Key Environmental Technology Innovations

This paper is based on empirical research on a taxonomy of technological environmental innovations. It draws on a databank with over 500 examples of new technologies (materials, products, processes and practices) which come with benign environmental effects. The approaches applied to interpreting the datasets are innovation life cycle analysis, and product chain analysis. Main results include the following: 1. Innovations merely aimed at eco-efficiency do in most cases not represent significant contributions to improving the properties of the industrial metabolism. This can better be achieved by technologies that fulfill the criteria of eco-consistency or eco-effectiveness. 2. Ecological pressure of a technology is basically determined by its conceptual make-up and design. Most promising thus are technologies in earlier rather than later stages of their life cycle (i.e. during R&D and customisation in growing numbers), because it is during the stages before reaching the inflection point and maturity in a learning curve where technological environmental innovations can best contribute to improving ecological consistency of the industrial metabolism while at the same time delivering their maximum increase in efficiency as well. 3. Moreover, environmental action needs to focus on early steps in the vertical manufacturing chain rather than on those in the end. Most of the ecological pressure of a technology is normally not caused end-of-chain in use or consumption, but in the more basic steps of the manufacturing chain (with the exception of products the use of which consumes energy, e.g. vehicles, appliances). There are conclusions to be drawn for a shift of emphasis in environmental policy from regulation to innovation. Ambitious environmental standards, though, continue to be an important regulative precondition of ecologically benign technological innovation. Joseph Huber Environmental Policy Shift through Technological Innovation 2 1. Technological Environmental Innovations (TEIs) and Metabolic Consistency Environmental innovation includes any kind of innovation – technical, economic, legal, institutional, organisational, behavioural – that lead to an improvement of ecological quality, regardless of any additional advantage or motive (Klemmer et al. 1999 25, also Hemmelskamp/Rennings/Leone 2000). This paper just deals with technological environmental innovations (TEIs). A technology is a body of knowledge, especially know-how, but also includes some theoretical know-why as well as know-what-for (also Freeman 1987 235, Kemp 1997 pp7). As far as know-how is concerned, a technology is a method of applying a specific knowledge base for achieving a specified operative purpose by special operative means such as tools (instruments, materials, machinery, plant equipment, infrastructures) and practices. Products – as much as production processes and services – are specific instrumental manifestations, or apparatus-like implementations of a technology. Products, processes and services tend to be marketable, commercialised applications of a technology. In order to qualify as a TEI for entry into the database of this study, technological innovations had to meet one or several aspects of the environmental innovation strategies as listed in Table 1. Table 1 Selected concepts of technological environmental innovation according to the realm of innovation where they most apply