Industrial companies, including transporters or disposers of waste or hazardous waste, whose operations have resulted in the dischage of dangerous substances resulting in potential environmental damage to land, water and protected habitats and species can greatly benefit from the Group's EU Programme.
Special Conferences to Address Policy and Practice
The Group has convened a series of Briefings for industry, in Brussels, to provide background on the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) and how it will affect companies, as well as discuss key issues related to its transposition by Member States and expected implementation practice. Aslo, several Expert Seminars -- involving participation by representatives from the European Commission, numerous Member State Competent Authorities, industry (companies and associations), as well as legal and technical experts -- have also been regularly held in Brussels.
Member Companies are invited to these informative seminars, keeping you and your company ahead of the curve.
Practitioner Meetings to Benchmark with Companies and External Practitioners
These meetings bring together the top technical minds working on the EU ELD and allied issues for industry -- including company-internal personnel, consultants, outside counsel and other experts -- to discuss, share, and update each other on developments in actual practice relative ot the ELD's implementation. These meetings sometimes also include invited government experts and their consultants.
Member Companies are invited to these meetings.
Extenstive Support Documents for Use of Your Company
The Group continues to lead the way in promoting the "reasonable, balanced and predictable" implementation of the ELD through the development of numerous documents, including the "EU Environmental liability Directive: Summary of Guiding Principles and Best Practices" (prepared by the Group to further discussions on key legal, administrative, technical and economic issues likely to arise in actual practice).
The Group has also prepared White Papers, Issue Papers, Case Study Analyses and other documents to highlight and examine key considerations, issues and challenges that are likely to arise in actual practice. In particular, the "Industry Case Studies: An Examination of Potential Effects of the EU Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) in Practice and Options Available to Member States," prepared in 2007, provide a framework for discussion between Member State authorities, industry and other interested parties.
Issue Papers have been prepared on various key topics related to the ELD's transposition by Member States. Inclusion of some of the principles incorporated in these documents and other document will result in workable regimes in which business and industry may operate with full knowledge of the standards to which they are being held.
Most recently, the Group prepared and broadly distributed throughout Europe a seminal survey for industrial companies that focused on two distinct issues related to the continuing implementation of ELD - insurance and other financial security instruments and actual remediation of environmental damage. The Report summarizing the survey results was provided to the European Commission as potentially useful input to the Commission and was later cited in the Commission's 2010 ELD Report to Parliament.
A unique, ongoing activity of the Group in Europe is its continuous tracking of guidance documents to implement the ELD. In communication with all 27 Member States, the Group monitors emerging guidance and, as needed, translates the documents from native language.
Valuable information on requirements in individual Member States is available to Group member companies and member companies can provide input to certain documents and activities.
Faciliting Industry-Wide Coordination to Benefit Your Company
The Group serves as a resource on the ELD to industry and business associations throughout Europe. Via the Group's member companies, numerous associations have attended Group briefings, seminars and workshops, including representatives of: BUSINESSEUROPE, The Confederation of European Business; CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council); CEMBUREAU (The European Cement Association); Europia (European Petroleum Industry Association); EUROMETAUX (European Association of Metals); EUROFER (European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries); European Aluminum Association (EAA); EURELECTRIC (Union of the Electricity Industry); FEAD (European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services); MGYOSZ (Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists); ORGALIME (The European Engineering Industries Association); OGP (International Association of Oil & Gas Producers) and others.
The Group is carefully monitoring all opportunities relative to public consultations (European Commission and Member State Authorities) and facilitates coordination of industry input and participation as warranted.
The EU ELD Practice Exchange website was developed by the Group, in cooperation with European government authorities, to facilitate communication and provide a focal point for discussion on cutting edge issues among government, industry and other practitioners working on the Environmental Liability Directive and related legal, scientific and economic practice issues.
By joining the Group, your company immediately strengthens the framework for its activities, has access to information that can be put to immediate use, and benefits from the opportunity to work with other companies having like objectives and needs.
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