New ETSA Chief’s Focus: Sustainability & Green Innovation
Elena Lai, the recently named secretary general of the European Textile Services Association (ETSA), says she’s eager to work with laundry operators, suppliers and industry trade groups across Europe and North America in order to advance solutions to challenges, including COVID-19 relief/rebuilding, healthcare textile supply chains, advancing a pro-environmental “circular” economy, promoting equal opportunity in a diverse industry and more.
A native of Sardinia, off the Italian coast, Lai has a diverse background. Late last year, she succeeded ETSA’s Robert Long, who had led the association for 25 years. Lai’s previous career milestones include teaching Italian at Nottingham Trent University in England, working on diversity issues with the city council there, and serving as a government relations advocate to the European Union (EU). In 2011, Lai was tapped as secretary general of CEPI, the European Coordination for Independent Producers. In this post, she helped guide the association in adapting to an “ever-evolving digital market.” In 2016, she moved to Europe Analytica, where she served as “head of office” for a Brussels-based public relations firm that specializes in advocacy for cultural and creative industries across the continent.
Lai says her Europe Analytica experience helped hone her advocacy skills. A key focus was working with EU policy makers to advance a tech-driven agenda. “At Europe Analytica, I came to understand the importance of innovation and technological development,” said Lai. For example, she cited efforts to advance EU-funded programs such as Horizon 2020, which she described as critical to Europe’s competitiveness in the cultural and entertainment sectors in a global era. She expects this experience to aid her in her new position. “The managerial approach I cultivated there allowed for an atmosphere of inventiveness and synergy which I hope to also bring to ETSA, especially as it relates to fine-tuning our approach to sustainability, PPE, waste management, the circular economy and other policy issues.”
As for collaborating with TRSA, Lai said she expects to build on the firm foundation that Long and ETSA members laid over several years with TRSA and its President and CEO Joseph Ricci. “The United States is and remains Europe’s closest ally and greatest historical partner,” Lai said. “The goals of sustainability and green innovation are not exclusive to Europe. I trust the new (President Joseph) Biden administration will look into these areas much closer than before. This is without a doubt a potential new horizon to look at and synergize when possible for both ETSA and TRSA.”
Lai added that the ongoing partnership between the two organizations has set the stage for more progress, especially once the COVID-19 crisis is under control. “We have a history of collaboration and cooperation with our national associations and TRSA,” Lai said. “I think we can find a wealth of opportunities to collaborate, especially as it relates to better understanding of our sector via webinars and hopefully in-person events when the crisis is finished.” Technology offers one area where joint education efforts could deliver mutual benefits. “We have an excellent opportunity to expand on digitalization and technological growth in our sector, and this might be the best moment to really test our skills in these aspects.”
Another area ripe for enhanced collaboration is having the associations work with EU and U.S. officials on the need for a reliable supply chain of reusable isolation gowns that are more sustainable than disposable gowns. “We have a chance to address two policy dilemmas at once,” Lai said. “We can simultaneously increase our reliance on domestic production and suppliers, while also contributing to responsible sustainability and a greener future, maintaining a high level of hygiene at a time that this is no doubt crucial.”
A third topic of interest to Lai is one that’s also a priority for TRSA: promoting diversity in an industry that employs a large number of immigrants and a low-skilled workforce. ETSA is using EU funded projects such as “EDUCATE!” in synergy with other national associations to set up an e-learning platform to facilitate integration at work and better understanding of work tasks, in the rental textile sector. Lai says her proudest career moment was receiving an award from the Nottingham City Council for her work with the university that was aimed at advancing international culture and overcoming racism and xenophobia. “I’m very proud of this achievement because equal opportunities and ending discrimination is something I’m extremely passionate about. Fundamentally, Europe is such a diverse place full of different languages, customs and traditions, that if we expect to achieve anything substantive in policy, we should be conscious of this and strive to do better.”
Watch for follow-up coverage of our interview with Lai in Textile Services magazine.