While industry is often portrayed as the main source of environmental problems, Europe's industrial sector has actually made more progress in reducing its environmental impact than areas such as household consumption and private transport.

This is partly because industry was the first target of environmental regulation. It is also easier to force through changes in a few thousand companies than convince hundreds of millions of people to alter their lifestyles and habits. A third factor is the growing trend away from heavy manufacturing — European industry is increasingly focusing on providing services which are generally more environmentally-friendly and smart high value-added products.

This section looks at the development of Europe's manufacturing industry, its environmental impacts, and the agreements, financial instruments, legislation, and other measures aimed at reducing the environmental pressure from industry.