Presenting the Cosmos Sustainability Label to the European Commission's STM Subgroup

On 13 March 2026, Cosmos for Humanity took part in the second meeting of STM Subgroup 3 on regulatory aspects, the European Commission's working group on Space Traffic Management chaired by DG DEFIS. The subgroup brings together EU Member States, industry associations, standardisation bodies and academic experts shaping Europe's future approach to managing traffic in orbit.

As Europe builds this framework, one question runs through the work: how do you build sustainability into the way space traffic is managed?

We presented the Cosmos Sustainability Label, developed with the technical support of the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES). The label assesses the sustainability performance of companies across the entire space value chain. At its core is the Outer Space Footprint, a framework that measures the environmental impact of space activities across several dimensions, from industrial production and launch through to satellite operations and ground infrastructure.

Cosmos Sustainability Label

This wide scope is deliberate. Sustainability in space cannot be reduced to debris mitigation alone. It has to account for the full ecosystem that makes space activity possible, on Earth as much as in orbit. As Europe develops its STM framework, credible and transparent sustainability indicators can play a real part in supporting responsible operations.

We thank the European Commission and the EU Space team for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion.