Green technology or red tape – we can’t have both

Green technology or red tape – we can't have both. Those were the bold words from Orgalim President Javier Ormazabal Echevarria to European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné at a special Council meeting on 30 June.

Council members took part in a roundtable with Séjourné, who spoke about the Commission's strategy for decarbonising the economy and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. He touched on the important role that innovative companies will play, the need to optimise production through the use of AI and to ramp up production in Europe, partly by reforming European public procurement.

After this, attendees toured Schneider's state-of-the-art Le Vaudreuil factory, which provided a useful illustration of the effectiveness of employing advanced manufacturing techniques. The plant produces 40,000 contactors, electrically controlled switches used for remote control or automation of power electrical circuits, per day. Through the clever use of advanced technologies, the site has reduced energy use by 35%, water consumption by 64% and CO2 emissions by 81%.

It is clear that Europe would benefit enormously from integrating advanced manufacturing technologies into factories across the continent. It is time that we fully embraced Industry 4.0 and showed the way towards a cleaner, more competitive industrial future.