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Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance: we need to act now

24 Sep 2021
All Committees
Healthcare

Antimicrobial drugs are undervalued for their revolutionary impact on human society. Their discovery in the early 20th century corresponds with a dramatic increase in global life expectancy. Thanks to the development of various classes of antimicrobial agents throughout the last century, death at the hands of bacterial infection has become significantly less of a risk. However, the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria serves to dilute the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents. Andrea Chiarello (Pfizer), Chair, Healthcare Committee shares why we need to act now on antimicrobial resistance.

US travel restrictions

US lifts restrictions on transatlantic travel

21 Sep 2021
All Committees
Transatlantic

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU) welcomes the decision by the US Administration to lift travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers from the EU and other countries as of November. This announcement is an important step for many citizens, but also for global companies that rely on travel for their operations. Transatlantic cooperation on the re-opening of our economies, including lifting restrictions in a safe and coordinated manner, is critical to a strong recovery on both sides of the Atlantic. This positive decision can also help strengthen EU-US relations overall.

Third Country Branches

Responding to the proposed changes to the supervisory regime for third-country branches

17 Sep 2021
Financial Services

Wholesale branch-based banking – both within the EU and globally – contributes to the financing of EU and non-EU-companies, thereby enhancing competition, global connectivity, market diversity and access to deep pools of capital and liquidity. In reaction to the recent European Banking Authority’s report on the treatment of incoming third-country branches (TCBs), AmCham EU calls for proportionality when harmonising the EU’s supervisory regime for third-country branches in a joint letter with the Bank Policy Institute, the Japanese Bankers Association and the Swiss Finance Council.

Utilising geothermal energy to power industrial sites

17 Sep 2021
Environment
Transport, Energy & Climate

Janssen’s Beerse campus in Belgium is one of Johnson & Johnson’s largest campuses worldwide. In 2019, a geothermal energy project was started that involves drilling wells about 2.5 km deep, pumping up hot water from deep within the earth to generate heat for use on the property before returning it to the earth. With completion expected by Autumn 2021, the installation of this fourth-generation smart heat grid will cut 30% of CO2 emissions at that property and can save 15,900 metric tons of CO2 per year.

Learn more at The Green Way and join the conversation on Twitter with #EUGreenWay.

First Solar EU Green Way

Leading the world’s sustainable energy future

13 Sep 2021
Environment
Transport, Energy & Climate

First Solar is a leading global provider of responsibly-produced solar modules advancing the fight against climate change. The company has placed innovation at the heart of its business model, spending over $1.4bn cumulatively in the R&D of its differentiated photovoltaic technology. The company’s thin film technology encapsulates a semiconductor 33 times thinner than a human hair between two reinforced sheets of glass to generate clean electricity for 30+ years. As the EU strives towards the Renewable Energy Directive’s goals of 32% renewables by 2030, solar will be an essential component of the European electricity grid. 

Learn more at The Green Way and join the conversation on Twitter with #EUGreenWay.

Tackling the methane challenge with gas cloud imaging

13 Sep 2021
Environment
Transport, Energy & Climate

The ambitious European Green Deal calls for zero net emission of greenhouses gases by 2050.  To achieve this goal, the reduction of methane is a clear and effective way, as methane traps 86 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and accounts for a quarter of total atmospheric warming to date. However, traditional methane leak detection and repair (LDAR) has drawbacks. As a response, Honeywell has recently introduced a new class of technology solution called gas cloud imaging (GCI) , which can address the shortcomings in the current LDAR method. This technology uses visual and hyperspectral sensors supported by intelligent analytics to provide automated and continuous methane monitoring, detecting leaks as soon as they happen. 

Risk communication holds the key to sustainable agri-food

10 Sep 2021
Agriculture & Food
Environment
Trade & External Affairs

Risk communication is of utmost importance to the agri-food industry – especially when it comes to differentiating ‘hazards’ from ‘risks’. That was the key takeaway from AmCham EU’s sixth Agri-food Risk Roundtable, held on Wednesday, 8 September. This year’s edition focused on how risk assessment and management should be amplified by solid risk communication to generate sound risk perception. The roundtable brought together policy makers from both sides of the Atlantic, industry representatives, NGOs and academia to share best practices regarding different models of risk perception in the food and agriculture sector.

Tech Fit 4 Europe

Time to make tech fit for Europe

7 Sep 2021
Digital Economy
Environment
Transport, Energy & Climate

As part of its ambitious sustainability goals, Microsoft is working with partners across Europe to help shape a greener tomorrow. Through a collaboration with Microsoft, Danfoss, a Danish engineering company, has created a cloud based IoT solution providing food retailers with new ways to manage operations by using a combination of sensors and data algorithms. These new solutions in turn help to realise up to 40% net savings in energy consumption and enable retailers to reduce food loss, energy consumption and optimize overall store performance.

Learn more at The Green Way and join the conversation on Twitter with #EUGreenWay.

Data Act consultation

Data sharing: boosting economic growth, research and innovation, competitiveness, and job creation

6 Sep 2021
Digital Economy

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU) shares the objectives of the European Commission to increase access to and further the use of data through the proposed ‘Data Act’. In its response provided to the European Commission’s consultation, AmCham EU argues that the Data Act should promote more data sharing in order to boost economic growth, research and innovation, competitiveness, and job creation. 

