Since 2013, the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs) have provided comparable, economy-wide evidence on countries’ trade facilitation frameworks, covering both regulatory settings and implementation in practice (OECD, 2025[1]). This long-standing measurement framework has helped identify how policies and procedures at the border can reduce trade costs, improve predictability and support more efficient participation in international trade. At the same time, the policy environment in which trade facilitation operates is becoming more complex. A growing number of environment-related regulations are introducing new information, documentation and verification requirements across product lifecycles. These requirements are increasingly linked not only to environmental objectives, but also to strategic traceability issues, supply chain resilience and the effective management of trade costs.
Against this backdrop, the development of environment-related TFIs (env-TFIs) builds on the existing OECD TFI framework to examine where trade facilitation tools can support the implementation of environment-related requirements in efficient, transparent and non-discriminatory ways. The proposed env-TFIs aim to identify how border processes, information flows, documentation practices, Single Window systems, risk management and inter-agency co-operation can contribute to reliable and cost-effective traceability across product lifecycles. This work also builds on recent OECD analysis on paperless trade and digitalisation (OECD, 2025[2]), non-tariff measures affecting environmental goods (Moisé and Tresa, 2023[3]; Moisé and Tresa, 2025[4]), and the trade facilitation implications of carbon-intensity requirements (OECD, 2026[5]). Together, these strands point to the need for a more systematic understanding of how trade facilitation policies can help governments pursue environmental objectives while limiting unnecessary frictions for traders and preserving the efficiency of cross-border processes.
The policy paper is structured as follows. Section 2 introduces the env-TFIs through the lens of the product lifecycle framework, explaining its relevance for analysing environmental-related traceability from a trade facilitation perspective. It discusses the scope, interpretation and caveats of env-TFIs. Section 3 then maps the border challenges associated with the product lifecycle segments identified and outlines the env-TFIs categories of measures. Section 4 presents key emerging insights and implications on the role of trade facilitation across the different segments – production, use, and end-of-life – drawing on available information compiled across OECD Members’ customs agencies, trade ministries, environmental authorities, and other relevant border agencies’ web portals. Section 5 concludes.1