Whitehouse Communications designed and delivered a bespoke training programme for the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA), upskilling the trade body and its member companies on EU policy-making, chemical policy engagement and effective lobbying in Brussels following the UK’s departure from the European Union. The two-session online course covered the EU institutions and their decision-making procedures, the political dynamics of the post-COVID recovery period, and the practical implications of the UK operating as a third country to the EU.
The challenge
The British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA) represents the UK aerosol industry across the full supply chain, from suppliers of components and ingredients to fillers and marketers of aerosol products. The sector operates within a complex framework of chemical policy and consumer protection regulation, much of which continues to be shaped at the EU level, even after the UK’s departure from the European Union.
Following Brexit, BAMA’s members were eager to build their understanding of how the EU and EU policy-making function, particularly in the areas of chemical policy and consumer protection, and how a British organisation can continue to engage meaningfully with EU institutions as a third country. BAMA approached Whitehouse Communications to design and deliver a training programme that would equip its member companies with practical knowledge of EU decision-making and effective lobbying techniques.
Our approach
Whitehouse Communications drew on its combined experience of EU politics, public affairs and chemical policy, and its track record of delivering training to mixed technical and non-technical audiences, to design a course tailored to BAMA’s specific membership. The course, titled ‘Understanding the EU institutions, the policy process and how to influence EU decision-making’, was delivered online across two sessions.
The training focused on:
- Grounding attendees in the EU institutions and their decision-making procedures, and showing how a UK-based organisation can positively engage with relevant debates in Brussels to shape and influence policy.
- Setting out the political dynamics and shifting policy priorities at the EU level in light of the COVID-19 recovery plans, including ongoing regulatory discussions that could affect the chemical and aerosol industries.
- Introducing the practical implications of the UK operating as a third country to the EU following Brexit, and how a British trade body can continue to engage effectively with EU institutions.
- Using concrete case studies of relevance to BAMA and the wider chemicals sector to translate the theory into applied, day-to-day knowledge attendees could put to use straight away.
The outcome
Attendees completed the two-session programme with practical, applied knowledge they could put to use straight away, including where to find key information on EU legislative files, who to contact within the European Commission and the European Parliament, and which policy and legislative changes in the pipeline were most relevant to their business, and how to influence them.
Delivering online training to an audience mixing regulatory experts, marketing professionals and specialists with a more technical background is a distinct challenge. The programme gave this varied membership a shared, practical grounding in EU policy engagement that could be applied in their day-to-day roles.
