Industrial Emissions Directive

Background

Directive 2010/75/EU on Industrial Emissions (IED) is the main EU instrument regulating pollutant emissions from industrial installations to achieve a high environmental protection level. Various primary industrial sectors are within the scope of the IED. Permits must be issued for these installations by national authorities with conditions based on the Best Available Techniques (BAT).

The IED Directive regulates emissions of about 50,000 industrial installations across the EU by establishing sector-specific BREF (BAT REFerence document) containing information about the sector and the latest emission control techniques used.

Why is it important?

Several of IMA Europe’s members’ activities, such as lime production, PCC (Precipitate Calcium Carbonate) production and other activities which involve combustion/heating, fall within the scope of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). This directive replaces the Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) and introduces new conditions for obtaining an environmental permit to operate. IMA-Europe takes part in the discussions on reference documents with the best available techniques (BREFs) which are developed in the framework of the IED under the lead of the European IPPC Bureau.

Our views

Industrial minerals are an enabler of multiple values chains and as a sector does not cause high pollution for which IED could be an appropriate policy instrument. Moreover, our members place a strong emphasis on monitoring all risks associated with extractive industries. In Europe, the industrial mineral industry has to comply with a set of complex and stringent regulatory instruments under EU law to ensure safe extractive operations, which comes in addition to numerous requirements enacted by the Member States, at both national and local levels.

Mineral extraction is purely mechanical and not energy-intensive; for most products, no chemical substances are applied, which results in no significant impact on the levels of pollution for air, soil or water. At all sites, biodiversity, resource use or waste management, underpin the decision-making process.

One of IMA-Europe’s priorities is to engage in a constructive dialogue with policymakers to help them achieve the EU environmental objectives in line with the socio-economic developments and sector competitiveness. A sustainable future starts by keeping our sector competitive and addressing potential regulatory obstacles in EU legislation related to long permitting times. Our firm conviction is that a proportionate and forward-looking value chain is considered when revising the Industrial Emissions Directive.