Capitalisation of ChemLog results

Transcription

1 newsletter October 2012 Capitalisation of ChemLog results Policy Advisory Group Meeting Brussels Losamedchem After official finalisation of the ChemLog project in October 2011 the Central Europe Joint Technical Secretariat has offered additional funding to the partnership in order to strengthen the capitalisation of project results. On this basis the ChemLog project had the chance to continue its work and a number of activities have been implemented from May to October The special focus was the mainstreaming of results to the European level and the initiation of the work of the European Chemical Logistics Network for Central and Eastern Europe under the Umbrella of the European Chemical Regions Network (ECRN). The milestone of capitalisation activities was the organisation of the Policy Advisory Group Meeting in Brussels on the 12th of October 2012 in order to discuss the important policy issues and related contributions from the ChemLog project. The main focus was given to the following topics: Follow up process of the High Level Group for the competitiveness of the Chemical industry in Europe as part of the EU2020 Strategy The review of EU Transport policy and the future development of TEN-T new transport partnership with Eastern neighbouring countries and EU-Russia programming of EU Structural Funds for the next funding period At regional level the partners have organised regional stakeholder meetings to discuss the further implementation of measures for the improvement of chemical logistics, which have been described in the ChemLog Strategy and Action Plan. For the strengthening of dissemination activities a ChemLog movie has been produced, which summarises the main objectives and outcomes of the project. The movie is available on the website and on youtube in order to reach a broader audience. Furthermore a ChemLog Facebook page has been created to spread information via social networks. In July 2012 the follow up project ChemLog T&T Tracking and Tracing solutions for improvement of intermodal transport of dangerous goods in Central and Eastern Europe has started, which will give the basis for further cooperation of the partnership with a focus on an important question of chemical logistics. Moreover all partners are committed to continue cooperation on the joint development of strategies and common actions for the improvement of chemical logistics. Transport Cooperation with Eastern Neighbours ChemLog Tracking and Tracing Outlook This project is implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme co-financed by the ERDF

2 02 Policy Advisory Group Meeting Brussels High level Representatives from politics, industry and academia have met in Brussels on the 12th of October 2012 for the ChemLog Policy Advisory Group Meeting. This meeting was focused on the discussion of important European Policies with relation to the promotion of chemical logistics in Central and Eastern Europe. The ChemLog partnership is especially interested in discussing their results and recommendations with the European Commission and the European Parliament in order to represent the special interest of chemical logistics. Dr. Klaus Klang Secretary of State in the Ministry of Regional Development and Transport Saxony-Anhalt welcomed the participants to the meeting. He started his speech with a look back in the history, when Saxony-Anhalt became an important cross-road of trade routes in the medieval age. Today the region has emerged into one of the most dynamic logistic regions in Saxony-Anhalt. Especially the improvement of access to the Central and East European growth markets is very important for the chemical industry and the whole economy. Just recently the groundbreaking ceremony of the new shunting yard in Halle (Saale) took place, which will allow the bundling of 2400 wagons per day in the future and which will improve the framework conditions for intermodal transport in Eastern Germany and its neighbouring countries. The new logistics concept of Saxony-Anhalt takes into account the importance of European transport policy and the cooperation within the ChemLog project is an important contribution which will be sustained in the future. Otto Linher from the European Commission DG Enterprise reported about the ongoing activities of the Follow up process of the High Level Group for the competitiveness of the chemical industry in Europe. In 2008 the ChemLog project has been initiated as one of the results of the HLG discussions and the HLG recommendations which have been published in 2009 take into account the need for improving chemical logistics especially in Central and Eastern Europe. At this time the Minister of Economy and Labour from Saxony-Anhalt and ECRN President Dr. Reiner Haseloff was member of the HLG and actively contributed in its work. In the past year the European Commission has initiated a follow up process to facilitate the implementation of recommendations. Currently a larger study on the development of chemical regions is under development, which also reflects logistic and transport related questions. The study should help chemical regions to improve their policies for the promotion of the chemical industry. In February 2013 a public conference will be organised to discuss the current status and future common challenges.

