February 4, 2008—The European Commission has proposed a new initiative to promote innovative, environmentally friendly goods and services. The initiative will focus at first on six leading markets: eHealth, technical textiles for intelligent personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE), sustainable construction, recycling, bio-based products, and renewable energies.
The Lead Markets Initiative for Europe (LMI) proposed by the Commission will foster the emergence of these markets by notably improving legislation, encouraging public procurement, and developing interoperable standards, according to the Commission.
The initiative takes a competitive, demand-driven approach that avoids “picking winners” and allows the emerging markets to build on new and existing technologies that are available in Europe. The EC notes that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) stand to benefit the most from the LMI since they are the dominant drivers of innovation.
For more information visit the EC’s LMI Web site.
