COTANCE and industriAll Europe, launched a joint project on 9 April 2026 to deliver the Social and Environmental Report 2026 in Europe. The 20 month initiative will be supported by the European Commission.
The project will update the 2020 edition and reflect the latest regulatory and sustainability changes in the European leather and tanning industry.
It will be carried out with affiliates across 6 EU Member States, covering companies and trade unions including ACEXPIEL (Spain), APIC (Portugal), FFTM (France), MKSZ (Hungary), UNIC- Concerie Italiane (Italy), VDL (Germany).
The study will collect and analyse data from a representative sample of European tanneries and trade unions.
It will track more than 37 social indicators and about 39 environmental parameters to create reliable benchmarks for companies to meet new EU rules including Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) frameworks.
All company data will be anonymised and aggregated at national level before being combined at European level for final conclusions in the SER2026 report.
“With SER2026, we are taking an essential step forward 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.”
– Edoardo De Paola, Secretary General, COTANCE
The project will also include a social dialogue workshop where employers and workers will review key findings.
“The SER2026 project represents a milestone for the European leather sector, reinforcing the importance of social dialogue between workers and employers, advancing sustainability across the entire industry, and ensuring that good quality, secure jobs remain at the heart of our sector’s development.”
– Judith Kirton-Darling, General Secretary, industriAll Europe
The initiative will conclude with a final conference in Brussels where findings will be presented by Cotance and IndustriAll to policymakers, trade unions, stakeholders and industry representatives.
