Latest news from AdvanceETV including a paper on The Journey to Mutual Recognition for ETV

1. NEWS
AdvanceETV
Issue 03 – April 2011
Coordination action
on Environmental
technology Verification
A C O O R D I N AT I O N A C T I O N F U N D E D b y T h E 7 T h F R A m E w O R k p R O g R A m m E O F T h E E U R O p E A N U N I O N
Editorial
EtV – acting within an international framework:
cooperation – mutual recognition – harmonisation
The European ETV pre-programme is de- the Philippines, Korea and Japan estab- This newsletter takes the reader on the
veloping structure - Its general verification lished their national programmes. The Eu- journey to international mutual recognition.
protocol is completed, the initial technol- ropean pre-programme is close to opera-
ogy areas have been defined, and the tional, and China is working on plans to The EU-ETV pre-programme and in-
process of accrediting institutions as first create its own national programme. ternational perspectives will be intro-
verification bodies has begun. The first duced at the Conference and Work-
pre-programme activities will follow in the The International Working Group (IWG) shop “Helping eco-innovations reach
coming months. on ETV was established by Canada, the the market – European and interna-
U.S. and Europe, with the Philippines tional perspectives on Environmental
It is now time to clarify and further elab- joining subsequently and other systems Technology Verification (ETV)” on May
orate on the international context and participating as observers. Its major task 24-26, 2011, at CEN, Brussels, Bel-
framework within which the EU-ETV is to develop an international framework gium.
pre-programme will operate. Verification whereby ETV programmes can co-oper-
schemes were first set up in the U.S. and ate and accept each other’s verifications.
Canada in the mid-1990s. In recent years Thomas Track (AdvanceETV Co-ordinator)
Announcement
Conference and Workshop
Helping eco-innovations to reach the market –
European and international perspectives on
Environmental technology Verification (EtV)
on may 24 – 26, 2011,
at the CEn-CEnElEC meeting Centre, Brussels, Belgium
The conference on may 24-25, 2011 will introduce the European ETV pre-programme
and the international context for ETV.
The workshop on may 26, 2011 will focus on the operational aspects of the
EU-ETV pre-programme and the requirements for international market recognition.
Participation is free of charge.
The programme and registration information are available via: www.eu-etv-strategy.eu
More information on the ETV event is available from Thomas Track
(track@dechema.de; Tel.: +49 (0)69 7564 427)
www.eu-etv-strategy.eu

2. AdvAnce
Issue 03 – April 2011
the Journey to mutual recognition
In simple terms, Environmental Techno- A growth in environmental technologies This can create problems with mutual re-
logy Verification (ETV) is a way of testing, therefore creates a need for ETV pro- cognition and then create trade barriers,
verifying and documenting how a techno- grammes, as users and investors need i.e. verification in one country might not
logy can perform. Amongst other things, confidence in such technologies. The- be acceptable in another. This might not
performance parameters are based upon re are already several ETV programmes be due to any problems with the quality
a manufacturer’s claims, the requirements worldwide and it is likely that there will be of the verifications, but simply because
of an environmental regulator or the needs more. On first sight, the existing program- of the differences between different pro-
of a customer. Regardless of the source of mes appear to be very different, other grammes. This article explores the issue
the performance parameters, they all have than a shared objective. When looking at of mutual recognition in more detail, and
the same aim, which is to ensure fitness- these programmes in more depth, they describes how the AdvanceETV project is
for-purpose. In other words, the environ- do have a great deal in common. On the contributing to the work of the Internatio-
mental technology does exactly what it is other hand, the differences are sufficient nal Working Group on ETV (IWG ETV) to
meant to do, and what the manufacturer to show that each programme has its own promote mutual recognition for ETV pro-
claims the technology can do. ways of testing and verifying technologies. grammes worldwide.
mutual recognition – and what happens when it does not exist
If ETV exists to help technology ven- everywhere if the differences between more, an ETV programme is currently be-
dors prove that their products work as ETV programmes are large enough to pre- ing established for agricultural environ-
intended, then ETV is also intended to vent universal acceptance. In such cases, mental technologies based in Denmark,
support these technology vendors in ac- a vendor may have progressed a tech- Germany and the Netherlands: Verification
cessing new markets for their products. nology through an ETV programme in one of Environmental Technologies for Agri-
Additionally, ETV helps buyers reduce the country, only to find that the verification has cultural Production (VERA). ETV schemes
risks with new technologies, and provides to be largely repeated in another country. have been established and are develop-
authorities with the confidence to accept ing quickly in Japan. South Korea and the
them. Perhaps more importantly, ETV also EtV development and towards Philippines, and early initiatives are evolv-
helps investors reduce their risks by dem- mutual recognition ing in Singapore and China. Furthermore,
onstrating that a technology has a sound Therefore, quite simply, if we wish to an initiative has been launched to promote
future – without investors, there would be achieve the overall objective of a faster cooperation on ETV within the countries
no technology at all. use of better environmental technologies, of the Association of Southeast Asian
then we need to work towards mutual Nations (ASEAN). In essence, these pro-
However, if the full benefits of ETV are to recognition internationally. Figure 1 illus- grammes work according to similar princi-
be achieved, and the costs and delays in trates how this process of evolution could ples towards a common goal: promotion
market introduction kept at a minimum, it is work. So how could this work when there of environmental technologies through per-
essential that ETV performed by one veri- are programmes with different levels of formance documentation, but with, some-
fication programme is accepted universal- maturity and complexity? times slightly, different organizations, pro-
ly, without the need for further testing and cesses of work and applying different ter-
verification by other ETV programmes. Whereas the ETV programmes have been minologies.
