Environment

The social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainable development must be integrated and well balanced to achieve a truly sustainable development of the European Union. The business community supports the sustainable development approach and should be regarded as a partner in the legislative process.

Environmental Dimension of the Lisbon Strategy

Business supports the three pillar approach to European sustainable development. However, it must be ensured that all pillars receive equal attention and that the environmental dimension of the Lisbon strategy is appropriately harmonized with the economic and social dimensions.

Instead of applying a “command and control” approach, business should be considered as a partner.
This is the case, for example, with the “European Business Awards for the Environment”, a European Commission initiative which awards companies that successfully integrate sustainable development into their activities. EUROCHAMBRES is therefore a promoter of this initiative.

	With a solid environmental legislative framework already in place, efforts should now concentrate on correct and unbureaucratic implementation, effectiveness and potential for deregulation, as well as on ensuring that the market rewards products and services produced in a sustainable way.
	For new legislation, each impact assessment should evaluate also the compliance costs and administrative add-ons to free entrepreneurial activity likely to be caused, especially with a view to the impact on European competitiveness and to SMEs.

A current example:
The review of the EU emissions trading system must aim at improving the workability, predictability and fairness of the system and avoiding imposing additional cost on the European business sector. In particular, small emitters must be exempted from this system. Together, the more than 70% of covered installations which emit less than 50,000 tons of CO2 per annum are only responsible for less than 5% of emissions covered by the directive today, whereas they are required to fulfil the same administrative requirements (e.g. monitoring, reporting, verifying) as large emitters. For them, the administrative effort of being involved in the system is out of proportion with the environmental benefits their involvement brings. Small emitters should however have the possibility to opt in on an individual basis.

Environmental Technologies

A prime way of combining all three pillars of sustainable development is to promote development and distribution of climate-friendly, resource and energy efficient technologies as well as such that provide remedial solutions for existing environmental damage. Europe has a well developed environmental technology sector comprised of established industrial players as well as a considerable number of small and/or newly founded companies. This competitive advantage in a future-oriented, sustainable field must be fostered through measures supporting innovation and through helping European companies to export their products and services.

International approaches

In as many fields of environmental policy as possible, the EU should aim at initiating and promoting joint world-wide emission reduction actions to which Europe can contribute without endangering its competitiveness. “Sustainable development in Europe can only be achieved when a global engagement is taken and sustainability is integrated in all external policies of the EU”, as the TTE council of December 2007 stated in its conclusions on the Sustainable Development Strategy.

The ongoing negotiations about the global post-Kyoto framework are a prime example: Europe, as an economic player responsible for a continuously shrinking proportion of global emissions, must continue working to include other important players such as the US and China into the climate protection efforts.