topic Hightech Strategy

Framework Programme - Research for Sustainability

The concept of sustainable development is becoming an increasingly important competitive factor in the industrial sector. It is not merely by chance that Germany is world leader in exports of environmental protection goods, ahead of the United States and Japan. In 2004, Germany produced goods worth 55 billion euro to protect the environment and the climate. This accounted for over 5% of overall industrial production. In 2003, a total of 3.3% of Germany's overall R&D expenditure was in the field of environmental protection. This shows that German expenditure in this sector is well above the OECD and EU average.

On 30 June 2004, the Federal Cabinet adopted a new framework programme of the BMBF entitled "Research for Sustainability". Over the next five years, an average of €160 million will be made available for research for sustainable development in Germany under this framework programme for sustainability research, which is a major element of the innovation initiative for growth and employment as well as a sustainable society.

'fona.de' website newly launched

The newly launched information and communication platform "Research for Sustainability" (http://www.fona.de/) offers topical information on events, trade fairs, conferences and workshops dealing with sustainability. It includes information on relevant publications and links to other websites. The platform has been designed as a tool for the interdisciplinary networking of all relevant scientific, economic, political and social players and activities in the field of research for sustainability.

Research for sustainability is an area which has had a considerable positive impact on the labour market in recent years. Germany holds an outstanding international position in the area of technologies which promote sustainability. With a share of 16% in international environmental protection markets, Germany holds second place in exports after the USA (23.5%), followed by Japan (12.5%). According to a recent study of the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), almost 1.5 million people worked in the field of environmental protection in 2002, that is 3.8% of all persons employed. The environmental protection sector thus accounts for more jobs than mechanical engineering, vehicles construction or the food trade. This shows that preservation of our natural resources is inseparably linked with the creation of new jobs and is the result of the Federal Government's focus on a strategy for sustainable development.

Promoting innovation

The BMBF's contribution to the national sustainability strategy consists in promoting innovation. The greater part (almost 80%) of the production potential for environmentally protective goods is concentrated in research and know-how intensive industrial sectors - with an estimated national production of €41 billion in 2001. Research for sustainability has already produced visible results, eg new glues with built-in nanoswitches which can be operated by means of heat or ultrasound to switch on and off the gluing and dissolving functions. Such 'on command' separation of bonded materials facilitates recycling considerably and contributes to the conservation of resources.

Objectives

The Federal Government has defined clear objectives for its sustainability strategy. This strategy opens up prospects for investments by industry. Environmental protection is worth the money. Using fewer resources means being able to charge lower prices for products on world markets. Furthermore, export is an increasingly important factor which promotes sustainable economic growth. And this includes not only the export of sustainable products but also the export of resources-conserving production equipment and techniques, which together promise to benefit the development of the global environment as well.

The energy and resource productivity is to be doubled in Germany by 2020 so that our standard of living can be maintained without overexploitation of nature. Daily land use requirements are to be reduced from 130 ha to a maximum of 30 ha up to 2015 so that the unecological and above all expensive urban sprawl can be limited. At the international level, visible contributions are to be made to solving the global water crisis. Local conditions can be improved by using German water technologies tailored to regional needs. At the same time, this contributes to growth and the creation of new jobs in Germany.

The BMBF has focused the broad-based sustainability target on four fields of action.

1. Greater sustainability in industry and business

   
   The goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to foster the economical use of resources by means of industrial application, to improve climate protection and to develop new models for sustainable business.
   
   Funding will be provided for technologies which are sustainable and at the same time offer new opportunities for business enterprises. The first call, "Innovation as a key to sustainability in business and industry", was issued in June 2004, at the same time as the framework programme was launched. The focus of funding is research for environmental relief with regard to central sustainability indicators such as the exploitation of energy and raw materials, transport intensity and pollutant load. The criterion for funding is that innovations should be able to yield results in at least three different sectors and branches of business and industry. Cases in point are new principles for the design of components and equipment, for example modelling on nature or biology; functional optimization of surfaces using the so-called Lotus effect; and innovative combination of technologies for improving services and products.
   
   Innovations in business management and economics are also included. It will have to be studied whether and, if so, how a change of exploitation strategy may lead to greater sustainability. A case in point is the idea that environmentally critical process chemicals or even consumer goods for everyday use should no longer be sold but leased out to provide an incentive for recycling and sparing use.
   
   A new approach is pursued by research for environmental protection. What is new is that research focuses not only on reducing the climate impact of industrial activity but also on the ability to handle extreme climate events at the lowest possible corporate and economic cost. This approach has mainly been designed for weather-dependent sectors such as the building and energy industries as well as tourism and the finance sector.
   

2. Sustainable use concepts for regions

   The goals are to reduce land use, design functioning urban agglomerations, develop marketing possibilities for sustainable agriculture, reduce landscape consumption and water pollution and put an end to the loss of settlement and cultivated areas as a result of desertification.
   
   Relevant research deals with the regional impact of many environmental problems, for example rapid land consumption, the danger of flooding along rivers, and the problems in the rapidly expanding urban agglomerations worldwide. Research therefore aims to achieve a reduction of land consumption, mainly by accelerated recycling of derelict land in our cities, by effective remediation technologies, integrated management and intelligent interim use. This is to encourage building on unused land rather than on greenfield sites. Research for flood control aims to avoid and limit damage by integrated planning. Practice-oriented instruments are being developed, ranging from flood forecasts to technical innovations in dyke construction to integrated flood management in catchment areas. The aim is to considerably reduce the destruction caused by once-in-a-lifetime floods like those in recent years. The third focus is on rapidly growing megacities in other parts of the world. Opportunities for sustainable development in the areas of water, energy, mobility, communication and health are to be designed for developing cities in suitable model regions. Apart from supporting development policy goals, we also offer opportunities for German suppliers, thus multiplying sustainable German solutions.
   

3. Sustainable resources

   The goals pursued are to give people in emerging and developing countries better access to clean drinking water by applying new technologies and methods, to reduce the danger of flooding by means of integrated flood management and innovations in technical flood control, and to include biodiversity as well as economic and social benefits in new strategies for sustainable landscape development.
   
   A central aspect is the development of sustainable technologies for drinking water extraction and sewage treatment which are tailored to regional needs. There is already a strong international demand for water technologies developed in Germany. But water technologies geared to local needs can also be of considerable benefit in Germany, as is shown in particular by the high cost of water supply in some regions. Another focus is on biological resources. Concepts for sustainable use are to actively counter the loss of species in endangered regions. At the same time, this offers opportunities for future use of unique natural substances for the benefit of people, eg in medical treatment, and thus also increases the development opportunities of the region of origin.

4. Social action for sustainable development

   The goals pursued are to develop sound concepts for the integration of migrants and models for a social state based on equity between generations, to derive innovative consumption strategies from life situations and the material and emotional needs of relevant groups of consumers, and to test and evaluate the efficiency of the privatization of infrastructure services.
   
   Sustainability also has a social component. A case in point is nutrition. While people's knowledge about healthy nutrition is growing, their willingness to apply this knowledge is decreasing. Obviously, the concepts of education and consumer policy are not in keeping with people's needs. A radical change in nutritional behaviour can only be achieved if research provides policy-makers and players in consumer protection with strategies for showing consumers simple and practical ways towards healthier nutrition which is less harmful to the environment and at the same time not too expensive. In this field, research for sustainability must develop organizational innovations and political incentives to remove existing barriers between the agricultural sector, the food industry, trade and consumers.