Whereas the growing number of ETV pro- operating for 10-15 years in the USA and
grammes may be seen as recognition of the Canada, efforts are currently made to es- Co-ordination and cooperation
need for ETV, ironically it may ultimately tablish a broad European ETV programme However, if a fully recognized global ETV
jeopardize the idea of Verify once, accept under the European Union (EU). Further- regime is going to be viable, it requires de-
national and regional Cooperating Global, standard based
verification schemes EtV schemes EtV scheme
–2010 2011 – 2015? 2015? –
Development phase Coordination and cooperation phase Uniform, standard based phase
Individual organization and Mechanisms for cooperation and One framework accepted globally
operation models developed joint protocols developed with full mutual recognition
Protocols established ETV role in global innovation expanded ETV a major factor in promoting
ETV role in innovation emerging innovative technologies through
proof of performance
Figure 1 – The potential evolution of national to international ETV schemes
www.eu-etv-strategy.eu

3. AdvAnce
Issue 03 – April 2011
Joint verification
supporting entry
velopment of a coordinating organization A key activity in this phase is to promote into new markets
(ensuring harmonized performance pa- common understanding of required or-
The producer of advanced environmental
rameters for verified applications), involve- ganization, processes of work and ter-
monitoring equipment, Hach-Lange,
ment of the standardization organizations minologies among the ETV programmes
was asked for ETV documentation of
(providing standards for tests and analysis of the world. The IWG ETV met in Manila
performance when trying to enter a
and possibly, an environmental technolo- in November 2009 to advance their aims.
new regional market with a new set of
gy verification standard) and participation Before this pivotal work, the Quality As- instruments for monitoring toxicity of
of conformity assessment bodies (over- surance Group of the IWG ETV had both wastewater. Hach-Lange decided to go
sight with verification and test bodies, and met and worked internationally to develop for performance documentation through
with analytical laboratories) and not the a strategy document, outlining their com- environmental technology verification (ETV)
least dedicated cooperation between ex- mon goals, and how to achieve them. The in the form of a joint verification involving
isting ETV programmes. IWG ETV then progressed this work in the Danish ETV program (DANETV), the
Manila towards a final strategy document. Canadian ETV Program and the United
Fortunately this work has already begun, States (US) Environmental Protection
both within AdvanceETV, and through Finally, practical cooperation on verifica- AgencyETV program. The joint verifi-
the International Working Group (IW) ETV, tions has been initiated, and this is also cation statements are currently being
which includes representatives from ETV enhanced through European programmes signed by all involved ETV programs
programmes worldwide, as well as part- associated with AdvanceETV. The coop- and can then be used by Hach-Lange in
ners from AdvanceETV as representatives erative work of verification can include marketing in China, but also in Europe,
of the emerging EU ETV pre-programme. parallel verifications to confirm repro- Canada and the US. The statements will
Although the members of the IWG rep- ducibility, joint verification programmes, be published shortly on the web sites of
resent different programmes, they have and co-verification verifications. Figure 2 the programs:
many common goals; their overall aim is shows how these connected approaches www.etv-denmark.com/water/water_
to evolve national and regional ETV pro- work. Until now, four technologies have monitoring.html; www.etvcanda.ca;
been or are on the path to being verified in and www.epa.gov/etv.
grammes into a structured, yet flexible
framework which provides commonality, cooperation between two or three differ-
harmonized approaches, and ultimately ent verification programmes.
mutual recognition of EtV
full mutual recognition.
paving the way for new
environmental technologies
In the current environmental technology
verification (ETV) programme of South
Simple verification cooperation Joint verification Korea, only technologies produced by
Korean companies or technologies ap-
program 1 program 2 program 1 program 2 plied and improved in Korea can be
plan plan verified due to the legislative framework
Test activities of the Korean ETV programme. Accord-
Test activities
ingly, Korean producers may support the
claims for performance of new products
Verification activities Verification activities with domestic and trusted ETV results,
Verification statement Verification statement whereas foreign producers cannot. This
may be an advantage for producers in
Korea, but is detrimental to Korean tech-
nology users’ selection of most suitable
technologies, and limits the marketing of
Co-verification Mutual recognition of verification foreign technologies in Korea. If an inter-
national standard for ETV existed and
program 1 program 2 program 1 program 2
plan Standard accept was covered by a multilateral, mutual
plan recognition arrangement (MLA) under,
Test activities for example, the International Accredita-
Test activities
tion Forum (IAF), verifications done ac-
Verification activities cording to the standard would also be
Verification activities recognized in Korea, for the benefit of
Verification statement both Korean technology users and for-
Verification statement
eign technology producers. This would
Recognition
also be in accordance with the World
Trade Organization (WTO) agreements
on mutual recognition of conformity as-
Figure 2: Repetition, joint verification, co-verification and mutual recognition of verification
sessment.
