CEPA keeping in touch?

Maybe it’s a coincidence but, having accused the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA) of hiding their light under a bushel, we recently received an e-newsletter from them. So, has our criticism that they are failing to tell the industry about the good work they are doing actually hit home?
Well, we’re not convinced our criticism in Pest:63 June & July 2019 has made its mark. The e-newsletter in question is not a new initiative. Since October 2018 we have received five editions of this e-newsletter. We haven’t found them particularly inviting. Maybe it’s because we generally still read our email on large screens (with no facility to make the text bigger). The small type in green on a white background with some pretty poor pictures doesn’t make for easy reading.

We find the small green type on white background is not the easiest read

The CEPA website now has links to selected newsletters

The topics covered in previous editions – such as CEPA and Biodoversity Protection, What is Integrated Pest Management and We are a body of SMEs made us think this document was targeted at the likes of EU officials and MEPs. Somewhat confusingly the ‘powered by Anticimex’ logo appears prominently in all but the December 2018 document – we assume this major servicing company must be sponsoring them. This further supports our theory that these documents are for external readers, not industry insiders. Indeed the May edition included a call for action with CEPA asking for “the endorsement of stakeholders, both institutional and non-institutional, who recognise the importance of pest control in ensuring safety and good hygiene on the workplace and at home.”

Closer inspection of the May 2019 edition however shows there was also some insider news about PestEx and the Barcelona Innovation Forum. The new July edition is a real mixed bag with some items of interest to industry but others of a very general nature presumably targeting outsiders.

Curiously we seem to be privileged in getting this information. The editor of DPS, the independent magazine for the German pest management industry told us she has asked for press information to be sent by CEPA but hasn’t received the e-newsletter.

After some exploration of the CEPA website we discovered that, if you are interested, you can sign-up for these newsletters from the CEPA about us page – scroll down to the bottom and type in your email address. Alternatively, you can now view them via the CEPA website. Interestingly at the time of posting this story, there are May 2018 and August 2018 editions, which we don’t have, but no sign of the February, nor May 2019 editions, which we do.

Summarised below are the items from the July 2019 edition that we thought you might find interesting:

1. European institutions greener than ever, warns top French journalist
   Isabel Ory is a journalist for the French radio station ‘Europe 1’. At a dinner with CEPA members in Brussels in June she deciphered the results of the elections and shared insights on the future of the European Union. She suggested that the shift in the balance of power towards the liberals and the greens promises more complexity and a much more environment-focused agenda for the next five years. She added that another important factor is the rise in the influence of activists. NGOs have learned to use social media and an international network of similar-minded organisations and militants to influence public opinion and decision makers. A greener regulatory agenda could accelerate the banning of some biocidal products and she warned that the relevance of science in the political decision-making process is being eroded by those who simply do not accept fact because it undermines positions based primarily on emotion.
2. Powerful EU Parliament Committee also now greener than ever
   The Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) will be king in the new EU Parliament (EP), reports CEPA. With its 76 members, it has become the biggest committee in the EP. Its new chairman, Pascal Canfin, was a former French Minister for Development and head of WWF in France. Amongst its other members are former Health Ministers and a number of environmental activists.
3. New LinkedIn group for pest managers
   CEPA has launched a dedicated group for pest managers on LinkedIn. CEPA says: “This group will be a forum to discuss topics members deem important for the sector while enabling CEPA to be represented in the most important B2B forum. The article continues: “Hopefully, this could also help attract new members to the Association.” Join the CEPA LinkedIn group here. 

   For those that haven’t been paying full attention this latter comment about new members might seem rather strange. Yes CEPA used to be essentially a group of associations but these days it’s membership is much wider with a whole raft of what are described as: ‘Pest Management Ecosystem Member Companies’. These include the global manufacturers such as BASF and Bayer, a whole range of other manufactures, such as Bell, AP&G, Bleu Line, the big international servicing companies such as Rentokil, Orkin and Anticimex as well as a range of other national CEPA-certified servicing companies. Over the last 12 months, 21 new companies have become members.

4. New EU Commission offices
   On 10 July, the EU Commission announced the results of an architectural competition launched in the spring of 2018 (not a sudden decision then!) to identify the best solution to replace part of its ageing offices in the European quarter. The newsletter says that CEPA will be ‘reaching out’ to the Commission to urge it to ensure that modern pest management measures are integrated in the building complex during construction.