Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The International Association for Soaps, Detergents, and Maintenance Products (A.I.S.E.) had low levels of engagement with climate change regulations in the EU in 2022-24. The association did not clearly support science-aligned climate action in its top-line messaging and in its positions on industry decarbonization, and engaged with EU circular economy legislation with broadly negative positions.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: The International Association for Soaps, Detergents, and Maintenance Products (A.I.S.E.) has limited and broadly contradictory top-line messaging on climate policy. On its website, accessed in October 2024, A.I.S.E. supported the EU’s Green Deal and 2050 targets. However, the association signed the Antwerp Declaration in February 2024, in which signatories did not clearly support the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality target, emphasizing deindustrialization and carbon leakage. In a LinkedIn post from September 2024, the association’s Director General - Alexis Van Maercke - appeared unsupportive of EU Green Deal policies, advocating for an EU Industrial Deal which entails revising existing legislation and avoiding implementing detailed regulation.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: The International Association for Soaps, Detergents, and Maintenance Products (A.I.S.E.) engaged primarily with circular economy related legislation in 2022-24 and with broadly negative positions. In May 2023 feedback to the EU Commission, the association supported the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation with major exceptions, emphasizing that it should not overlap with other legislative initiatives. A.I.S.E. stated support for the objectives of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), but advocated for the recognition of chemical recycling and emphasized concerns around the achievability of reusable targets for transport packaging in March 2023 feedback to the EU Commission. Additionally, in multiple joint statements from February 2024, December 2023, and April 2023, the association did not support the PPWR, advocating for exemptions from targets on reuse and refill and against allowing Member States to set more ambitious measures at national level.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The International Association for Soaps, Detergents, and Maintenance Products (A.I.S.E.) had limited engagement with the energy transition in 2022-24. The association signed the Antwerp Declaration in February 2024, in which signatories took unclear positions on industry decarbonization, for example advocating for more funding for ‘clean’ technology without clarifying what this includes, and supporting Carbon Capture and Use (CCU) without providing details on the long term role of fossil fuels and the conditions under which CCU would apply.