TRADE-GERMANY: Environment Technology Products Export Hit

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Ramesh Jaura

BONN, Feb 7 2000 (IPS) - Germany’s new generation of Environment Technology (ET) products are becoming export hits, according to the federal environment ministry, which expects to encourage foreign buyers by launching a website.

“To go by the name “Cleaner Production Germany”, the website will make it easier for the world to purchase the offerings from the country’s ET sectors,” says the ministry.

“By supplying information on the environmental technologies now in the country’s pipeline, the website will also boost the transfer of technologies from Germany to the rest of the world.”

In 1998 Germany’s environment technology exports amounted to some 28 billion dollars, accounting for nearly five percent of the total exports of the country.

This is significant against the backdrop of three decades ago when Germany’s ET sector comprised of a relatively small number of companies. It now boasts 10,000 corporations whose products, services and intermeshed systems are sold literally throughout the world.

“These prevent pollution while improving performance and boosting profits,” says the environment ministry ipaper entitled “Strong Sales for Sustainability”.

The ministry is headed by Juergen Trittin, an eer of the Green Party which forms a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

“The size of the environmental market in Germany is directly dependent upon how thoroughly the government sets and maintains environmental standards,” says Trittin.

Trittin is a staunch advocate of the need to exend strict environmental standards on countries, which have not yet enacted or enforced them.

He also wants to minimise tnals.

f environmental standards, warns Trittin with an eye on both the developing and industrialised countries.

The sectors in which Germany’s ET products arepply, consumer goods, urban planning and life sciences.

All these products started out as solutions to een transformed into products boosting their users overall performance and profitability.

Take software. Half a decade ages of software innovation came up with a new type of programme.

It was – and is – capable of inducing propulsioe outputs of ozone, carbon monoxide and other pollutants present in Germany’s air. The only way to achieve that goal was by increasing the application systems energy efficiency.

“Both sets of accomplishments have made these programmes hits on world markets,” says the environment ministry’s paper.

Take the “metromiser”, a programme, developed bt systems by a corresponding amount. The saving, in turn, can be passed on to consumers, encouraging their use of the systems.

Another example of pollution-preventineration plants. They can be fuelled by a wide range regenerative or other low pollution fuels. Whatever particular fuel they use, the plants always feature very low rates of emissions.

This enables them not only to meet the strict air quality standards in force in Germany, but also makes them highly attractive to manufacturers world-wide, hospitals,have seemed ridiculous two decades ago – when these wastes, if used at all, landed on compost piles.

Meanwhile, thanks to the research done at the U- even before the red-green coalition replaced the centre-right government in October 1998.