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Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleFinal report of the Innovation and Growth Team for the Environmental Goods and Services Sector |
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First of all, I would like to congratulate members of the Innovation and Growth Team, under Robert Walker's Chairmanship, for your thorough and incisive report, which has given us a lot to think about. There can be no doubt that sustainable development poses major challenges. Meeting our aspirations for a low-carbon, low-waste economy will require widespread change and innovation. We cannot simply cut back people's standards of living – we must stimulate innovation so that we develop win-win situations. And I entirely agree with the questioner who said that regulation stimulates innovation – we can use regulation in science and technology to solve some of the worlds problems. As Tony Blair said in the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, "if we were exploiting fully the potential of the revolutionary role science and technology could play, a lot of the concerns of nations about the effect of good environmental policy on their economy would be allayed". This is why our environmental goods and services sector is so important. We depend on a dynamic supplier base to bring innovative applications on stream. We have international obligations to meet, such as Kyoto and the Johannesburg commitment on clean water and sanitation, and we need to use science and technology creatively to help us meet them at a reasonable cost. At the same time we have an opportunity to establish our competitive positions in a number of extremely important growth markets. I see the Team's output as an important milestone on the road. You have clearly demonstrated the importance of closer partnership between stakeholders, and this has led to some extremely valuable recommendations. Overall, the Government welcomes the thrust of the report and pledges to work with stakeholders in taking forward the recommendations. Some of these can be taken forward quickly, while others will require more analysis to ensure that solutions are efficient and fit for purpose, and Government's role is to facilitate this process quickly and effectively. You have made one proposal that requires an early response. We need a framework to maintain the momentum and capture the enthusiasm unleashed by the Innovation and Growth Team. Therefore the DTI and DEFRA are setting up a Secretariat to take forward the agenda defined in this report. Lord Whitty and I will lead a high-level Steering Group, working with industry and other stakeholders to build on existing Government initiatives. Our task will be to catalyse actions that unlock the potential of this sector. The Secretariat will be attached to the Joint Environmental Markets Unit of DTI and DEFRA. Sponsorship by both Departments will ensure that the close links between policy, regulation and supplier development are given proper consideration. An analogy can be drawn with the PILOT initiative, which is a ten-year partnership between Government and the oil and gas industry, working to keep the UK in a leading competitive position. DTI provides the secretariat to catalyse a series of initiatives, while industry is strongly represented on the multi-stakeholder teams that drive the overall programme. The new Secretariat for the environment sector will be operational from tomorrow. Members of the Innovation and Growth Team have volunteered to advise during its initial phase, and I welcome their enthusiasm. The first steps will be to set up the Steering Group, agree an implementation plan and build the partnerships to take forward specific action areas. However, the new arrangements will only be successful if industry, investors and other stakeholders take an active part. Government will provide the framework, but we need you to commit time and energy and resources. There are several opportunities:
Thirdly, we are looking for five or more people on secondment. We need some real high-fliers to inject energy and project skills into taking forward action areas. These people will work alongside DTI and DEFRA staff as we knit together a coherent team in the Secretariat. The Innovation and Growth Team has also called for the public and private sectors to work in partnership in improving access to finance. DTI is convinced of the need to promote large-scale demonstration in the UK – in this and other sectors. In addition, we need to make sure that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises have adequate access to equity and debt investment to foster innovation. The Team has provided evidence that there is a case to answer, and has put forward some promising solutions. I am glad that you propose working with the financial markets to tackle the issue of risk, rather than offering grants that run the risk of diluting commercial disciplines. Grants for near-commercial investment are also problematic under the State aid rules of the European Union. More discussion is needed on these financing schemes. However, we will certainly investigate the funding requirements and mechanisms in detail and of course this can include launch aid as well as demonstration projects. Once again, we will be looking for industry, investors and financiers to play their part in this analysis – and in any schemes that may result. As the Minister for Science and Innovation, I have a particular interest in the Team's recommendations on technology transfer. This is a sector where developing new applications of technology has a high priority, since environmental solutions are increasingly embedded within integrated processes. I note the need for a greater pull from industry. Once again, Government can help to provide the frameworks – such as Faraday Partnerships and a rational spread of Centres of Excellence and we have invested in Faraday Partnerships to take this agenda forward especially on the environmental side. Indeed, Government already has much in train to support innovation, as the Team acknowledged. But industry has to put effort into making the frameworks effective for this sector. This is yet another example of the need for partnership. Similarly, Government will take account of the Team's recommendations in other strands of policy development. I am pleased to see that the Team has already contributed its thinking to:
The Steering Group will continue to highlight policy and regulatory actions that can contribute to sector competitiveness. I don't think, however, that we would not seek to pre-empt policy decisions elsewhere, nor would we re-open debate on committed policy – as this would merely serve to increase investor uncertainty. The policy issues I have just listed illustrate the broad view that the Team has taken – to my mind essential in such a diverse sector. I would like to thank the whole Team: in particular, Robert for taking the lead, and his working group leaders, who brought coherence to diverse inputs from such a large group of people. The list of people and organisations at the back of the Overview report is truly impressive. But this morning we celebrate the launch of an agenda for the future, not an analysis of the past. The vision is ambitious, but the potential benefits are substantial and, I believe, realistically achievable, and I would ask you to identify how you can best contribute, letting the Joint Environmental Markets Unit know of your interest. I would like to end therefore, by welcoming the launch of the report. I would urge all of you to spread the message about the exciting potential of this sector, and the contributions it can make to wealth creation and improving the quality of our lives, because, I believe, this is an opportunity we need, urgently, and energetically to seize. Thank you. |
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Other speeches by Lord Sainsbury of Turville
(the following are available from the archive) |
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