The Committee was also briefed by international organizations on a number of international environmental initiatives and activities. The European Union provided an update of its voluntary environmental footprint project being developed under the EU Single Market for Green Products Initiative. The three-year pilot phase of the project, covering a broad range of industrial and agriculture products, tests the development of environmental footprint methodologies for products and organizations and examines related verification and communication methods. One of the objectives is to reduce consumer confusion over the proliferation of national 'green' labels and methods used to demonstrate the green credentials of a product or organization.