European partners to collect tanneries’ social and environmental data
European leather partners have launched a joint "social dialogue" project aimed at delivering the 2026 Social and Environmental Report of the European Leather Industry (SER2026).
The initiative, supported by the European Commission, will run for 20 months and builds on the 2020 edition of the report, updated to reflect regulatory and sustainability developments.
It will collect data from a sample of European tanneries and trade unions, on around 40 social indicators and environmental parameters to provide benchmarks on performance.
Company data will be anonymised and aggregated at national level before being computed at European level.
Edoardo De Paola, secretary general of European tannery body COTANCE, said: “With SER2026, we are taking an essential step in strengthening transparency, credibility and data-driven decision making for the European leather industry. This report is truly by the industry, and for the industry. It will fill a critical gap where no national, European, or comparable international data exists.”
The initiative will conclude with a conference in Brussels, where the findings of SER2026 will be presented to stakeholders, policymakers, trade unions and industry representatives.
The partners are ACEXPIEL (Spain), APIC (Portugal), FFTM (France), MKSZ (Hungary), UNIC- Concerie Italiane (Italy) and VDL (Germany).
