Scientific and engineering improvement of environmental risk management - Environmental Deterioration and Contamination: Problems and their Management - page 388

4 TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION IS THE KEY ELEMENT OF
THE MARKET ENTRY OF INNOVATIONS
Demonstration is the key element of innovation: in the course of the first application,
we aim at the field demonstration of the technology by an intensive data acquisi-
tion activity to collect information on every aspect of the technology. This includes
technological parameters, energy and material consumption and fluxes, time, labor
requirement, necessary expertise, environmental interactions of the technology (emis-
sion and other environmental risks), workplace risks, global environmental impacts
or footprints, economic, social and ethical aspects, necessary communication and
uncertainties. All relevant parameters should be measured during the first application,
including those where negative results are expected because the validation and verifi-
cation of the newly applied technology need to prove and quantify the performance
of the technology and control existing environmental risks and all possible impacts of
the application and exclude the nonexisting ones.
Technology demonstration and the connected monitoring are much more than
just a routine application and routine technology monitoring. Data requirement
and verification are in close and dynamic relation with each other as shown in
Figure 11.6. A technology demonstration adjusted well to an environmental prob-
lem verifies the technology as suitable for solving the selected problem or may fail,
i.e., cannot efficiently solve the problem. If the technology fails, one should examine
the causes of the failure (wrong problem selection, technological error, underesti-
mated contamination to treat, overestimated capacity, etc.). After identifying the
causes of the failure, a new, modified application for another problem or contami-
nated site should be made, or the suitability of the technology in general should be
reviewed.
If the test in the demonstration has been passed, the following step after the veri-
fication is equally important: spreading the information to the professionals, owners,
managers and decision makers. Information and feedback from the problem owners
are other important aspects.
The demonstration needs a supportive attitude and financial support, and an atti-
tude valuating innovation as the core element of development. In many developed and
developing countries, innovation is funded from separate funds and is supported by a
system of verification and dissemination. In Europe this is being developed; the main
objective of EURODEMO+ is the promotion of innovation and demonstration in the
field of environmental technologies. Industrial investors traditionally have supported
innovation, knowing that it promotes development and competitiveness. Environ-
mental problems are less motivating for investors because managing and solving them
cannot be measured by direct financial benefits, so that the environmental innova-
tion is mainly supported by governments within national or regional governmental
environmental programs.
US EPA (2013) says about innovation in the field of environment: “Many environ-
mental management organizations have embraced innovation as a means to modify
current strategies and meet emerging challenges'' and about evaluating innovations:
“Sustaining our strong legacy of environmental protection depends on innovation and
learning the keys to effectively using new and diverse environmental management tools.
Efforts have been undertaken both from within and outside the Agency to focus on and