Trade-offs in the collaborative design of a B2B eco-label for the European railway sector

As the European railway sector is committed to improving its sustainability, a consortium of railway organizations for the European Union is working on the development of an eco-label for the sector. This paper explores the design choices that present themselves during the co-design of this label, which aims to track improvements, communicate and share, and push suppliers to improve with respect to the three indicators: GHG/CO2 emissions, circularity, and energy efficiency. The findings highlight the inherent trade-offs in the design of an eco-label and discuss ways to improve the intuitive understanding of these trade-offs within the context of co-design.