Anne Claire Rasselet

On 17 April, more than 120 packaging industry associations issued a joint letter urging co-legislators to preserve in its entirety the internal market legal basis of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, as the best way to achieve the environmental and economic objectives of the proposal.

The internal market legal basis serves to address the differences among the various national rules on the management of packaging and packaging waste and resulting internal market barriers, while providing a high level of environmental protection.

In recent years, the packaging value chain has been under pressure due to an increase of unilateral and divergent national packaging requirements, such as packaging bans, reuse and recycled content targets, and labelling requirements.

As co-legislators discuss moving away from an internal market legal basis, or opting for a dual one, the packaging industry stresses that taking this route would further exacerbate these pressures by increasing fragmentation of the Union market and paving the way for a patchwork of national packaging legislations, thus undermining the objective of creating one circular economy comprising all Member States, to the detriment of consumer safety, environmental protection and European competitiveness. Europe needs just one circular economy covering the whole bloc, not 27 miniature ones.

Download the join letter here.

EGMF’s mission is to to serve as a spokesperson for the manufacturers of outdoor power equipment in Europe and internationally and to provide expertise to stakeholders on technical, marketing, market data, and trends related to the garden and outdoor power equipment industry.

This is only possible with the help and support of our members. A very good reason to get to know them better! We spoke with Thomas Meyer, Managing Director Sales and Marketing, to find out more about ETESIA SAS.

What is your company’s mission?
Our company, ETESIA SAS, specialises in the design, manufacture and marketing of premium products and solutions for the maintenance of private and public green spaces: lawnmowers, ride-on mowers and brushcutters.

Since 2022, ETESIA SAS is also active in the automotive sector with the manufacture and marketing of a multi-functional electric vehicle designed for green space professionals. More generally, our mission is to offer solutions that not only meet the expectations of our private and professional users in terms of performance and efficiency, but also to meet their new CSR expectations: durability and reparability of products, environmental and social impact.

How does EGMF support your company goals?
The EGMF has a key role to play for our industry in this turbulent period of mutations and paradigm shifts that are shaking up our profession. This includes product electrification, the announced end of internal combustion engines, online sales, recycling channels, new rules concerning packaging, and much more.

The credibility and expertise of the EGMF, in particular due to the high quality of the work carried out by the Technical Committee, makes it a key player in our industry. The EGMF has become a well-known and recognised player in defending and promoting our industry to national and European authorities in order to reconcile the ambitious objectives of environmental practices advocated by Europe with the state-of-the-art technology that is available today. Working together allows us to have a much greater impact than each member could have alone at their level.

In addition, the work of the Marketing Committee allows us to better understand and decipher the major trends in our market.

What are you most proud of about your company?
Although ETESIA SAS is only a family SME in a world dominated by large multinational companies, it has always been at the forefront of innovation with several concepts that have profoundly marked our industry. This includes the first ride-on mower with rear ejection and integrated collection, the first ride-on mower combining rear ejection and high emptying and the first battery-powered professional ride-on mower. Our company has also long had strong environmental values in its DNA, such as environmentally friendly production processes, eco-design, durability, and reparability of its products.

Where do you see the future of the garden machinery industry heading? What do you see as EGMF’s main priority in creating the right conditions for the industry?
Our industry will always have to fulfill its basic function: to offer solutions and products that allow us to maintain and beautify our living environment. However, it will have to adapt to new societal challenges, with products that are more environmentally friendly to meet the new aspirations of consumers. The role of the EGMF will be to accompany the industry and the authorities in charge of legislation and regulation in all aspects that will evolve as a result of the changes, including new technical, legal and regulatory requirements.

The European garden machinery and outdoor power equipment industry welcomes the long-awaited European Commission proposal on the road approval of non-road mobile machinery.
While the European Union celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Single Market, this legislative proposal is a concrete example of actions that effectively contribute to further deepen the Single Market, through a new dedicated EU legislation aiming at the harmonisation of road circulation requirements for mobile machinery.

Although we strongly regret that the Commission tabled a legislation exclusively based on the type-approval system, this proposal is a good step towards further European harmonisation. The upcoming Regulation will cut unnecessary costs and remove disproportionate administrative burden on mobile machinery manufacturers, including manufacturers of garden machinery and outdoor power equipment.

The Commission proposal will not only benefit the industry, but also provide benefits for Member States, European Commission and European citizens. We believe that the final legislation will contribute to guarantee the same high standards of road safety requirements across the EU and offer a platform for discussing safety concerns for road circulation, thus benefiting to the whole European society.

Finally, EGMF stands ready to cooperate with the European Council and the European Parliament during the upcoming decision-making process and supplementary legislation to achieve a legislation that will enhance European competitiveness and innovation, while guaranteeing road safety for mobile machinery used by European citizens.

