International cooperation
PRO Europe goals
The European waste policy cannot not restrict the free movement of goods between the European Union (EU) member states. Therefore waste management throughout Europe can be ensured. Packaging Recovery Organisation Europe s.p.r.l. (PRO Europe) was established in 1995 to eliminate trade barriers, when implementing the EU Directive No. 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste. It is an umbrella organisation uniting 30 national packaging waste management systems that use the Green Dot trade mark.
Those PRO Europe members, who are planning or are already engaged in the management of waste electric equipment, have established a separate working group to share topical information and look for joint solutions to the problems.
PRO Europe objectives
The primary task of the organisation is to grant the licence rights for the trade mark "Green Dot" to national packaging management organisations and to establish it as a uniform European trade mark. In 1995 the owner of the Green Dot trade mark - "Duales System Deutschland AG" (DSD) – decided to transfer the rights to use the trade mark to an organisation that could unite the European packaging waste management systems. As the result of it PRO Europe was established, DSD concluded a licence agreement with it about the rights to grant the rights to use the trade mark to the national packaging waste management systems.
PRO Europe ensures the sharing of experience and information among its member organisations, lobbies and advocates its interests in the EU institutions.
PRO Europe member states
Since the commencement of its activities in 1996, PRO Europe has been successfully realising its task to promote the recognizability of Green Dot in Europe and elsewhere in the world. The number of European countries that have implemented the Green Dot system is constantly increasing. At present PRO Europe unites 30 countries.
Nationally recognised packaging waste management systems can become the members of this organisation, acquiring the exclusive rights to use this trade mark in the territory of the said country. Joint stock company “Latvijas Zaļais punkts” became member of PRO Europe already in 2000, when it started its activities, with the rights to licence the use of Green Dot mark in Latvia.
