Industry4Europe sees sustainability and circularity as an important competitive opportunity, with which the European industrial sectors can profile themselves. To make that possible, a European industrial sustainability strategy should focus, among other things, on translating science into global business opportunities, by stimulating strategic investments and public-private partnerships.
Europe should also create incentives to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon economy. For example, consumers should be encouraged to change their behavior and buy sustainable products, but these also must be available everywhere. In public procurement, the sustainability aspect should also be taken into account and not just the lowest price. In addition, a global level playing field is required to ensure the competitiveness of European industry if it faces higher costs through sustainable production and purchasing.
To facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy, it the EU should also set the goal of improving the energy infrastructure, so that everyone in Europe can access and contribute to sustainable energy.
52 million jobs
The industrial sectors directly or indirectly employ 52 million people in Europe. However, after the 2008 financial crisis, millions of production jobs were lost. Europe is still below pre-crisis employment levels and jobs remain vulnerable due to worrying international trends, including increasing protectionism, says Industry4Europe. An ambitious industrial strategy for the EU is needed to be able to compete with other global regions, such as China, India and the US, which have already put industry at the top of the political agenda.
The full paper can be downloaded from the Industry4Europe website.