In the new Packaging and Packaging Waste legislative proposal, we observe some positive aspects, like the change from a Directive to a Regulation. However, we have a number of concerns, which we believe will lead to additional burden on the manufacturers of goods.

Therefore, we request that EU legislators consider our proposals for their further evaluation:

➢ Harmonize requirements for all Member States, which means having the same labels for the disposal and alphanumeric code use (for example according to Decision 129/97/EC1) for which the industry has already invested a lot of financial resources. This also includes permitting each Member State to request additional national information only on a voluntary basis and not as a mandatory requirement.

➢ Permit the use of digital support, like a QR-code or other digital marking technology connected to the internet. The use of digital support should be a voluntary option to provide information to the end user 2 as an alternative to the packaging label, simplifying the industrial process.

➢ Have clear and harmonised requirements when it is not possible to know in which EU Member State products will be placed.

➢ Permit companies to be registered to a collective EPR3 system only in one PRO4 (and not in each Member State where the packaging will be put on the market), for example, by registering only in the main country of reference or having an “European collective EPR system”.

➢ To achieve the proposed minimum recycled content in plastic packaging, we need higher production of secondary raw materials both in terms of quantity and purity. We also need standardisation activities to ensure the quality of the secondary plastic materials.

➢ Manufacturers of finished products cannot bear the full responsibility and burden of ensuring the traceability of the feedstock in these materials. EU suppliers of packaging materials should hold the responsibility for conformity for their products.

➢ To avoid double regulation, all packaging feedstock comprising recycled and virgin materials should only be required to be in conformity with the REACH Regulation and no other piece of legislation in order to generate a higher demand and supply of recycled plastics without legacy substances.

Read the full position paper here.

EGMF and 9 other industry stakeholders have co-signed a joint paper on the ‘Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition’ proposal.

While we welcome the general aim of the European Commission’s proposal, we would like to raise to the attention of the European Parliament and Council of the EU, the following three core messages:

• We are in favour of consistency with the ESPR and Substantiating Green claims: Amendments to this legislation should be discussed and evaluated in parallel to the changes discussed in the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation proposal and the future requirements in the Commission’s proposal on Substantiating green claims and on the Right to Repair. The topics largely overlap, we need to shape a robust and clear legal framework where obligations are divided among the different laws and the market and authorities easily know which law to look at for each type of obligation.

• We are against a fragmented EU single market: The introduction of a procedure for the mutual recognition of national sustainability labels and national sustainability information tools based on minimum requirements at EU level, as proposed by the Parliament, will lead to a fragmented Single Market. We believe the Single Market should not be weakened but reinforced instead.

• We object the introduction of multiple and overlapping sustainability labels: We are concerned that consumers will be exposed to an information overload. Integrating some of the proposed information in the DPP under the ESPR could mitigate this.

Read the full paper here.

We are proud to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March as a special opportunity to shine the spotlight on women working in the garden and outdoor power equipment industry, highlighting unique experiences and expertise, and what led them on this career path.

We share with you the story of Theodora Levanti-Rowe, Outdoor Power Equipment Economist within the AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association) as well as an active expert in EGMF, highlighting her key role and motivation in shaping our industry!

What does your role involve and what are your responsibilities?
My role as is to provide a dedicated service for the OPE membership. In addition to the market and trade data analysis and forecasting, day-to-day work includes the review and analysis of industrial, economic and policy issues and presenting industry updates to the Board, Councils, Special Interest Groups and outside audience. It also includes examining and responding to consultation papers, providing evidence for lobbying and liaising with government departments where necessary.

Additional responsibilities relate to the AEA Training and Education initiatives and the Land-Based Engineering Apprenticeship Schemes which promote the attraction and retention of skilled staff for the industry.

What initially interested you, and led you to this industry?
Entering the industry was by pure chance, but staying in the industry for so many years was by choice. The attraction that has kept me in my previous roles in market research and product development as well as the current one, is the consistent transformation and innovation in order to meet customer demands and the fast adaptation of technology for example the introduction of ever more powerful and enduring Li-Ion battery driven products, autonomous lawnmowers and GPS driven robots.

Do you have any insights or advice for other women who may not have considered this sector as a possible opportunity for them?
Although many women have an affinity to gardening and nature, many are wary of a career in the sector due to the perception of male dominance. Like in many other manufacturing and engineering industries, this is changing, as there have been advances/changes in attitudes thanks to the tenacity of the women who have stuck with it and are now playing key roles in management, engineering or as entrepreneurs. Showcasing the inclusivity of the sector also within its associations can hopefully encourage other women to put themselves forward through all levels of the wider industry and be recognised for their achievements and skill.    

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I envisage myself working still in the industry and excited that my tasks will not only include,  highlighting to public and regulatory bodies the importance of the industry in manufacturing and employment and ensuring that legislation is not impeding the ability to innovate in the future but also support the fast transition to climate neutrality and circular economy.