Environmental Know-how for the Needs of the World

GREEN Know-How Turku

Southwest Finland has established its own environmental know-how centre, Green Know-How • Turku. It aims at strengthening Finnish environmental know-how by gathering and marketing environmental expertise and technology for both domestic needs and the international market. Other countries - such as Denmark - already have experience in regional co-operation of a similar kind.

  An increasing awareness of the dangers threatening our environment has fuelled international co-operation and, simultaneously, led to ever greater demands for environmental protection. At the moment, there is an acute need for environmentally friendly know-how and products all over the world, especially in Eastern and Central Europe in addition to Asia. As a consequence, the market is growing rapidly in this sector.

OBJECTIVES

The Green Know-How • Turku project was launched in 1996, while actual operations were initiated in 1997. The objective is to co-operate mainly with environmental enterprises, employers´ associations, institutions of higher education and other educational establishments as well as with cities, towns and municipalities. In practise this means:

- creating a regional register of environmental experts

- producing information on the environmental market and passing it on to members

- training environmental experts for international project work

- compiling and marketing environmental training packages

- promoting environmental research and training

- creating links to international buyers and producers of environmental services as well as to environmental networks

- launching R&D projects in the field of environmental technology

FUNDING

Initially, public funding has been needed, but the future goal is to fund the centre through its own activities and services. At the moment, the project is financed by participating companies and institutions (approximately 40), the EU and other sources of public financing.

FURTHER INFORMATION: Director Teppo Koski.

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