The Eco Index uses environmental guidelines, environmental performance indicators, and environmental footprint metrics to assess the impacts within six product life cycle stages: Materials; Packaging; Product Manufacturing and Assembly; Transport and Distribution; Use and Service; and End of Life. A comparative scoring system at the indicator level provides standardized levels of achievement; a data capture tool at the metric level provides a means to collect quantitative data within seven critical “Lenses” (areas of impact): Land Use Intensity, Water, Waste, Biodiversity, Chemistry/Toxics – People, Chemistry/Toxics – Environment, and Energy Use/Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Designed for use by a diverse group of stakeholders from product designers to suppliers, the Eco Index framework is modular, allowing implementation of the tool within the life cycle stages and level of detail appropriate for each company. At present, the Eco Index does not provide a final score or ranking for finished products. However, this may be incorporated as the index undergoes further development. The Eco Index is being built around five guiding principles that separate it from other environmental assessment tools:

• Collaboration. The Eco Index is the result of thousands of hours of work by more than 100 companies in the outdoor industry.
• Open-Source Information. The Eco Index is completely open-source and available for use by all companies, reflecting the industry’s belief that true transparency is essential to “move the needle” on sustainability.
• Transparency. It is critical that all outdoor industry stakeholders are able to view, understand, and provide input into the ongoing development of the Eco Index.
• Scalability. While the Eco Index is rooted in the outdoor industry, its structure is such that it has the ability to be applied within other industries and sectors.
• Global Reach: The Outdoor Industry Association has partnered with the European Outdoor Group on the Eco Index initiative to ensure a common worldwide sustainability tool for the outdoor industry.

The Eco Index is currently an internal supply chain tool and is not a consumer-facing label.