The Sustainable Consumption Pledge (SCP) is a voluntary initiative of the European Commission through which companies active in the EU market publicly commit to go beyond legal requirements on sustainable consumption and production. Its logic is straightforward: a company sets measurable targets, publishes them, and once a year discloses progress transparently. That gives consumers, partners and regulators a clear view of what has been promised and to what extent the promise has turned into results. The initiative stems from the New Consumer Agenda and follows the Green Consumption Pledge pilot, but its scope is broader and ties climate action, circularity and the social dimension more coherently.
How it works and what it covers
By joining SCP a company undertakes to calculate and reduce its own carbon footprint and to communicate targets and methodology publicly. In addition, it chooses at least one extra area of commitment: broader environmental footprint (for example impacts on water, air and resources), circularity (recyclability, recycled content, reducing waste and energy) or social sustainability across the supply chain. In all cases the emphasis is on measurability, methodological clarity and regular, annual reporting. SCP does not replace regulation such as PPWR or national EPR rules; it encourages those willing to move faster and further — with public verifiability.
Why it matters for packaging (and the role of the EU Ecolabel)
Packaging is where climate impacts, circularity and consumer information are most immediately visible. Progress typically comes from switching to mono-material structures where feasible, carefully selecting barriers and adhesives to ensure real-world recyclability, increasing recycled content while complying with food-contact rules, and reducing weight and volume to cut logistics impacts. Transparency to shoppers is reinforced through 2D codes (e.g., GS1 Digital Link) that lead to public pages with composition, disposal guidance and methodological notes. The Commission explicitly links SCP with the EU Ecolabel: wherever categories are covered by its criteria, the label serves as third-party proof that commitments are real, measurable and comparable over time.