Schuttelaar Partners
SP
As a communications consultancy, Schuttelaar Partners strives to promote greater health and sustainability.
ID: 57779082499-25
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Gijs Schilthuis (Director Agriculture and Rural Development) and Coöperatie Koninklijke Cosun U.A.
9 Apr 2025 · Gesprek over ontwikkelingen landbouw- en voedselbeleid
Meeting with Joanna Stawowy (Cabinet of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski), Jorge Pinto Antunes (Cabinet of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski) and Coöperatie Koninklijke Avebe U.A.
6 Mar 2023 · The European Green Deal and the EU Soil Health Strategy.
Response to A comprehensive approach to mental health
14 Feb 2023
At Schuttelaar & Partners, we dream about a sustainable and healthy future. As a communication consultancy, for 25 years we have been working with our customers to realize this, and together we have achieved a lot. Yet, societal changes continue to exist. That's why, besides continuing supporting healthcare collaboration, accelerating medical, technological and social innovation, and promoting a healthy lifestyle at all stages of life, our passionate experts have recently put another item on the agenda: mental health. On February 9, 2023, a new study conducted by Sciensano Public Health Institute revealed that one in three (29%) Belgians under the age of 30 suffer from depression. A high number which, when taken with WHO's assessment of depression being the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds, confirms the urgency and the tangibility of a phenomenon that we easily disregards as "not concerning us". It is in light of this urgency that we, at Schuttelaar & Partners, have made it our mission to raise awareness about mental health and to promote mental well-being both within and outside of our company. From an HR perspective, by creating a safe space for colleagues to voice their struggles, take excused absences to prioritize mental wellness and appointments, and by organizing internal "Healthy Lifestyle" weeks on the topic of mental health. From a work perspective, by launching and taking part in initiatives and projects that promote good mental health. That's how we ended up co-organizing the "How Are You Doing Today?" event in June of 2022, tackling the mental health of young Europeans together with the Young Professionasl Network, our umbrella non-profit organisation. Chaired by MEP Maria Walsh, co-chair of the Mental Health Alliance as well as the Coalition of Mental Health and Wellbeing Interest groups in the European Parliament, the event brought together mental health advocates, experts from the pharmaceutical field, project leaders as well as Euro Youth Mental Health to provide more visibility and understanding for mental health among young professionals. Within this context, that tangibility we sought to make evident came to the surface, as many of the attendees shared their own personal experiences seeking mental health treatment, proving that in fact, mental health doesn concern us too. Yet, as we make plans to continue with our mental health awareness campaign in the future, we realize that we lack a more holistic approach and strategy for mental health. That's why we take this opportunity to ask you to: - Launch EU-wide communication campaigns about mental health to make sure that awareness-raising efforts really reach everyone - Increase focus on preventive measures and initiatives, such as by creating safe spaces for discussions around mental health in schools, universities, and workplaces - Expand current understanding of well-being at EU level to not only include physical health, but also mental health so as to break the social stigma and redirect the conversation - Encourage the engagement of young people as a driving force for change - Facilitate cross-sector, cross-country sharing of experiences and good practices - Highlight the positive impact of exercise and physical activity on mental health - Increase EU and national expenditures on mental health (e.g. Italy's "Bonus Psicologo") - Improve acess to mental health care for all
Read full responseMeeting with Antonius Manders (Member of the European Parliament) and International Sport and Culture Association ISCA
29 Nov 2022 · Healthy lifestyle
Response to Sustainable use of pesticides – revision of the EU rules
7 Aug 2020
This contribution is made on behalf of the following stakeholders:
- Burg Group, a leading vinegar producer based in The Netherlands
- Charbonneaux-Brabant, a leading vinegar producer based in France
- Fedalim, the French food industry federation
We would like to draw your attention to the sustainable use of pesticides by non-professional users, e.g. as herbicides in the home environment. This is a particular setting where the protection of human health and the environment can be challenging. In the light of the European Green Deal, we believe this is an essential element.
Basic substances can play a role in meeting this challenge. However, it is our experience that it is very complicated and time consuming to obtain authorization for basic substances as natural, non-chemical herbicides.
We request the European Commission to address, in its evaluation and impact assessment of Directive 2009/128/EG, the need for removing the current high barriers for the authorization of basic substances.
Below we further explain this request.
1. Many citizens apply herbicides around their homes
Although from an environmental point of view mechanical weed control generally is preferred over other methods, many citizens use substances – either registered herbicides or traditional products.
Correct, safe and sustainable application cannot be enforced in all these individual settings. Therefore non-chemical alternatives with an inherently better risk profile should be promoted – of course with clear instructions on their correct use.
2. Need for inherently safe substances: make the sustainable choice the easy choice
A promising approach is to authorize ‘basic substances’ like food ingredients for the use of herbicides. Such an authorization would enable producers of these substances to educate the citizens on the correct use as a herbicide – whereas today, they are not allowed to do so, while many citizens actually use them without such guidance.
A good example is vinegar, a food ingredient and cleaning agent that has been in use for decades without any health or safety issues. It is known to be effective against weeds and moss, and has a similar level of active substance (acetic acid) as many authorized products based on acetic acid solutions (*1).
In our view, the EU should promote the availability of basic substances (often already widely in use, although without authorization and without any guidance on correct application), in order to make the sustainable choice the easy choice for citizens.
3. High barrier for authorization of basic substances
However, various requests for authorization for the use of vinegar as a herbicide have failed. It turns out that the review of basic substances, in practice, is similar to that of chemicals. Also, vinegar seems to be treated more strictly than it’s chemically produced counterpart, acetic acid solutions.
Various experts have confirmed that similar difficulties are met with other basic substances, both in professional and non-professional applications.
4. Food business is not pesticide business
It is important to notice that food companies like vinegar producers are not in the pesticide business. Their aim is simply to be able to ensure responsible use of their products. This is currently not possible, as the authorization procedure for basic substances is at least as challenging as that of chemical pesticides.
(*1)
Vinegar is a product exclusively obtained by the organic process of the double alcoholic and acetic fermentation of foodstuffs and liquids of agricultural origin.
Acetic acid, on the other hand, comes from the petrochemical industry. It is mainly obtained by a chemical synthesis process: carbonylation of methanol (substance classified according to CLP regulation (EC) n ° 1272/2008).
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