PRC
(Public Relations and Communications)

The role of the Public Relations and Communications Committee (known internally as the PRC) is to:

  1. promote Eurobitume as the first reference for bitumen in Europe.
  2. communicate the wealth of bitumen-related guidance, advice and positions generated by our expert Technical and HSE committees, the Bitumen Sustainability Steering Group and their associated task forces to our stakeholders and target audiences using a wide range of face-to-face, print, digital and Social Media communications tools.

Due to member company internal re-organisation plans, for one year a Eurobitume team member (Siobhan McKelvey) took on the role of Chair as an interim solution. The normal situation, with a member company representative as the Chair, will resume for 2022.

The three main communication themes in 2021

  1. Bitumen 4.0 – the overall theme of the E&E Congress
  2. Technical
  3. Sustainability (including HSE issues)
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We recognised there was a good opportunity for Eurobitume to connect with the overall theme of the E&E Congress and develop messaging to demonstrate the important role played by bitumen in asphalt solutions and future mobility.

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Technical and HSE will always be focus areas for Eurobitume communication activities. So too the outputs delivered by these expert committees.

We also saw Sustainability, which bridges across both areas, become a fast-growing area of interest for both members and our stakeholders.

Some of the outcomes of our work in 2021

The communication materials we delivered were dominated by the need to fully capitalise upon the opportunity to promote our messages at the E&E online Congress.

  1. The aims of our virtual joint exhibition stand - with industry partner the Asphalt Institute - were to create interest in Eurobitume, to attract and encourage potential new members and stakeholders to connect with Eurobitume, and to reinforce to existing members the valuable work we undertake on their behalf.
  2. The stand was supported with presentations, videos, and documents - including a new two-page leaflet, ‘Bitumen and sustainability at a glance’.
  3. The stand also included general information about Eurobitume, which gave participants who were already aware of the organisation a greater understanding of the many activities we perform.
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Looking ahead to the rest of 2022

2nd E&E Event in November, in Vienna
We expect to support the Event with more material from the Bitumen Sustainability Steering Group and from the Task Force on environmental impacts and life cycle assessment of bitumen.

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Stakeholder research
Another deliverable will be the outcome of our stakeholder research, which will assist with the development of specific stakeholder ‘personas’. It began in January, when we invited a cross-section of stakeholders to share their experiences, expectations and reflections of working with the bitumen industry and particularly Eurobitume.

This anonymised research, conducted by an external service provider, involved online interviews, surveys and internal workshops, and will be concluded by the Spring. The results will provide an informed understanding of the communication needs of different types of stakeholder, what type(s) of information they look for and their critical touchpoints with Eurobitume.

With this knowledge, we will be able to adapt and refine our communications, training and education activities. We will improve our existing tools, develop new platforms and increase the effectiveness across all our communication channels - from the website to webinars.

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