About ESTC
Learn more about ESTC (EMEA Synthetic Turf Council) and its role in developing PEFCR for synthetic turf.
ESTC - Who are we?
ESTC (EMEA Synthetic Turf Council) is a leading industry organization dedicated to promoting the best practices, standards, and innovation in synthetic turf technology across Europe and beyond. With a focus on excellence and sustainability, ESTC is at the forefront of driving positive change in the synthetic turf industry. ESTC is the voice of the synthetic turf industry in the EMEA region and its objective and purpose is to serve, promote, develop, grow and advocate for the synthetic turf industry. We work in both the sports and landscaping sectors.
What we do
Vision
Leading the evolution of turf, to create healthy & sustainable spaces.
Mission
Our mission is to represent a turf industry which embodies excellence, sustainability, and innovation. Through advocacy, education, and collaboration, we drive responsible practices and evidence-based progress, ensuring the enduring positive influence of turf solutions on communities and the environment.
Why PEF for synthetic turf?
ESTC has been actively involved in developing Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for synthetic turf products.
By establishing these standardized rules, the synthetic turf industry can ensure that environmental assessments are consistent and comparable across different products and companies. This harmonization is crucial for demonstrating the industry’s commitment to sustainability and for meeting the European Commission’s objectives regarding environmental performance.
ESTC’s involvement in creating the PEFCR allows the industry to proactively set its own standards, rather than having them imposed externally. This proactive approach positions the synthetic turf sector ahead of potential future legislation and underscores its dedication to environmental responsibility.
PEFCR confirms ESTC’s commitment to sustainability
Background
Most synthetic turf fields are either located on sites operated by local or regional governments or receive public financial support for the construction costs. Therefore synthetic turf fields typically are bought on basis of public procurement process, awarding the contract to the bidder with the lowest price (provided that the minimum standards are met). As the result, currently environmental aspects are hardly taken into account when buying synthetic turf; and when they are, the information provided by the potential sellers is often in a format that makes direct comparison between options very difficult. With increasing concern about the environmental impact of products generally, ESTC incorporated environmental care into its strategy, by setting industry standards for environmental care for both industry and users. It aims to do this by setting industry standards for environmental care for both industry and end users.
Objective
The main objective for ESTC to get involved in the development of PEF Category Rules for synthetic turf products was to make the comparison of the environmental performance of different synthetic turf systems or components possible. This will help the synthetic turf industry to identify key opportunities to improve environmental performance and will ensure that the environmental impact of synthetic turf will be incorporated in the procurement process by end users.
Process
In 2019 ESTC was selected by the European Commission to develop a PEFCR for synthetic turf within the Environmental Footprint Pilot projects and received funding for the project from the LIFE programme of the European Union.
