LIFEproETV Stakeholder Expert Advisory Panel meeting

On 15 December 2021 LIFEproETV held an inspiring meeting with the members of our Stakeholder Expert Advisory Panel:  Serge Roudier ( Director of the European IPPC Bureau), Manuel Irun Molina  (Head of Section – Innovation Communities Management, Innovation Communities Unit, EIT) , Pierre Menger (Project Manager, Circular Economy / Environment & Sustainability Area, TECNALIA), Martin Pecanka (ETV Secretariat).   We presented our up-to-date works to define what needs to be done to make #ETV more visible and impactful on the #cleanetech market. Izabela Ratman-Klosinska, Project  Coordinator, IETU, presented an overview Jacques Mehu representing INSAVALOR provided insights on the potential, opportunities and obstacles for using ETV as a tool in green public procurement (GPP) and innovation procurement (IP). Rovena Preka (ENEA) and Ignacio Calleja (EIT Raw Materials) introduced the studies done on the opportunities on using ETV as an environmental and innovation policy tools focusing on EU policies and initiatives under EU Green Deal and EU innovation support programmes relevant for ETV. Albert Serra Compte from CETAQUA together with Katalin HERNER from KOVET explained the competitive landscape for ETV, the opportunities for synergies with other environmental schemes as potential for performance test data recognition between ETV and other environmental schemes.

We discussed extension of ETV objectives to better demonstrate the utility of the scheme and reach relevant stakeholders,  strategic directions and key contributors to boost ETV market acceptance and recognition at EU and national level.

Our proposal of strategic directions to improve ETV market acceptance and recognition:

1. Improve ETV value perception among #technology providers, buyers, #policymakers by facts and figures, credible business case and showcasing benefits to all stakeholders through promotion and communication
2. Unleash the potential of ETV use in green public procurement (GPP) and innovation procurement capitalising on and demonstrating the potential of ETV as credible third party data provider on technical performance of technologies, their environmental added value, and confirmed benefits/opportunities created thanks to innovation based on the following facts:

• GPP represents a strong buying power in Europe and the role of GPP and IP is increasing due to EU Green Deal objectives.
• GPP is focused on environmental performance/environmental aspects of purchased goods, services and construction works.
• EU ETV Statements of Verification meet the criteria of third party certificates of an ‘independent third-party certifier’ or ‘an independent third-party body’ in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and thus may serve as means of proof with e.g. technical specifications in public tenders.
• The definition of environmental technology according to the ETV standard ISO 14034 that allows technologies to fall under one or more subjects of green procurement i.e. goods, services, construction works.
• Environmental technologies covered by the 7 EU ETV technology areas are already addressed in the EU GPP criteria.
• ETV as third party data provider (strategic partner) at multistage procurement processes e.g. Innovation procurement
• Linking ETV with Green Taxonomy (technical screening criteria)

3. Promote ETV as a tool fostering the implementation of challenge-led and performance-led environment and climate policies at EU and national level where green innovations are indispensable to reach  the targets and objectives towards zeropollution, decarbonisation, zeroemission, circularity
4. Make ETV a sustainable mechanism of #transformativeinnovation ecosystem and a #policytool to ensure that green innovations actually diffuse into markets and society
5. Strengthen ETV compatibility and synergies of ETV with other environmental schemes for both #environmentalmanagement of organisations and #environmentalperformamce of products e.g EMAS, ISO14001, Ecolabel, EPD, PEF, OEF,LCA
6. Make ETV more accessible to SMES and startups by ensuring ease of access to the service, better preparation and strategic planning for ETV as a step in innovation marketing cycle through better guidance, making ETV a step in innovation funding programmes at EU and national level with verification costs eligible under these programmes

Our proposal of extending the ETV objectives to be used for ETV promotion and engaging with a broader range of stakeholders who my benefit from the scheme is as follows:

• ETV as a tool for accelerating innovations for sustainable industrial processes (link to e.g IED, Zero Pollution Action Plan + innovation support programmes )
• ETV as a tool for fostering circular supply chains and business models (link to Circular Economy, supporting innovation programmes),
• ETV as a derisking tool for green innovation investments (link to Green Taxonomy, private capital and IP)
• ETV as a tool for creating a level playing field for green innovations in public tenders (link to GPP and IP),
• ETV as a tool for internalising technology performance into environmental performance of products and organisations (link to synergies with other environmental schemes,
• ETV as a global scheme to foster international trade opportunities for green innovations (link to international recognition of the ISO 14034 standard, global ETV initiatives)

Our Panel confirmed value in our findings, indicating ways to give power to the proposed strategic directions and the proposal of extended ETV objectives that we will take on board in the next steps of LIFEproETV implementation.