3 03 Andreas Fiedler from the isw gave an overview on the main achievements and conclusions of the ChemLog project. The partnership has agreed on joint strategies and concrete actions for the improvement of chemical logistics. At regional level networks of relevant stakeholders have been established that bring together different expertise and a European network ensures the sustainability of cooperation and the agreement on joint positions. On the basis of the Feasibility studies the ChemLog Strategy and Action Plan has been developed, which contains measures such as the establishment of the Terminal Network in Central Germany or the European Network on Cleaning Stations alongside the PEC V. The improvement of chemical logistics to the EU Neighbouring Countries and especially Russia is very important for the ChemLog partners. Therefore the new EU Transport Partnership East should be filled with life. A bilateral working group between German and Polish partners has been established to discuss concrete measures for the improvement of intermodal transport. Furthermore the follow up projects ChemLog+ and ChemLog TT will ensure a good basis for the continuation of cooperation. Jos Verlinden from Cefic presented the study Chemical Logistic Vision 2020, which has been implemented by the European Chemical industry Association in cooperation with Deloitte. This report describes major trends and their impact on European Chemical Logistics based on historical evolution and likely future developments in the industry while taking account of external factors such as regulatory changes. Solutions can be found in stronger horizontal and vertical integration, e.g. the use of integrated planning systems, the rethinking of operating models or introduction of 3PL/4PL services. Furthermore sustainable logistic strategies and concepts should be introduced, e.g. the shift to greener transport, optimisation of vehicle utilization or investments in intermodal infrastructure. Finally measures to ensure safe and secure operations are important, such as supply chain risk reduction, improvement of safety standards and culture or introduction of security procedures. Maximilian Strotmann from the European Commission reported about the new High Level Group on Transport and Logistics. In June 2012 Vice President of the Commission and Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas has initiated this HLG, which brings together top-level representatives of logistics service providers, customers of logistics companies, transport operators, ports/terminal operators, academics, IT companies and social partners from all over Europe to discuss important European Challenges for the future transport policy and unlock the potential of the European logistics and freight transport sector. The HLG will organise several public events to discuss the main topics. The ChemLog project representing the interest of chemical logistics has the chance to actively contribute to this discussion as an important industry.

4 04 Helmut Adelsberger from the European Commission presented the current status of the revision process of the Trans-European Networks for Transport. The European Commission has presented its proposal in October 2011, which is now under discussion in the European Parliament and the Council. The new TEN-T regulation develops a coherent approach for the establishment of a core and comprehensive transport network which should be established in the mid- and long-term future. A special funding line the Connecting Europe Facility should provide additional finance for the implementation of Trans-European Infrastructure projects. Several important transport corridors have been identified, which will be especially promoted. For this purpose a coordinator will be selected and relevant stakeholders alongside the corridor such as Member States, regions and cities will be brought together in informal discussion for the development of the corridor. If political discussions progress well, the regulation should be adopted in autumn Wolfgang Schnabel from Dow spoke about the initiative for the establishment of a terminal network in Central Germany, which has been an important outcome of the ChemLog project. The feasibility study for the development of intermodal transport alongside the Pan-European Corridor II from Germany via Poland to Russia has identified 4.3 million tons of chemical goods, which could be shifted from road to intermodal transport. The existing terminals in Central Germany have reached their capacity limits and the three logistic locations from Hoyer in Schkopau, the Port Halle and the chemical park Leuna have started discussion to establish a terminal network with the objective to agree joint actions for the creation of additional capacities and the connection of the three locations in order to create a European HUB function for the bundling of transport from West to East. Patrycja Kulesza from the European Commission presented the Marco Polo Programme which supports business driven projects in the international freight transport area with the objective to shift transport from road to rail or to avoid transport. The current Marco Polo II Programme has a budget of 450 million Euro and aims to shift 20.5 billion tkm of the road per year. There are five types of actions Modal Shift, Catalyst Actions, Motorways of the seas, traffic avoidance and common learning. There will be one remaining call in 2013, which will be published in spring. The ChemLog partners agreed to identify potential projects in close collaboration with the logistic service providers. The Policy Advisory Group Meeting ended with the conclusion that the ChemLog cooperation will continue to contribute to the EU policy debate in several areas. Especially the work of the new HLG for transport will be interesting. The follow up projects such as ChemLog T&T will provide a good platform to sustain collaboration in the future, integrating partners from politics, industry and academia and promoting concrete actions for the improvement of chemical logistics.

5 05 Losamedchem Improving Chemical Logistics in the Mediterranean The Province of Novara is coordinating the MED project LOSAMEDCHEM, which is focused on improving chemical logistics in the Mediterranean area. Novara is an important logistic area, located at the crossroad of the European corridor Genoa - Rotterdam and of the corridor Lisbon - Kiev. Logistics as economic activity is increasing more and more. It has become the second non industrial productive sector and is now vital for the economy of the Province. In Novara there is the Centro Intermodale Merci CIM, a large intermodal terminal. The Mediterranean basin has grown in the last 20 years to become one of the world crucial traffic areas. The globalisation of commercial relations, especially with Far and Middle East, has promoted the maritime transport of finished goods and raw materials. Nevertheless, the competitiveness of the Mediterranean regions, and in particular of the harbours, has lagged in their development, when compared with the equivalent structure in Northern Europe. LOSA- MEDCHEM tries to face these problems that are quite different from continental transportation, such as the organisation and the functionality of harbours and the connections by sea. Furthermore the connection of harbour with the hinterland are very important as well, with the problems of the dry ports settlement and the links with intermodal centres. The objectives of the project are: 1. promote cooperation, 2. develop infrastructures to connect harbours and hinterlands, 3. sustain intermodality, 4. reinforce railways/waterways transportation, 5. promote the transfer of know-how and technologies and 6. harmonise regulations. The last LOSAMEDCHEM phase is dedicated to the search of financial and regulation sources to implement the proposal elaborated in the feasibility studies. It is a constant challenge to increase the economic and social impact of the project activities. Furthermore a new network should also be established to sustain the work. These similar objectives give the basis to develop a strong collaboration with the ChemLog project.

