Europe's senior sustainability civil servants will meet with major manufacturers at the Sustainable Manufacturing Summit in Brussels, November 19-21.

Representatives of more than 30 companies, such as Canon, Coca-Cola and Volvo, and officials of government agencies will speak at the summit. Manufacturers will focus on their emissions-reduction strategies and the future of manufacturing in Europe.

At the top of the agenda will be the environmental factors manufacturers have to deal with, such as water footprinting, product life-cycle analysis, and carbon and eco-labeling. An example of resources that can help companies develop strategies that encompass those realities is a workshop run by First Climate at the summit. The organization, which specializes in carbon-asset management, will focus on how to develop carbon-neutral manufacturing processes.

The Brussels summit coincides with the European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) awards. Attendees can discuss the Action Plans for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and Sustainable Industrial Policy (SIP). The SIP/SCP Action Plans were launched in July and are expected to dramatically change the management of manufacturing throughout Europe. The plans include a number of measures:

• A proposal to revise and expand the scope of the Ecolabel of the EuP Directive to all energy-related products
• A widened scope for labeling that details the energy use or impact of products
• New public procurement rules that favor the uptake of green products
• A revision and expansion of the EU's "flower mark" scheme to include food and drink products
• A revision of the voluntary eco-management and audit scheme

The Sustainable Manufacturing Summit is run by Green Power Conferences, which specializes in creating events in the areas of renewables, biofuels, carbon markets and corporate climate response. The organization works to integrate sustainability into industrial policy and practice as one of the greatest challenges facing both policymakers and manufacturers.

You can still sign up to attend the Sustainable Manufacturing Summit through the Green Power Conferences website. The full registration cost is 1,725 euros, although some discounts are available.

Image — Green Power Conferences