The Natural Stone Strategic Alliance (NSSA) convened its first annual General Assembly during Marmomac 2026 in Verona, Italy, on Thursday, September 24, 2026. The meeting formalized the transition of the international coalition into a permanent institutional structure.
As reported by StoneNews.eu on October 18, 2026, member organizations appointed Jim Hieb, CEO of the Natural Stone Institute (NSI), as the alliance's first President. The gathering established permanent governance rules to guide joint initiatives across member nations.
During the session, delegates approved the permanent Board composition and adopted updated bylaws. Members elected the first permanent Board of Directors and officers, though the full list has not yet been published. The institutional milestone establishes formal procedures for global policy coordination across dimension stone producing regions.
Governance structure and leadership appointments
The Verona assembly marks the culmination of organizational steps initiated earlier in the year. NSSA is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the United States, providing a recognized legal framework for joint international actions.
Jim Hieb, CEO of the Natural Stone Institute, takes the alliance's first presidency.
Membership growth and strategic aims
The assembly confirmed the accession of two new member organizations: the Istanbul Mineral Exporters' Association (IMIB) from Turkey and Center Stone from Russia. With these additions, the alliance counts 11 national organizations and associations across four continents, with a stated target of expanding to 20 national associations.
According to an earlier report from StoneNews.eu on July 3, 2026, covering an NSSA meeting on July 1, the alliance's members at that point came from Brazil, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Brazil is represented within the alliance by Centrorochas, the Brazilian Natural Stone Association.
The stated aims of the NSSA focus on coordination on international standards, trade policy and sector challenges, while supporting global governance, operational coordination and transparency across quarrying and processing trades.
Fábio Cruz, Vice President of Centrorochas, articulated the alliance's collaborative rationale: "The NSSA shows that the challenges facing our industry require increasingly coordinated action among countries."
Environmental declarations and silica policy
Among the alliance's primary work programs is the flagship project EPD Global. The initiative is designed to integrate member countries' Environmental Product Declaration programs, map each national program's development stage, and provide a global overview of the industry's environmental progress. The broader framework for environmental disclosure is documented in StoneTrades' analysis of the NSSA global Environmental Product Declaration framework.
Occupational health represents another urgent priority. Respirable crystalline silica is a priority topic for the alliance, following Australia's restrictions on engineered stone and the ongoing regulatory debate in California. Within the alliance, NSI directs research, regulatory initiatives and communication on silica mitigation, mirroring positions detailed in coverage of the California engineered stone rule comments.
Staging the assembly alongside trade deliberations in Italy connected international governance directly to commercial stone operators, as outlined in StoneTrades' report on Marmomac 2026 final results in Verona.
What it means for buyers
- Major stone-producing countries are establishing unified representation on technical standards, international trade policy and workplace silica safety, pointing toward coordinated positions during regulatory proceedings.
- The EPD Global project aims to produce standardized environmental metrics across origins, assisting architects and sustainability specifiers seeking verifiable life-cycle data for green building projects.
- Procurement teams should inquire whether primary stone suppliers and exporter associations participate in recognized national Environmental Product Declaration frameworks.
- The full board list has not yet been published; buyers tracking industry policy positions should watch for it and for further members as the alliance works toward its 20-association target.
