European cooling contractors’ association AREA has appointed Coen van de Sande as its new president following recent elections to set out the group’s new Board. Mr van de Sande, the director of the Netherlands-based association NVKL, replaces Marco Buoni in the role following the organization’s recent General Assembly that was held on 13 May 2022.
He said that AREA was an important organization to give contractors across the EU, as well as in the UK, a united voice on the major changes required in the cooling industry over the coming decades.
Legislation and standardization
Mr van de Sande added, ‘’Legislation and standardization became more and more an EU playing field in the last two decades.”
“EU-wide cooperation between associations of contractors through AREA is crucial to make the voice of contractors heard in all relevant EU stakeholders like the European Commission, Parliament, Council and other umbrella associations in our (RACHP) sector.”
Major priorities
Sustainability
The drive for sustainability is expected to be seen not only in the ongoing push to adopt lower GWP refrigerants
Among the main priorities identified by Mr van de Sande that currently face AREA members is the pressure to ensure a more sustainable and less carbon-intensive industry.
This drive for sustainability is expected to be seen not only in the ongoing push to adopt lower GWP refrigerants as required under the F-Gas legislation but also through the importance of installing more energy-efficient systems. These systems will include the planned expansion of heat pumps that will require cooling expertise.
Circular economy
Another priority for the organization will be to ensure contractors could adopt circular economy principles when installing and maintaining systems throughout their entire lifecycle. This is intended to reduce overall waste and the related carbon emissions from the industry.
Mr van de Sande said these specific challenges were expected to significantly impact the day-to-day operations of AREA’s members.
Train, educate, and certify
He said, “They need to train, educate and certify their personnel and adapt their business operations to meet the challenges these transitions bring along.”
“AREA and member associations play a key role in supporting contractors to meet these challenges by developing all kinds of supporting and safeguarding no one is left behind.” AREA represents 25 different associations working across 23 countries and aims to encourage the sharing of industry expertise and knowledge across Europe.
F-Gas regulation
Van de Sande hopes to have made a “big step” in supporting members with becoming more sustainable
By the end of his two-year tenure as president, Mr van de Sande said he hoped to have made a “big step” in supporting members by becoming more sustainable in their operations.
This would involve having a say in steering proposed changes to the F-Gas regulation, as well as ensuring contractors are prepared for the impact of EU ambitions to cut the region’s total emissions by 55 percent as of 2030.
Training and education program
Mr van de Sande added, “We must ensure that legislation is achievable and manageable for our members and that we also have developed an appropriate training and education program for them to acquire the necessary knowledge that is needed to give substance to the goals of sustainability.”
AREA’s new president will be supported by a revised Board that will include past President Marco Buoni who will have a mandate to oversee the organization’s ‘Internal Affairs'. Grzegorz Michalski of Poland-based association KFCh will serve as vice president over the same period.