POLICY AND ADVOCACY The role of Landbell Group’s Market Intelligence & Governmental Affairs team is to contribute our unique pan-European and operational experience to the political discussion and to secure the most positive outcomes and opportunities for the environment and the economy.
Dr Thomas Fischer Head of Market Intelligence and Governmental Affairs
We gather feedback from our customers, stay aligned with related European industry associations, and keep up to date with legal changes and other stakeholder positions. Also, in 2020, we actively engaged on key European Union policy developments and supported our colleagues in 14 European countries with local policy changes.
EU policies We contributed to the following major discussions that took place last year: • Europe’s Green Deal and the related New Circular Economy Action Plan • The revision of the European Batteries Directive • Proposals for the revision of the packaging essential requirements (as mandated by the 2018 Circular Economy Package) • The Member States ’plastic fee’ for non-recycled plastic packaging waste (which will contribute to the EU budget) 42
LANDBELL GROUP
• The pending European Commission guidance documents on EPR schemes
We attended stakeholder workshops to discuss the proposed new policy framework on batteries (April) and packaging (May) and contributed to the related stakeholder consultations in June and December. In November, we provided input to a study on small WEEE run by the consultancy Ramboll on behalf of the European Commission. Moreover, we monitored the implementing measures on the Single-Use Plastics Directive, such as the related and pending guidelines, as well as the implementing regulation on harmonized marking. We were also invited by the European Commission to share our EPR experience in an EU workshop on fishing gear, an industry that is required to implement EPR soon.
National policies Throughout 2020, across Europe, Landbell Group engaged in discussions on national policy initiatives or the implementation of EU law: for example, the EU directives on packaging, single-use plastics and WEEE. We have the unique ability to speak as one group, sharing our experience from different markets, but also considering local specifics.
Position papers Last year, we published several papers addressing EU policy developments, including our comments on the Eunomia Draft Report on the EPR Guidance (January); papers on the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (April); the Modernisation of the EU’s Batteries Legislation (June); and the Review of Concentration Limits for the EU’s Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (July). You can explore all our European position papers here.
