Background Many small- and medium-size companies in Europe operate within a business culture that does not consider the environment as part of a medium- and long-term development strategy. Incorporating environmental factors into these industries invariably arises as a result of pressure from relevant authorities. Environmental legislation, however, is not widely adhered to by the footwear sector. It is thus not realistic to assume that the sector is going to suddenly initiate a compliance drive. Any modification of the prevailing culture requires decisive action. The application of different awareness strategies and the launching of initiatives to facilitate compliance and to make businesses aware of the consequences of non-compliance with environmental legislation are highly necessary. Objectives The ShoeLAW project’s main objective was to develop an e-platform for environmental self-diagnosis aimed at footwear companies in five European countries: Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. These countries account for 90% of the European footwear sector. The e-platform would then be extended to other EU countries. The target for the project was for 50 companies to carry out diagnoses using the platform with subsequent reductions in their environmental impacts. In order to create such a platform, the project planned to promote compliance with environmental legislation among European footwear companies and to improve the environmental standards of European footwear companies in general. The project would also disseminate the use of the e-platform among European footwear companies along with information on environmental legislation. Results The ShoeLAW project developed a legislative self-diagnosis tool aimed at footwear companies within five EU member states: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Slovenia. The creation of this tool has helped promote compliance and effective enforcement of environmental regulations among European footwear companies. To this end, the project launched an ‘Environmental Legislation among European Footwear Industries (ShoeLAW)’, with the objective of developing an on-line legislative and environmental diagnosis tool that allows companies to know about and improve their compliance with environmental law. The ShoeLAW tool helps footwear companies gain access to the legislation in force, presenting all the applicable legal requirements in an accessible language that aids understanding. This feature, together with the tool’s easy-to-use design, helps companies perform the diagnoses themselves. The tool also advises companies on how to meet the requirements. After completing the environmental questionnaire, companies can generate a report on the results. In this way, they can obtain straightforward information about their environmental performance. The European dimension of the ShoeLAW platform represents a real advance on existing systems that operate only on a national and regional level. Another advantage of the platform is its customised alert system that is specific to each company, allowing for quick and effective environmental updating. The system enables businesses to carry out self-diagnoses on areas of particular interest to them. Furthermore, the platform’s statistics display provides companies with first-hand knowledge of their situations after the self-diagnosis in comparison with other footwear industries, not only at regional or national level, but also with regards to the other European countries participating in the e-platform. The ShoeLAW e-platform was created in such a way that it can be extended to other industrial sectors, such as the leather and textile industries, as well as to other countries. The platform has already generated a great deal of interest both inside the EU and farther afield (Chile, India and Mexico). For the present time, the platform remains free to member companies, but it will be incorporated into other countries willing to join. It will also continue to be disseminated at events organised by research centres that are members of the platform. The ShoeLAW website will remain a source information about the platform. Compliance with environmental regulations implies a reduction in atmospheric and water contamination, as well as a reduction in noise, leading to a decrease in health problems linked to environmental factors (e.g. asthma, allergies, dermatitis, poisoning, autoimmune diseases, stress and sleep disorders). The project thus had a clear positive social impact. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).