www.eu-etv-strategy.eu

4. AdvAnce
Issue 03 – April 2011
BriEF FaCts aBout adVanCEEtV
objectives:
Harmonisation – the final key to open the door to mutual AdvanceETV is a coordination action on Environmental
recognition Technology Verification (ETV). The overall target of Advan-
ceETV is to bring together the already proposed sche-
mes and protocols prepared within the previous EU ETV
Experience from the different programmes combines the experiences and compe- activities and to link them with outcomes of already exis-
ting ETV systems worldwide.
has shown that to avoid duplicated verifi- tences from current ETV programmes
cations – together with their derived costs, with the tools of conformity assessment Furthermore AdvanceETV aims at building an internatio-
nal framework for cooperation and mutual recognition by
delays and associated trade barriers – it (standardization and accreditation) under supporting the cooperation of the European Commission
is necessary to move from requiring veri- an umbrella of coordination by the IWG and the international ETV activities, e.g. the International
Working Group (IWG) on ETV.
fication to be repeated under each ETV ETV and maintaining the close cooperation
programme, to cooperative programmes with the national and regional interests. approach:
To achieve these aims AdvanceETV will consolidate sta-
such as joint and co-verifications, and keholder feedback of RTD and EC activities and integ-
finally to full mutual recognition of verifi- In conclusion, a globally harmonized ETV rate experiences out of the CEN workshop agreement
(CWA) elaboration and use. To foster recognition by har-
cation based on a common approach. programme would accelerate the world- monisation, a standardisation framework will be identified
This can be achieved by having a set of wide market introduction of innovative, for international recognition of the different verification
procedures. Cross cutting issue workshops ensure feed-
common frameworks and provisions for environmentally sound technologies. This back and exchange between these different areas. An
quality assurance. It is possible that such process would be supported through the expert board with ETV system representatives from Ca-
nada, U.S., South Korea, Japan, and other provide the
frameworks and provisions will make use credible verification and documentation direct link to international ETV activities and the IWG on
of international standards, conformity as- of the performance of such technologies. ETV, which is crucial to bring forward mutual recognition,
to support cooperation by co-/joint verification and to
sessment and accreditation. It is equally Then technology buyers can choose in- promote harmonisation.
possible that members of AdvanceETV novative technologies while minimizing the
time frame:
and the IWG ETV will work together to associated risks caused by lack of proof of 01/2009 to 07/2012
produce such frameworks and standards. performance, regulators can accept new
Finances:
solutions with confidence in the claimed Total project volume: 1.325 million Euros; ~ 75,4 % EU
A possible framework for an organization benefits, whilst investors can be confident funding within the 7th Framework Programme
within a global, harmonized ETV programme that their investments have a stronger future.
is shown in Figure 3, combining elements organisations
from ETV, standardization and conformity Christian Grøn (DHI and DANETV, Hørsholm, Denmark)
DECHEMA e.V. – Society for Chemical
Engineering and Biotechnology
assessment. The suggested organization Rick Gould (UK Environment Agency, Bristol, UK) Frankfurt / Main, Germany (www.dechema.de)
IVL – Swedish Environmental Research Institute
Stockholm, Sweden (www.ivl.se)
DHI
Hoersholm, Denmark (www.dhigroup.com)
IPTS – Institute for Prospective Technology Studies
Seville, Spain (www.jrc.es)
Tecnalia
Derio, Spain (www.tecnalia.com)
UK EA – UK Environment Agency
Bristol, UK (www.environment-agency.gov.uk)
IETU – Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas
Katowice, Poland (www.ietu.katowice.pl)
Deltares – Stichting Deltares
Delft, Netherlands (www.deltares.nl)
OCETA – Ontario Centre for Environmental
Technology Advancement
Mississauga, Canada (www.oceta.on.ca)
CEN – European Committee for Standardization
Brussels, Belgium (www.cen.eu)
Battelle – Battelle Memorial Institute
Columbus, Ohio, United States (www.battelle.org)
et – environment and technology
Esslingen, Germany (www.et-ertel.de)
imprint/ContaCt
Coordinating institution:
DECHEMA e.V.
Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25
60486 Frankfurt am Main
Figure 3: Suggestion for organization of a global, harmonized ETV scheme Germany
www.dechema.de
Coordinator:
Dr. Thomas Track
Phone: +49 69 7564-427
Fax: +49 69 7564-117
Email: track@dechema.de
Disclaimer notice: The European Commission is neither res-
ponsible nor liable for any written content in this newsletter.
www.eu-etv-strategy.eu