Company representatives increasingly ask us whether “sustainability principles” require changing my company’s business process? The answer is yes, that is – sooner or later, the business model must and will have to be adapted to sustainability requirements and parameters. This is the central insight we provide to company leaders.
The European Council and Parliament’s negotiators reached a provisional political agreement in early December on the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and the Regulation on the establishment of an Industrial Emissions Portal (IEP).
The new rules aim to offer better protection for human health and the environment by reducing harmful emissions from industrial facilities, including intensive livestock farms, into the air, water and soil, as well as from waste discharges.
They also aim to improve environmental data reporting by improving the existing European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) to create a more comprehensive and integrated industrial emissions portal.
The EU’s goal for 2050 is to reduce pollution to levels that no longer harm human health. Stricter rules are being developed to prevent pollution at source, while improving reporting and monitoring of emissions.
A new industrial emissions portal is planned to be launched – publicly accessible to everyone. It would include data on the use of water, energy and key raw materials in relevant facilities to monitor progress towards a circular, resource-efficient economy.
The amended directive would seek to promote energy efficiency, the circular economy and decarbonisation.
In the provisional agreement, the two legislators adjusted certain agricultural thresholds for animal production: 350 units for pigs, 280 units for poultry (300 laying hens) and 380 units for mixed farms. Extensive farms and household livestock would be excluded from the scope of the directive.
Primary affected sectors in the Industrial Emissions Directive.
The new rules would be applied gradually, starting in 2030 with the largest farms.
Inevitable emissions climate targets and regulations are becoming increasingly relevant for entrepreneurs and signal the need and opportunity to adapt their business model for sustainable development in the future.
A company’s sustainability strategy and report are already being demanded and will be demanded increasingly intensively by all stakeholders: state regulation, investors and financial institutions, and, most importantly, customers are already including sustainable companies in their procurement as part of their sustainability strategy.
Sooner or later, every company will definitely have to adapt its business processes to sustainability, including a strategic plan for sustainable development, which in turn means doing homework and calculations on how to change business processes, improve production processes, possibly even the product range, suppliers, etc. The changes include the creation of a data acquisition system and regular control of the acquired data in order to consistently review and compare progress, which serves as the basis for a sustainability report.
The company requires a complex approach and detailed research with calculations in production and supply processes, including legislative analysis, examining opportunities to participate in legislative changes.
Read more:
Industrial emissions: Council and Parliament agree on new rules to reduce harmful emissions from industry and improve public access to information – Consilium (europa.eu)