Working Report No. 34 2006 – Green Technology Foresight about environmentally friendly products and materials - The challenges from nanotechnology, biotechnology and ICT

Green Technology Foresight about environmentally friendly products and materials

Preface

The focus of this green foresight project is the future environmental challenges and possible environmentally related competitive advantages related to the three generic technologies (or technology areas) nanotechnology, biotechnology and ICT (information and communications technologies). Focus has been on aspects of environment and health in general and particularly chemical aspects. The aim has been to develop recommendations for integrated environmental and innovation policies in Denmark and the EU in relation to the three technology areas in order to reduce and prevent the future impacts on environment and health, ensure focus on the environmental potentials in research, innovation and applications, and obtain environmentally related competitive advantages.

The project has been financed by the Danish Program for cleaner Products and has run 2004-2005. Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Management at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the System Analysis Department at Risoe National Laboratory have been responsible for the project together with Institute for Product Development. Center for Information and Communications Technology (CICT) at DTU has contributed to the project.

Part of the background for the project was a recommendation of the Green Technology Foresight project co-ordinated by the Danish Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation 2002-2003 about a combined environmental and innovation strategy and a focus on green products and materials. Also EU’s Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) (see for example (Commission of the European Communities 2003) includes visions with regard to integration of innovation and environmental considerations. As part of the analysis of the policy processes in the EU the project co-operated with The Institute of European Environmental Policy (London and Brussels) on EU’s Environmental Technologies Action Plan – ETAP.

Interviews and meetings with researchers, companies, consultants, governmental authorities and environmental organisations and three workshops on plastics, on intelligent products and processes, and on policy, respectively, have contributed to valuable dialogue and knowledge in the foresight project. In connection to the project the European Environmental Agency and the Danish Ministry of Environment organised an international High Level Conference in Copenhagen, 19-20 April 2005: “Eco-innovation: Potentials and challenges of tomorrow's technologies. Perspectives for business, Europe and the environment”. A draft of the report was presented at the conference. Also this conference has contributed to the dialogue and the knowledge building in the project. There has also been co-operation with the nanotechnology foresight, carried out within the Danish Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation in 2004.