Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Communication from the Commission on environment and employment (building a sustainable Europe)` (98/C 235/01)

On 24 November 1997 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned communication.

The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 May 1998. The rapporteur was Mr Pellarini.

At its 355th plenary session (meeting of 28 May 1998), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion unanimously.

1. Introduction

1.1. The principle of sustainable development is enshrined in the preamble to the Amsterdam Treaty: among the Union's objectives, Article B closely links 'balanced and sustainable development` with 'a high level of employment`.

1.2. The present communication represents an initial step towards this dual environment-employment approach. It is assumed that this approach will be fruitful, and that the appropriate conclusions should be drawn for the overall thrust of Community policy.

1.3. This question has already been discussed several times by the ESC, primarily in its Opinion on economic growth and the environment (). Under the heading 'managing the transition towards sustainable development`, it was stated that 'at this stage, both sustainable development and growth in employment are firmly-fixed objectives, requiring strong, political initiative and the responsible participation of all partners`.

1.4. The Committee reiterates this view, in the light of the December 1997 call by the Luxembourg European Council for a strategy to integrate environmental concerns into Community policies and activities, and of the forthcoming deadline for examination of such a strategy at the Cardiff summit.

2. Comments on the links between environment and employment (chapter 2)

2.1. The Committee welcomes the Commission's adoption of the approach advocated in its earlier opinions, especially in the 'managing the transition` section of the communication, and its announcement, in Chapter 3, of specific supportive policies for various sectors.

2.2. The Committee is also convinced that without a strong political message orienting policy towards sustainable development at Community, national, regional and local level, some of the statements of principle in the Treaties may remain a dead letter. The Committee expressed this view in its opinion on the fifth environmental programme, considering that the latter would not be feasible unless 'the political authorities set priorities` () not only at Community, but also at Member State level.

2.3. The international undertaking entered into by the EU - in 1992 at Rio, on the environment as a whole, and in 1997 at Kyoto on climate change - to adjust growth in line with new parameters for the conservation of natural resources, must be effectively applied and built into the various measures. At the present stage, this undertaking can be consolidated by harnessing all those experiences which can help optimize environmental protection and employment growth. It must be borne in mind, however, that the results cannot be checked against a single benchmark, but are spread across a broader backdrop. Their effects can only be amplified by pursuing a 'sustainable growth` strategy with determination.

2.4. The Committee therefore believes that the communication does not examine a number of basic concepts in sufficient detail and fails to provide an exhaustive picture of what has been achieved to date by means of programmes and political initiatives.

2.5. The title itself suggests a simplistic association of the concepts of environment, employment and development. The phrase 'building a sustainable Europe` in particular is either meaningless or, at best, obscure in the extreme.

2.5.1. It would have been preferable, in the interests of greater clarity, to use terms with an established meaning, such as 'building a competitive Europe as part of sustainable development`.

2.6. Given the importance and scale of unemployment in Europe, it is actually dangerous to establish the automatic link between environmental protection and employment which the communication appears to imply. Although both objectives must be built into all Community policies, combating unemployment can only result from the overall implementation of such policies.

2.6.1. It must be borne in mind that environmental protection and conservation is a policy in its own right, quite apart from its collateral aspects, and that the environmental impact audit of projects and programmes can usefully be accompanied by an employment impact audit report for information purposes, which may be helpful in detecting synergies between different policies - without thereby prejudging decisions which must be made on strictly environmental grounds.

2.7. The communication begins by stating (in point 1.1) that 'our EU economies are not developing in a sustainable way`, but fails to follow through to the logical conclusion that it is necessary to change the socio-economic development paradigm and adopt a new global approach which makes the most of new know-how and business skills, as initially mentioned in the Delors white paper (see below) and set out in the fifth programme for sustainable development.

2.7.1. By restricting itself to suggestions of possible measures of sectoral scope within the existing framework, the communication gives the impression that the Commission has made up its mind to ignore the fact that the present growth model offers no radical solutions, only ways of cushioning the effects of the problem by delaying the foreseeable damage.

2.8. This is shown all the more clearly by the complete absence from the communication of any in-depth or up-to-date thinking on at least three key points:

- unemployment in Europe is structural, not cyclical;

- despite the fundamental role of technological development in boosting European economic competitiveness, it is far from certain that technological innovation will be capable of creating more jobs than it replaces, particularly in terms of conventional employed work;

- it is an illusion to believe that an automatic cause-and-effect link still exists between the rate of economic growth and falling unemployment.

2.9. It is clear from the above that to tackle unemployment successfully, a comprehensive policy must be adopted, aimed at achieving sustainable development, and which makes use of a whole range of instruments, adheres to the 'polluter pays principle`, and fits in with the legal formalization of the concept of responsibility for environmental damage ().

2.10. It is evident, assuming agreement on the meaning of the term 'sustainable development` (as understood in the Commission document too) that if this objective is to be pursued, the socio-economic mechanisms currently underpinning the production and consumption of goods and services need to be challenged. The environment-employment approach can only be fully effective if this is taken on board and directly reflected in the job-creation policies being pursued by the various Member States.

