Extended producer responsibility

24 August 26 Bianca Sofian

Extended producer responsibility is an environmental policy tool under which producers bear financial responsibility for managing products when they become waste. Depending on the product stream, that responsibility can include separate collection, transport, treatment, preparation for reuse, recycling, recovery, consumer information, data reporting, litter clean-up, and the operation or financing of take-back systems.

Slow progress for the environmental omnibus files

20 August 26 Bianca Sofian

Two out of the six environmental omnibus files have been discontinued by the Council. These are the files related to the obligation of producers to appoint authorised representatives when they sell products in member states outside their base in relation to their extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Last-mile delivery generates most emissions for parcel delivery in Belgium

11 August 26 Emilie Degand

BIPT published the results of its first collection of sustainability indicators for parcel delivery. Based on 2024 data, the indicators provided an overview of both the emissions generated by parcel deliveries in Belgium and the measures taken by postal operators to reduce their environmental impact.

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upcoming events

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16 > 17 November 26 Brussels, Belgium Masterclass in EU environmental policy, legislation & industry practices

get in touch

For more information about our sustainability service, please contact:

Peter Dunn phone: +32 2 738 72 00 peter.dunn@cullen-international.com