Article submitted by Marta Fernandez Garcia – Standardization Programme Manager on Ethics, Governance, Social Responsibility and Services Sector at UNE
1.Tell us about UNE. What is your core business and role within the project?
The Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE, is the Spanish Standardization Body.
UNE develops national standards and is the Spanish member of European standardization organizations (CEN-CENELEC) and international standardization organizations (ISO-IEC), which respectively develop European and international standards.
As the standardization partner in ECOFACT Project, UNE has the role of making the exchange of knowledge possible between the standardization system and the ECOFACT project:
- providing analysis on the standardization landscape relevant to the different WP objectives;
- making possible the interaction with the standardization technical bodies, when necessary;
- as a tool for compatibility and dissemination of ECOFACT outcomes.
As WP7 leader, it will supervise the alignment of all the certification and regulatory/policy tasks under the umbrella of the standardization.
2. Why did your organisation get involved in the ECOFACT project? How does this activity fit with the normal business of your organisation?
In European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, standardization is considered a key tool to facilitate interoperability and to help open markets. It has been used in all work program, as a general recommendation and in 25% of specific calls as a requirement.
Standards can reduce the gap between research and the market. It can make research outcomes available as a basis for new innovations.
Besides, standardization is considered a highly effective mechanism for knowledge and technology transfer.
UNE is the 1st Standardization Body by number of participations in European projects. It has participated in more than 70 funded projects since 2021.
3. How will the outputs of the ECOFACT project help production system energy performance?
The good practices and the principles obtained in ECOFACT Project will be included into standard industry practices and into recommendations for related certification schemes and policy measures. This way, those good practices may be transferred and disseminated throughout the European manufacturing industry.
4. What are the technical challenges your work in ECOFACT is trying to overcome?
UNE has the challenge to understand and select the relevant results to be taken as a basis for standardization works, maximizing the competitiveness of the project solutions , as well as helping manufacturing European industry become more energy efficient.
Partners assessment over the different stages of the project and further engagement in the development of standards will be very important.
5. What positive impacts will the projects have when complete?
Through the development of new standards and the proposal of new certification schemes or regulation policies, the best energy efficient manufacturing practices may be shared and disseminated.
The system and platform validated in the Project specific operational manufacturing environments could be transferred to other operational environments.
Positive impacts the Project may have: transformation of European industry to a more energy efficient industry by reducing environmental footprint.