2.11. In this regard, the Committee regrets that the comments made in Chapter 10 of the Delors White Paper on insufficient use of labour resources and excessive use of natural resources, and on the need for fiscal measures to redress this imbalance, are not adequately developed in the communication ().

2.11.1. A fruitful combination of the twin priorities of environmental protection and job creation is only possible by adopting this approach. Action should not be confined to taxation; there should be a whole package of measures, so as to comply with the principal of fiscal neutrality.

2.12. There must be a dynamic approach which takes account of the new environmental-protection needs and of the new productive and ecological management methods, the new technologies and new information and training services implicit in the shift to sustainable development. This is the only way to identify the new occupational profiles and new jobs which may be created, and to exploit the specific role which SMEs can play.

2.12.1. In creating these new occupational profiles and new jobs, special attention must be given to workplace safety and health regulations.

2.13. Thinking should not be restricted to industrial-type employment; the new forms of self-employed, fixed-term contract and part-time work which are emerging, principally in the information- and consultancy-related services sector, suggest that growth of atypical employment is more likely.

2.14. The above-mentioned opinion on growth and the environment argued that there was no automatic link between environmental protection measures and employment trends. This is confirmed by the abundant research literature provided by Commission services over recent years in this area. The research does, however, show that environmental protection measures using the best available technologies have a net albeit modest impact on jobs and are often combined with technological innovation and production rationalization which safeguard corporate competitiveness. To this extent, they at least help to safeguard employment.

2.14.1. Developing new production processes, products and services which satisfy new demands from industry, public administrations and consumers can generate synergies which, however, require major investment.

2.15. In addition to the specific 'eco-industrial` sector - which is a particular response to the demand for environmental protection technologies and services, and is a new, growth sector - a more general distinction must be made between (a) pollution reduction and prevention - which involves additional investment, but which in the long term results in raw material and energy savings, thereby contributing to greater productivity and, in the long term, lower social costs generated by environmental damage - and (b) natural and urban environment conservation and rehabilitation, which creates new jobs, both conventional and innovative.

2.15.1. Here, a further distinction should be made between the methods of financing the various measures. The former concern mostly private, profit-making sectors (manufacturing industry, energy production, transport), while the latter require large-scale public investment.

2.16. Implementation of a dynamic and comprehensive strategy will require new know-how, skills and consultancy services. These may be provided not only by public bodies - which must prepare themselves accordingly - but also by new service companies, which might be an important provider of jobs. The results, in employment terms, should be assessed in the aggregate and in the medium term, taking account of the necessary restructuring.

2.17. Since sustainable development is a goal pursued at international level, Europe could also benefit from exports of clean technologies/products and know-how if it moves more rapidly in this direction. This, too, could impact positively on employment.

2.18. The role of central, regional and local authorities should also be looked at more closely as they can introduce rules or incentives to make the public interest attractive to the private sector, thereby contributing to a gradual shift in the current model towards growth compatible with environmental protection and sustainable growth.

2.19. As part of their 'shared responsibility`, the various economic and social players could harness their administrative resources and links as associations and provide encouragement, education and information with a view to 'sustainable` consumption and development. Current experiments in cooperation between different socio-occupational, trade union and environmental organizations, including across borders, are of particular value.

2.20. In tandem with horizontal education and information efforts, which may generate new types of employment in the 'third sector`, in which voluntary associations - whose merits should be recognized and built upon - operate, attention should also be focused on improved environmental management of companies under the Eco audit system, which is soon to be revised to broaden its utilization and bring it more closely into line with the requirements of SMEs, especially in the crafts and micro-business sectors. The system is spread unevenly at European level, and should be encouraged more vigorously by the Member States.

2.21. The ESC would draw particular attention to the need to bring in legislative and fiscal measures that are geared to the realities of these small businesses and crafts firms so as to help them to introduce environmental standards. It would particularly stress the need to support and facilitate the role and actions of intermediary associative organizations.

2.22. The above comments reveal the Commission document to be over-cautious. It fails to open up new lines of debate, simply listing possible measures under existing policies.

3. Comments on supportive policies and key actions (chapters 3 and 4)

3.1. The communication reviews actions already under way in the various sectors together with the supportive policies, picking out a number of key actions for the way forward. This section (chapter 4) is the vaguest part of the document: it needs to be fleshed out by practical proposals, tying in with the sectoral analysis of chapter 3.

3.2. The ESC suggests a number of issues for examination in the light of the documents received and the initiatives launched in the Member States, with the active participation and cooperation of trade organizations and environmental and consumer associations.

3.2.1. National employment policies

3.2.1.1. It is important that the sustainable development aspect should be built into the guidelines for Member State employment policies, thus promoting national territorial pacts which harness environmental resources, stimulate innovation and skills and provide appropriate means for training and disseminating know-how, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises. These pacts should not be restricted to pilot projects, but should be built into use of the structural funds.

