Blog; HAE EHA Represents Members on a Global Stage

Representatives from Hire Association Europe (HAE) and Event Hire Association (EHA) recently attended the European Rental Association Convention (ERA) and Global Rental Alliance (GRA) meetings that were held in Lisbon, Portugal.

CEO Paul Gaze, Public Affairs Manager Mark Bradshaw and Association Chair Neil Bravery attended the convention which focused on examining the ‘The Future of Rental Solutions’. The convention discussed the journey towards decarbonisation and the implementation of reporting emissions. It also included energy transition in the construction equipment industry with parallels to the car industry.

Mark Bradshaw said “Neil and I took part in the ‘Sustainability Workshop’ themed on carbon reporting. This is the subject of an ERA project together with KPMG to establish guidance on carbon reporting for hire businesses of all sizes. There is currently no such guidance for the hire sector.

“There was extensive discussion on the barriers to decarbonising, cost being identified as a significant obstacle. This mirrors HAE efforts to get full expensing for hire assets in the UK and how this would increase the pace of decarbonisation.

“Reference was also made to the recently published ERA Sustainability Guide which is available on the ERA website”.

Find out more about the ERA Sustainability KPIs 2.0 Guidance Framework here.

CEO Paul Gaze said, “One of the workshops I took part in was the session on ‘Working in Rental for a Sustainable Future’ which included attracting and retaining talent, thorough highlighting career options in hire and rental and showcasing the sector’s sustainable credentials. The action plan for European Rental Week (ERW) which takes place between 14th to 20th October was also discussed, and this activity forms part of our Careers in Hire Initiative.

“On the final day we had the opportunity to hear guest speaker Calum Chace guide us through the exciting and slightly scary world of Artificial Intelligence, what the future holds from a tech perspective and how we can embrace this rapid change in our daily lives and the potential positive impact in business.”

On Friday Paul and Neil also took part in the Global Rental Alliance, with representatives from Europe and as far away as Brazil, India, and Australia. Presentations were provided by ERA on carbon reporting and e-learning via ANALOC from Brazil and Neil and Paul presented on work undertaken around safe delivery and collection of equipment.

HAE Chair Neil Bravery said, “We were also pleased to welcome the Turkish Rental Association to our group. The GRA is stronger than ever collaborating with rental associations across the globe. A key event in the calendar, roll on Dublin 2025!”