Recital 60

(60) The production of critical raw materials at different stages of the value chain causes environmental impacts, whether on climate, water, soil, fauna or flora. In order to limit such damage and incentivise the production of more sustainable critical raw materials, the Commission should be empowered to develop a system for the calculation of the environmental footprint of critical raw materials, including a verification process, to ensure that critical raw materials placed on the Union market publicly display information on such footprint and facilitating circularity of critical raw materials. The system should be based on taking into account scientifically sound assessment methods and relevant international standards in the area of life-cycle assessment. The requirement to declare the environmental footprint of a critical raw material should only apply where it has been concluded, on the basis of a dedicated assessment, that it would contribute to the Union’s climate and environmental objectives by facilitating the procurement of critical raw materials with lower environmental footprint and would not disproportionately affect trade flows and economic costs. When the relevant calculation rules have been adopted, the Commission should develop performance classes for critical raw materials, thereby allowing potential buyers to easily compare the relative environmental footprint of available critical raw materials and driving the market towards more sustainable raw materials. Sellers of critical raw materials should ensure that the environmental footprint declaration is available to their customers. Transparency on the relative footprint of critical raw materials placed on the Union market could also enable other policies at Union and national level, such as incentives or green public procurement criteria, fostering the production of critical raw materials with lower environmental impacts.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-13 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.