3.2.2. Cities and urban regeneration as a test-bed for innovative policies successfully combining the environment and employment

3.2.2.1. The 'urban space` concept has gelled in recent years. Unfortunately, however, the picture is increasingly one of decline in the conurbations which are plagued with problems having a unique impact on the environment. Old blueprints are being discarded and the concept of urban growth is progressively being replaced with that of urban conservation. The need to resolve the problems which cities pose for the environment is giving birth to a new approach, whereby cities are not seen as just a physical space in which people live, travel and work, but as organic entities operating as a system of flows and cycles, the eco-efficient management and eco-compatibility of which guarantee the well-being of their inhabitants ().

3.2.2.2. It is now clear that the methods used to protect urban ecosystems, to reduce their consumption of environmental and land resources, are heavily influenced by urban policies - that is, the planning, shaping and monitoring of the development of the urban environment - on, say, land-use, regeneration, traffic, waste-disposal or energy. It is possible to reconcile the demands of urban development with environmental-friendly solutions, and also with the need to create new, long-term jobs ().

3.2.2.3. The example of the construction/housing sector shows that incentives to maintain and renovate housing stock can have a much broader effect on the urban environment. Initiatives in this sector are complex and interlinked, embracing as they do a number of spheres and disciplines ranging from general urban renovation to specific policies for the restoration of inner and outer urban areas, from conservation to the development of brownfield sites and the overall improvement of the urban environment.

3.2.2.4. Energy saving should be pursued through conversion work on existing buildings, as well as through an active policy of involving users, for instance through appropriate incentives. As the figures show, this contributes not only to positive environmental effects, but also to greater job opportunities.

3.2.3. Waste management

3.2.3.1. The preventive approach of reducing the amount of waste at source, separate collection and treatment for reuse and recycling is generating new types of employment and new job opportunities. This process can be fostered, as the Committee has pointed out in earlier opinions ().

3.2.4. Transport

3.2.4.1. The Economic and Social Committee has, in a number of opinions (), emphasized the need for public - and particularly urban - transport systems to be overhauled and rationalized, and the need for environmental considerations to be taken into account when planning the expansion of national and trans-European networks. Secondary rail links should be upgraded, and local transport should be boosted.

3.2.4.2. It is essential to encourage the growth of public transport, as emphasized in the ESC's opinion on the green paper on the impact of transport on the environment ().

3.2.5. Rural development and Agenda 2000

3.2.5.1. There are no real grounds for optimism about the employment effects of Agenda 2000 in the farm sector. Priority actions must therefore be devised which optimize the role of farmers in protecting the environment, with particular regard to land use, landscape conservation, reforestation, combating desertification, biodiversity conservation, protection of upland areas and new commercial ventures such as agritourism and organic farming.

3.2.5.2. As part of the CAP reform, the Structural Funds should favour a switch to ecologically sustainable farming and boost new types of work attractive to young people.

3.2.5.3. Real possibilities of new jobs, technological innovation, modernization and the overall economic recovery of rural areas, however, can flow above all from a coherent and incisive rural development policy which acknowledges agriculture as the keystone of the rural economy and also aims to take all useful measures in the food, tourism, craft, transport and other ancillary sectors.

3.2.5.4. Establishing a link between the Natura 2000 network (Habitats Directive) and the structural funds, by including network sites of natural interest among Objectives 1 and 2, might help promote this kind of recovery.

3.2.5.5. Management of water resources by river basin authorities, as promoted by the framework water directive, could for example serve as a powerful tool for a new approach to area management.

3.2.6. Educational and vocational training and information in the environmental sector

3.2.6.1. This is the sector where the greatest efforts should be made, to prepare workers for new types of employment, to steer young people towards new occupations and new skills and to train public officials, intermediary and professional organizations and small-business men in new technologies and environmentally-friendly management.

3.2.6.2. In addition to educational and vocational training facilities, the Eco-audit system for promoting better environmental management by companies, which includes a continuous training and upskilling element for relevant workers, should also be brought to bear on this area.

3.2.6.3. Associations and socio-economic organizations can play a major multiplier role in the education and training sector.

3.2.7. Research and development

3.2.7.1. The new framework programme should back R& D for 'clean`, technologies, together with new approaches to production methods and products which are compatible with sustainable growth and consumption. Europe's competitiveness and the ensuing growth depend on the ability to meet the challenges of environmental protection and to enhance and conserve natural resources.

Brussels, 28 May 1998.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS

() OJ C 155, 21.6.1995.

() OJ C 287, 4.11.1992.

() Cf. the ESC opinion on the communication from the Commission to the Council and Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee: Green paper on remedying environmental damage, in OJ C 133, 16.5.1994.

() Cf. the ESC opinions on the white paper in OJ C 295, 22.10.1994.

() Cf. the ESC opinion on the green paper on the urban environment in OJ C 269, 14.10.1991.

() Cf. the ESC opinion on sustainable development in building and housing in Europe in OJ C 355, 21.11.1997.

() Cf. in particular the opinion on the review of the Community strategy for waste management in OJ C 89, 19.3.1997.

() Cf. the ESC opinion on The citizens' network - fulfilling the potential of public passenger transport in Europe - European Commission green paper, in OJ C 212, 22.7.1996. Cf. the ESC opinion on the Green paper - towards fair and efficient pricing in transport - policy options for internalizing the external costs of transport in the European Union, in OJ C 56, 24.2.1997.

() OJ C 313, 30.11.1992.