Goodyear solar panels

Partnering to deliver cleaner energy for Europe

6 Sep 2021
Environment
Transport, Energy & Climate

Solar energy is the energy of the future. As Europe seeks to decarbonise its economy, solar energy will become an ever-more important component of the energy supply. That is why The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is working together with energy supplier Enovos to build two large solar power stations at its testing facilities in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, as part of its commitment to reduce carbon emissions.

Learn more at The Green Way and join the conversation on Twitter with #EUGreenWay.

crop field

Effective risk communication for an innovative, sustainable and trusted agri-food industry

2 Sep 2021
Agriculture & Food
Environment
Trade & External Affairs

As global food insecurity rises, innovation will be key to the agri-food sector's ability to feed the world. Regulators and risk assessors have a vital role to play for a sustainable, secure and trusted industry capable of feeding more mouths with a smaller footprint. With the global population set to reach 10 billion by 2050, it is clear that the agri-food sector will have to do more with less in order to meet the most basic needs of the species in a sustainable way.

Join speakers from both sides of the Atlantic who will be further discussing the future of agri-food at AmCham EU’s Agri-food Risk Roundtable on Wednesday, 8 September.

Balance and proportion key to tackling foreign subsidies distorting the internal market

26 Jul 2021
Competition policy

The European Commission’s proposed Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market and the objectives of resolving gaps in its current legal powers in relation to distortive foreign government subsidisation of companies is a step towards creating a level playing field in which companies from around the globe can compete on a fair basis within the European Single Market. Our new position paper highlights a number of areas where we believe the proposal needs to be further refined in order to best achieve the objectives of the Regulation.

Batteries Regulation: a key stop on the road to net-zero

23 Jul 2021
Environment

The European Commission’s Proposal for a Batteries Regulation will be one of the key legislative proposals to meet the ambitious climate goals set out in the European Green Deal, and should support and facilitate the uptake of the battery industry as well as the use of batteries in different applications. AmCham EU supports the proposal and in a new paper offers areas where the Regulation could be improved to best move towards the targets whilst ensuring clarity and coherence for industry.

Cross-industry statement on the need for a transition period for the implementation of the Batteries Regulation

22 Jul 2021
All Committees
Environment

On Thursday, 22 July, AmCham EU co-signed a statement on the need for a transition period in the implementation of the Batteries Regulation. The European Commission’s Proposal for a Batteries Regulation is an important step towards achieving the objective of improving the sustainability of batteries, whilst protecting the Single Market. The co-signers of this statement are committed to supporting the EU’s transition towards sustainable batteries and ensuring that the review of the batteries legislation is a success.

Proactively decreasing carbon footprint for over 30 years

20 Jul 2021
Environment
Transport, Energy & Climate

The Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices manufacturing plant in Norderstedt, Germany, was founded in 1960 and over the years has been upgraded to become a major production site within the global Johnson & Johnson manufacturing network. ‘In 2020, the site made the switch to be powered by 100% renewable electricity and is currently working to upgrade the water treatment, reusing key process chemicals and continuously striving to reduce waste.

Learn more at The Green Way and join the conversation on Twitter with #EUGreenWay.

Economic recovery: where do we stand?

19 Jul 2021
All Committees

AmCham EU's monthly plenary meeting on Wednesday, 14 July saw speakers focus on the state of play of Europe’s economic recovery; sharing their optimism for what lies head. Currently, the European Commission has approved the eighteen national recovery and resilience plans and funding will soon start to be released into the economy. The panel also highlighted the key role that private investment will have to play in support Europe’s growth in the years to come. 

Proportionate approach needed for Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

19 Jul 2021
All Committees
Sustainable Finance

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) represents a good opportunity to improve environmental, social and governance disclosures and has the potential to lead to greater relevance, comparability and reliability of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting across the EU. Its new reporting requirements would entail a significant change for preparers of disclosure, a concern outlined in a recently published AmCham EU paper. A proportionate approach balancing the growing demand for ESG data with the growing burden companies face in gathering, preparing, assuring and reporting such data, is therefore needed. 

Support communities hit by devastating floods

19 Jul 2021
All Committees

Catastrophic flooding hit Belgium, Germany and other parts of Western Europe. As the death toll continues to rise and many are still missing, our thoughts go out to the families of the victims, the communities who have been devastated as well as the rescue teams.

AmCham EU will make a donation to the Belgian Red Cross. We encourage you to also support relief efforts by clicking here.

For more information, please reach out to Thibaut L’Ortye (TLO@amchameu.eu). 

Female Entrepreneur Award 2021

Norwegian start-up wins AmCham EU Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award

15 Jul 2021
All Committees

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU) and JA Europe announced today that Maria Wathne, CEO of the student start-up Paramate, won the AmCham EU Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2021 at Gen-E, the European Entrepreneurship Festival. With this year’s focus on female entrepreneurship, AmCham EU and JA Europe aimed to send a strong signal that Europe needs more women in leadership.

G20 Global taxation

Global taxation: the time is right for an international agreement

15 Jul 2021
Tax

In recent weeks, momentum has been building up towards an international solution to the challenge of creating a tax system fit for the 21st century. The G7 first announced an agreement on a minimum global corporate tax. It was then closely followed by the G20 finance ministers endorsing the OECD Inclusive Framework’s statement for international tax reform. Most recently, the EU reiterated its commitment to fostering an international compromise by postponing its digital levy proposal. While these developments are all crucial steps towards a global deal, critical work remains to iron out the details as well as address significant issues of complexity.

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