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EVIA holds 2021 Annual General Meeting and observes future opportunities for Indoor Air Quality

07/05/2021

Representatives from the ventilation industry across Europe convened for the 2021 AGM on 4-5 May, EVIA’s second successful virtual AGM

At EVIA’s AGM this year, Members had a chance to take note of the opportunities for Indoor Air Quality in the context of the European Green Deal and of the continued value of EVIA’s cooperation with the EU on the energy efficiency of ventilation systems.

In the coming year EVIA will continue to leverage its members expertise and its relationships in Brussels, whilst exploring new policy areas to utilise in support of efficient and healthy ventilation.

The 2021 AGM saw the re-appointment of Joan Miro Ramos (Soler & Palau) as Chairman, and the appointment of Holger Thamm (Stiebel-Eltron) and Pierre Cruveillé (Aldes) as Vice-Chairs, with Peter Fenkl (Ziehl-Abegg) remaining Treasurer. In the elections to the Steering Committee Johannes Bollman (Zehnder Group) and Morten Schmelzer (Systemair) were elected for the first time.

Officially opening the proceedings, EVIA Chairman Mr. Joan Miro Ramos noted that there is a growing body of evidence and a growing realisation of the value of ventilation in delivering improvements in Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) among policymakers. With the COVID-19 pandemic underlining this value in respect to reducing aerosolised transmission.

As the EU and its Member States simultaneously pursue economic recovery and the European Green Deal’s 2050 climate neutrality objective, it remains an era of great opportunity for the ventilation industry. Ventilation can be a cornerstone in the daunting task of improving the energy efficiency of the building stock, whilst delivering improvements in IAQ to the benefit of the health of EU citizens.

“In a statement of EVIA’s commitment to deliver for the industry and EU citizens the association is increasingly taken a proactive front-footed approach to engagement with decision-makers at the EU level. As the EU accelerates the pace of the green transition and defining choices are being made as to the technologies that will deliver decarbonisation EVIA has taken a strong decision to invest additional resources. The EU is looking to be Fit for 55% emissions reductions by 2030, EVIA is now well placed itself to be Fit for 55”. Joan Miro Ramos, EVIA Chairman

In conjunction with the 2021 AGM, EVIA organised a webinar on circular economy/sustainability. Expert speakers from the European Commission, a sustainability/product environmental footprinting consultancy and on behalf of initiatives in France discussed how industry associations like EVIA could cooperate best to respond to the future challenge of implementing sustainability requirements at the product level under the EU’s Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI).

The interactive discussion pointed the way forward for work within EVIA on delivering the industry’s perspective on sustainability calculation methodologies by 2026-2027.

In the coming months, EVIA will focus on the revisions of the Energy Efficiency Directive and Renewable Energy Directive, that are to be published in July as part of the Commission’s Fit for 55 package. Efforts will also continue on the technical preparatory work in the Commission on the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and on the SPI, with publications expected in Q4 2021.

The Secretariat looks forward to welcoming current and new members to the next AGM, due to be held in Brussels on 4-5 May 2022.