CECE and UEPG discuss sustainability, industrial policy and standardisation in bilateral meeting

In light of this importance, CECE and UEPG – the European Aggregates Association – had a bilateral meeting among their respective Brussels’ offices. As an initial exploratory meeting, a full run-down of the policies covered by the respective associations was made, exchanging on possible areas of common interest.

The area of environmental management is flagged as an area of particular activity by UEPG, when it comes to the contribution of aggregates to re-use of inert material and also to the creation of biodiversity in quarries. CECE provided an input to this debate in light of the emissions innovation brought forward by machinery manufacturers with the entry into force of Stage V and with the implementation of LEZ across Europe.

CECE and UEPG are also the two liaison organisations of CEN/TC 151, the technical committee of CEN developing standards for Construction equipment and building material machines. As such, it was agreed at the meeting that ties should be strengthened in order to discuss future cooperation to ensure, among other things, the timely development and publication of standards affecting the industry.

The meeting was also a chance to exchange best practices in terms of advocacy in the run-up to the European Parliament elections. Two projects are worth mentioning. UEPG supports the This Time I’m Voting campaign of the European Parliament to encourage members to vote in the European elections. CECE presented the current project, which consists of inviting candidates in the elections to visit CECE members’ factories, in order to give them a first-hand insight on manufacturing industries. Finally, a very positive assessment was made of the work of the Indusry4Europe Coalition, in which both UEPG and CECE are members since the beginning.