6 06 Transport cooperation with EU neighbouring countries in the East In July 2011 the European Commission has published a communication The EU and its neighbouring regions: A renewed approach to transport cooperation (COM (2011), 415 final). The renewed transport cooperation should be established with a focus on the eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo. Russia is not covered by this initiative. The aim is to achieve a closer integration of transport markets to ensure faster, cheaper and more efficient transport connections. The Commission wants to promote East West rail transport as 40% growth is expected until 2020 to the East (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine). Furthermore the European Commission wants to define strategic regional transport networks in the neighbouring countries and connect them to the existing TEN-T network as well as to alternative connections between Europe and Asia. The Commission also wants to identify priority projects of regional and EU Interest in the context of TRACECA programme. The condition is a firm commitment of neighbouring countries to remove bottlenecks for international traffic and border crossing and improve connection to revised TEN-T. The cooperation should lead to increased integration and interoperability between transport systems, reduced transport cost and time, increased safety and security and protection of environment. As main outcome a pipeline of priority projects to be supported by EC and International Financial Institutions should be established. In this context financing for mature priority projects should be ensured by using EU and different sources (EIB, EBRD, IFIs). On 25 October 2011 the Eastern Partnership Transport Panel has been established during Council meeting in Cracow. Members are the European Commission, neighbouring countries, Member states and International Finance Institutions. The task of this panel is to discuss reforms, planning of transport networks and preparing pipeline of infrastructure projects. The ChemLog partners are willing to contribute to this work with its experience and knowledge (e.g. Expert Workshop in SK/HUN/UK June 2011). An important question for Chem- Log is the integration of Russia in this strategic transport partnership. From ChemLog perspective this most important target market has to be included.

7 07 ChemLog Tracking and Tracing project initiated On 17 and 18th September the kick-off meeting of the new ChemLog T&T project has been organised in Magdeburg. The Central Europe Project with the title Tracking and Tracing solutions for improvement of intermodal transport of dangerous goods in Central and Eastern Europe has been developed as follow up project of the ChemLog project and will provide a basis for deeper cooperation until the end of The Ministry of Science and Economy Saxony-Anhalt will continue to coordinate the project with a partnership of 15 partners from Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy and Slovenia. Public authorities, chemical industry associations and research institutions will work together in this framework. The old ChemLog partnership will also participate in the new project together with additional partners from Italy, Slovenia and Hungary. The project wants to promote the intelligent use of ICT for the improvement of intermodal transport of dangerous goods in Central and Eastern Europe to strengthen regional development and competitiveness of chemical industry. In the first work package the project partners will analyse the needs for tracking and tracing of dangerous goods from industry and public perspective. For this purpose a questionnaire will be developed and meetings with regional stakeholders such as companies and logistic service providers will be organized to collect the regional contribution. At the moment there are many solutions on the market, which are not compatible and which can not cover the monitoring of transport alongside the complete transport chain. On the basis of this analysis, available tracking and tracing technologies will be assessed and selected for the practical testing in four pilot projects on the important transport corridors from West to East. The results of the project will also be discussed with the regulatory setting authorities at national and international level. The first dissemination conference will be organised on 7th November 2012 in Prague. Next projects meetings are foreseen in Austria in February and in Italy in May All interested organisations are invited to contribute to the project activities.

8 Outlook to future Chemlog cooperation Impressum Lead Partner Ministry for Science and Economy of Saxony-Anhalt Hasselbachstraße Magdeburg Germany phone fax catrin.gutowsky@ mw.sachsen-anhalt.de ChemLog Tracking and Tracing 1st Dissemination Conference in Prague The first ChemLog T&T Conference will be organised on 7th and 8th November 2012 in the Brevnov Monastery in Prague. High level Representatives from politics, industry and academia will jointly discuss current challenges for chemical logistics in Central and Eastern Europe. Project partners will present best-practice solutions and first contributions to the analysis of needs for tracking and tracing solutions. The ChemLog T&T Conference will be organised in cooperation with the 10th Speedchain international logistics conference. In the afternoon of the 6th November the ChemLog T&T partners will come together for the transnational working group meeting to discuss the progress of the project activities. 10th European Congress of Chemical Regions, Warsaw The 10th European Congress of Chemical Regions will be organised on the 5th and 6th of December in Warsaw. The hosting region Masovia has just recently become proper member of the European Chemical Regions Network and offers a platform to more than 20 chemical regions from all over Europe to discuss current challenges for industrial policy. The question of chemical logistics will be covered in a special working session on the 6th of December. HLG Follow up study on the development of chemical regions The European Commission is currently implementing a study to analyse the development of chemical regions and identify successful policies for the promotion of chemical clusters. 30 chemical regions are included in the study, which will be finalised by the end of The European Commission plans to organise a public conference in February 2013 to discuss outcomes and recommendations for future actions. _en.htm ChemLog Facebook and Movie The ChemLog Project has started a facebook page, which will provide regular information about project activities and news from the project partners. Also the new ChemLog image movie will be soon available on the website. Get connected and contribute to the discussion.