A new association, The Unified Water Label Association, (UWLA) has been formed to drive forward the implementation of the Unified Water Label across Europe, and replaces the former governing body, the European Bathroom Forum (EBF). The decision was ratified at the recent EBF/UWLA open forum meeting held in December.
The association was formed to provide a vehicle for the ‘Best of All Approach’, which brings together four of the existing labelling schemes in Europe under the Unified Water Label banner; the European Water Label, Swiss Energy, the Swedish Energy Agency, and ANQIP, the Portuguese water labelling scheme.
Yvonne Orgill, pictured, is appointed MD of the UWLA and Carlos Velazquez is president. The rest of the board of UWLA includes representatives from the founder European associations, the four schemes that have come together to form the Unified Water Label, and representatives from CEIR, The European association for the Taps and Valves Industry, and FECS, the European Association for ceramic sanitaryware manufacturers.
Orgill said: “We are entering an exciting phase in the development of the Unified Water Label, taking the scheme to a pan-European level as support intensifies across Europe and the UK. The new structure of the UWLA will help us drive forward our objectives.
“We have experienced growth in the scheme over the last 12 months despite the challenges posed by COVID, and are well placed to take up the commercial opportunities offered by governments seeking to include water-efficiency targets in their strategies moving forward.
“The Renovation Wave, Green Deal and Retrofit Initiatives, are all aimed at building on carbon reductions, and the Unified Water Label is now recognised by many at Government level as a smart tool that can help to drive these initiatives.
“A new marketing campaign for 2021 that dovetails with these Government initiatives was approved at the meeting, and this will promote the scheme across Europe and increase our market representation.”
