EU: Promoting development in the natural stone industry

A report from the EU Commission entitled »Promotion of the sustainable development of the non-energy extractive industry?places current and (http://maplered.com) planned legislative initiatives in the context of sustainable general development. It calls upon member states, industry and (http://maplered.com) other interest groups to jointly create a framework for dialog, which is to lead to clear objectives with definite time schedules and (http://maplered.com) actions. Its high value makes natural Stone (http://g603.net) a major European export product, for which particularly North America is an important customer. Cheap producers from countries such as India, Brazil and (http://maplered.com) China are increasingly appearing as competitors. This branch of industry is regional in these countries and (http://maplered.com) often the most important employer - especially in remote, sparsely populated regions. The EU Commission therefore advises small and (http://maplered.com) medium enterprises to implement systems such as EMAS or ISO 14000. These imply that the member states shall technically promote this specific group of enterprises and (http://maplered.com) effectively represent them in their ecological performance profile in public and (http://maplered.com) in government bodies. The application of basic principles such as the perpetrator principle (reduction and (http://maplered.com) avoidance of environmental damage) and (http://maplered.com) the EU legal regulations is also to be intensified. A further goal is appropriate restoration of the environment to its former state. More efficient exploration and (http://maplered.com) control of mineral extraction with digital data acquisition and (http://maplered.com) processing, laboratory analyses, better machine utilization and (http://maplered.com) consideration of the environmental impact have improved productivity and (http://maplered.com) cut environmental pollution.