"Good environmental business practices" conference

Published on 20/06/2018

On June 12, 2018, the Luxembourg Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts hosted the "Good environmental business practices" conference organized by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) in partnership with the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure (MDDI) and the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts. 

Around fifty participants, mainly Luxembourg businesses, had the chance to learn more about "site"-oriented environmental management and "product"-oriented ecodesign, two key existing approaches that help to reduce environmental impact.

Awareness - business tools and services

Mr. Gilles Reding, Director of the Department of Environmental, Technological, and Innovation Affairs at the Luxembourg Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts, opened the conference by underscoring the importance of such an event. In fact, a survey of their members showed two areas for improvement: awareness and ongoing training together with the simplification of administrative procedures and state funding.

The two approaches discussed during the conference were then presented by Mr. Lucien Hoffmann, Director of LIST's Department of Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN): 

  • environmental management that can be achieved through ISO 14001 certification and/or EMAS registration 
  • and ecodesign that can be promoted through Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and Ecolabels.

After an initial discussion on specific issues concerning environmental management and comparing the ISO 14001 and EMAS benchmarks, Caroline Fedrigo, Senior Engineer at LIST, presented the activities of Betriber&Emwelt, an environmental information platform specially provided for Luxembourg businesses. This conference is part of the "Betriber & Emwelt" cycle during which the Environment Agency (AEV) and LIST offer a regular series of information sessions to businesses and public bodies on topics related to the environment. 

For the past six months, Betriber&Emwelt has had its own dedicated website (betriber-emwelt.lu) offering a wealth of dynamic and targeted content (news, e-newsletter, events, presentations, tools available to download - Commodo/CLP toolkit). 

In addition, Sébastien Zinck, Senior Engineer at LIST, explained the existing tools for developing an ecodesign and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) initiative, mentioning LIST's expertise in this field, particularly in Environmental Sustainability Assessment and Circularity. He also presented ECOPACT, software developed by LIST to facilitate the practice of LCA by businesses with limited means of acquiring expertise in the field. This software can also automatically generate Environmental Product Declarations (EPD).

Labels and certifications - business feedback

Mr. Glod, Assistant Director of the Environment Agency (AEV), set out the current situation in Luxembourg of the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the European Ecolabel. He actively encouraged businesses to develop these two initiatives, but also others in the same spirit (ISO 14001 and other labels).

Consequently, the focus was on sharing feedback from Luxembourg businesses that have implemented best practices relating to environmental management or to their products.  

  • Kelly Pemartin, R&D Manager at Mc Bride in Luxembourg, spoke on Ecolabel certification in a dishwashing application. It is currently the only Luxembourg business to have been awarded an Ecolabel for its products. Obtaining an Ecolabel has a certain number of advantages in terms of competitors, less negative impact on the environment throughout the life cycle, and appreciation from customers and an entire community for being a responsible and environmentally conscious company.
  • Mr. Spina, Construction and Innovation Department Manager at Contern SA, a manufacturer of construction materials, presented Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) produced using ECOPACT software. He also set out the concept of Product As A Service (PAAS) which involves renting materials out to customers for given periods and taking the product back at the end of life, thereby avoiding transportation and scrapping costs.
  • Mr. Hoffmann, in charge of environment & RSE at SuperDrecksKëscht® (SDK) spoke on quality and environmental management systems at SuperDrecksKëscht®. SDK is the only Luxembourg business (other than European institutions) to be EMAS registered. Since it also has ISO 14001 certification, the two systems were compared. Some of SDK's initiatives were presented (SDK Label, Product Potential, Clever Akafen). He also gave some pointers to businesses intending to adopt such initiatives.
  • Alexander Link, Advisor – National Funding at Luxinnovation, presented aid schemes for environmental protection, particularly the law of December 15, 2017 on environmental protection. Full information about aid schemes in general and an applicant guide (with details about each scheme) can be found on the guichet.lu website.

> To close the event, Caroline Fedrigo presented forthcoming Betriber&Emwelt events.   

> Further information on the annual conference is available online. The presentations are available for download from the event page.

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 Caroline FEDRIGO M.Sc.
Caroline FEDRIGO M.Sc.
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