The CEPA Annual Report 2020 has been published and is now available to read online.
CEPA, the European Pest Management Solutions Professional Association, had a busy year lobbying key decision-makers and stakeholders in Brussels, while supporting pest management workers across Europe and monitoring the effects of Covid-19 on SMEs across the sector.
In a year that saw public health thrust to the forefront of government agendas, CEPA made strides to increase the visibility of the pest management sector's vital role in protecting public health at a European level.
President Henry Mott praised the pest management industry's ability to thrive during the pandemic. He said:
"Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on the entire world in so many ways, the professionally trained pest management industry has continued to show its resilience in so many ways.
"If we have learnt anything in the last year, it’s that recent events have shown just how fragile many industries are and how events that are out of anyone’s control can render them completely impotent. I for one feel immensely proud that my chosen industry – one that to the outside world may seem very low tech and uninteresting – has bucked the trend of so many others and continued to thrive and help others in times of Covid-19."
In the report, CEPA describes SME’s as 'the backbone of the economy in all countries across Europe' and predict they will be the source of the financial recovery in terms of job creation and tax revenue for governments.
"The trained professional pest management industry is and continues to be largely made up of SME’s, and now more than ever it is time to seize the opportunity and take advantage of the focus on the fundamental role of SME’s to our economies," says Mott.
"For the last three years we have been on a mission to gain the official recognition we deserve and need as an industry. Both here in Europe and in other parts of the world the new catch phrase post-pandemic is “build back better”. As we see the pest management industry grow, particularly due to the impacts of climate change, increased urbanisation, and the need for a more sustainable future, I want to see us further embrace this philosophy."
Read the full CEPA Annual Report 2020 below.
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