Background Integrated Product Policy (IPP) has become an important topic for the EU. All products and services have an environmental impact, and IPP attempts to bring together different strands of legislation to better contribute to sustainable development goals and better integrate environmental considerations into other policy areas. Greener products mean better conservation of energy and natural resources, and less waste and pollution. Better information on green products and suppliers could help change production practices. Cultural change within organisations and a more environmentally friendly orientation are also needed. Objectives The main aim of the StartIPP project was to initiate the implementation of the IPP in Portugal and in Greece. This was to be achieved through the development of a set of methodologies that allow the integration of environmental considerations during the lifecycle of products and services, in Mediterranean countries, as well as the practical application of IPP instruments in which there is low experience. The project would initiate an IPP approach in Greece and Portugal by: Promoting the communication on IPP for achieving greater results at EU level. Developing a methodology for identifying strategically important products for IPP. Test methodologies at pilot scale in industrial SMEs. Improve information flow between key stakeholders. Create a basis for extension of StartIPP to other EU countries. Prepare foundations for national studies on products. Develop country studies on IPP. Propose IPP strategy at national level. Results The project successfully achieved its objectives. StartIPP carried out an assessment of the status of the implementation of the IPP in Europe, as well as national studies in Portugal and Greece, with the goal of identifying the priority products/services for the IPP. These were for Portugal: food & beverages, transportation, energy, housing, equipment, forest, textiles and tourism; and for Greece: food industry, fuels, chemicals, construction, communication equipment and tourism. The next step was to improve their potential through the application of three different methodologies allowing the integration of environmental considerations into the life cycle of products and services and a comparison of the results obtained. A compilation of lifecycle assessment (LCA) studies was also carried out for the products that have potential for IPP in Portugal and in Greece, identifying the lifecycle stages with the greatest impacts.Another important result was the development of an IPP Toolbox tool, which finds synergies between the IPP instruments and identifies the most feasible for a given organisation, product or service. It addresses all the relevant information about the following IPP instruments: Ecodesign, cleaner production, EMAS, environmental labels, environmental product declaration, green procurement, sustainability reports and self-declared environmental claims. The IPP Toolbox and the practical application of the IPP instruments were tested in pilot projects in three Portuguese companies and one Greek company. As a follow-up the project produced an IPP Information & Training Package to complement the IPP Toolbox. It aims to guide organisations (public and private) in the implementation of IPP, allowing them to take informed decisions. The project also drew up a proposal for national IPP action plans in Portugal and Greece, and produced a CD-Rom containing the results of the project. The methodologies and tools developed in the scope of the project can easily be transferred to other countries. This project has been selected as one of the 17 "Best" LIFE Environment projects in 2008-2009.