Challenge

Ingevity, a leading specialty chemicals company, provides technologies used by the asphalt industry to make road construction more sustainable, cost-efficient and durable. As the European Union increasingly linked public procurement to sustainability, resilience and European industrial policy, the company faced the risk that new procurement rules could favour the geographic origin of products rather than their actual environmental and technical performance.
Such an approach could disadvantage innovative technologies that help reduce paving temperatures and energy consumption, facilitate the reuse of existing asphalt and extend the service life of roads.

Strategy

Alber & Geiger developed an EU government relations strategy that positioned Ingevity’s asphalt expertise within Europe’s own policy objectives rather than as a question of protecting an individual supplier.
We engaged relevant European Commission officials, Members of the European Parliament and key Member States around the development of European public procurement policy. Our message emphasised that sustainable road procurement should be based on measurable performance, lifecycle costs, durability, emissions reductions and the efficient use of resources.
At the same time, Alber & Geiger positioned Ingevity as a source of technical expertise for policymakers considering how sustainability and resilience requirements should be incorporated into future road procurement rules.

Results

Alber & Geiger brought Ingevity directly into the European policy discussion surrounding sustainable infrastructure and public procurement. We ensured that the advantages of performance-based road procurement — including sustainability, longer road life and lower overall costs — were understood by relevant European decision-makers.
The engagement strengthened Ingevity’s position in Europe and helped establish the company as a technical partner in the EU debate on how Europe should build more sustainable and durable roads.

Challenge

Alber & Geiger was hired by Nuseed to promote Carinata, a cover crop designed for biofuel production, in the EU Renewable Energy Directive in Brussels. Our team was required to ensure the approval of Carinata’s GHG savings. On top, we were mandated to pave the way for Carinata’s classification as an advanced biofuel towards the EU institutions.

Strategy

We targeted lawmakers in the European Parliament and officials in the European Commission. We presented arguments highlighting Carinata’s benefits, especially in producing high-quality and low greenhouse gas fuels. Carinata’s sustainability was emphasised during our outreach, while concerns over threatening food production and land-use were mitigated.

Results

Our engagement helped remove the yearlong impasse and paved the way for the acknowledgment and approval of Carinata’s GHG savings. Alber & Geiger’s engagement with EU officials and lawmakers increased understanding of the properties and benefits of Carinata. Also, it helped create advocates for a review of the existing list of advanced biofuels, and laid the groundwork for the inclusion of all crops that fulfil the criteria, to create a level playing field.

Challenge

The European Central Bank’s (ECB) single supervisory mechanism decided to carry out its first audit of Greece’s four systemic banks since it was set up. Greece’s leading bank turned to Alber & Geiger for help amid shareholder complaints over irregularities during the last round of capital raising. Assistance was required to ensure a standard and short regulatory scrutiny that would have not weakened further the image and investor confidence in the bank and its management.

Strategy

Alber & Geiger approached directly the European banking regulators and pressed the European Commission and its respective Directorates to announce their clearance of alleged irregularities. We emphasized the importance of investigations being short to not harm the image of the bank and its management.

We then sought to restructure the confidence on the Greek and European financial sector vis-à-vis the EU and German lawmakers and administrators. Our message put on the spotlight the bureaucratic approach and lengthy investigation on the bank itself, highlighting the lurking threat of economic and social instability of requiring more EU taxpayers’ money to the rescue.

Results

Six months into the mandate, the media campaign against our client and repeated calls against its management came to a halt. We helped facilitate the exchange of views between our client and the European banking regulators at the highest political level. By doing so, we helped prevent another wave of economic instability in Greece’s largest systemic bank.