Analysing the interface between chemicals, products and waste legislation: European engineering industries’ suggestions on how to move forward.

Published: 7 July 2017

Policies & Issues: Environment

Orgalime welcomes the possibility to comment on the Roadmap “Analysis of the interface between chemicals, products and waste legislation and identification of policy options”.


The sector considers this initiative both, timely and highly relevant, as European engineering industries have been investing over decades into developing and manufacturing plenty of different technological solutions to societal challenges, including resource efficiency, energy efficiency, water quality and efficiency, air quality, waste and waste water collection, sorting or treatment technologies, or more circularity. We not only offer solutions to maintain the value of products, materials or resources in the economy for longer and minimise waste generation, such as through repair, remanufacturing or refurbishment of appliances and systems by Original Equipment Manufacturers and/or accredited centres. We attach great emphasis to continuously reducing resource input into companies’ own processes and products, as the most resource efficient solution is the one that does more with the same or with less. The activities of our companies in the EU provide direct jobs to some 11 million Europeans and, with the ongoing digitisation of industry as the key driver of growth, we expect a further boost of simultaneously improving productivity, energy, water, resource and cost efficiency through technology manufactured in Europe for the world.


As a global industry with many European technology champions, we compete through quality, innovation and skills: Easy access to competitive, affordable and quality raw materials that satisfy technological needs is an essential prerequisite for our industries’ competitiveness and innovation capacities, as much in a linear as in a Circular Economy.


In its resource and Circular Economy activities, our sector encounters a number of important barriers. These are mostly regulatory (as we specify further in this paper), partly economic (notably consumer demand, attitude, (un)willingness to pay or inappropriate consumer behaviour during use or waste phase), partly practical, but rarely technical, which we would be pleased to see resolved by the current initiative.

Authors

Linher
Sigrid Linher
Director - Energy, Climate & Environment
Mittelham
Stéphanie Mittelham
Manager - Green Transition

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