71% of lighting products sold online in the EU are non-compliant

Training, Innovation and Digitalization represent the obligatory path that every lighting company must take to achieve market leadership. That is the reflection that ASSIL, the National Association of Lighting Manufacturers, wanted to bring to the centre of its General Assembly at IMQ Group’s headquarters. Many challenges and opportunities await the Italian lighting sector, starting from the numbers, which, following the pandemic, appear to be shrinking still. According to the ANIE study centre, in the first three quarters of 2024, Italian industrial production of lighting technology entered a decisive recovery phase (+10.3% trend). But, despite the positive trend, the change in lighting technology turnover remains in negative territory (-6.7%) due to a contraction in consumption by the domestic market.

The Italian lighting sector, which operates with very high-quality standards, also has to deal with the issue of unfair competition from manufacturers in non-European countries. According to a recent survey by Lighting Europe (the trade association representing the lighting industry in Europe), it appears that 71% of the inspected lighting products sold online in Europe are not compliant, and 95% of the verified products do not have the necessary WEEE and CE certifications nor comply with the information requirements that guarantee compliance with Ecodesign standards, energy labelling and electrical safety. Products that come mainly from non-EU countries and that compromise consumer safety, environmental sustainability and the competitiveness of Italian and European companies.

The issue of market surveillance, therefore, becomes crucial to avoid unfair competition. On the occasion of the ASSIL Assembly, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Hon. Massimo Bitonci, remarked: “MIMIT is the main responsible for coordinating market surveillance activities, including the verification of the conformity of products placed on the market by European directives. Product safety is a priority, not only to ensure consumer protection but also to ensure and promote the smooth functioning of the market.” His speech continued with a lunge on the role of Europe, highlighting how “the orientation of the European Commission is to encourage the development of new tools aimed at consumer protection, as well as to define specific requirements and obligations for online platforms such as the registration of sites in special systems such as the rapid alert system and the safety gate in the case of dangerous products“. On the national front, on the other hand, “the actions put in place aim, on the one hand, to protect the market through the anti-counterfeiting rules present in the framework law for Made in Italy and awareness campaigns promoted on the subject. On the other hand, through a facilitation system aimed at encouraging and supporting the European Green Deal” – concludes Bitonci.

From the ASSIL Assembly comes a strong message regarding the need to find suitable market rules that allow to trade with quality products and to operate in a regulated market where all companies can play the same game. “We need to encourage fair competition.” – underlines Carlo Comandini, President of ASSIL – To do this, alliances and synergies are needed at national and European levels capable of bringing together producers, trade associations, and institutions and authorities that deal with surveillance: from the Customs Agency to the Revenue Agency, to the Chamber of Commerce, to ENEA, to the Guardia di Finanza and the MIMIT itself so that a unitary and shared policy is defined and carried out with the sole objective of averting an increasingly more open to uncontrolled competition“.

Another lever to bet on is innovation, the first development engine and the basis for a quality industry. Among the tasks ASSIL has set itself are the institution and promotion of culturally advanced ecosystems to develop an associative base of companies and professionals prepared in knowledge and competence. Innovation, therefore, goes hand in hand with quality and training. The opportunities introduced by the digital transition, interoperability and sustainability have brought numerous regulatory requirements within the lighting sector that require increasingly qualified skills.

“Adequate technical training is a fundamental tool to strengthen and enhance further the quality of Italian lighting manufacturers and to ensure innovation and competitiveness. All that considered, we are pleased to announce the IMQ Open Farm project, the incubator for experts’ regulatory-compliance training” – underlines Comandini. The initiative – promoted by the IMQ Group – aims to respond to the concrete need to bridge the training gap in instructing experts in products’ regulatory compliance through training based on the learning-by-doing method. That will be made available to all manufacturing companies in the electrical and electronics sector – including ASSIL members – interested in qualifying new collaborators or enhancing the skills of their staff.

ASSIL