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Dept of Trade and Industry

Answer

Ms Walley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what initiatives and schemes for assistance there are to encourage the export of (a) British environmental technologies and (b) British environmental services. [19329] Mr. Page: The environmental technology and services sector can, of course, benefit from the full range of overseas trade services which are available to all UK companies. Proposals to help businesses enhance their export performance were among those eligible to bid for support under the sector challenge. In addition, under the business and environment programme, the joint environmental markets unit--JEMU--undertakes a variety of activities specifically to assist the environmental industry. JEMU has done much to raise the profile of the industry overseas. Our export services now treat environmental technology as a priority in nearly two-thirds of Britain's top 80 markets. The unit has published around 60 market opportunity briefs and five sector reports to help UK suppliers identify markets and benchmark performance. JEMU has established a database of more than 4,500 UK suppliers of environmental technology and expertise which is used to answer queries from overseas customers looking for British sources of supply as well as identifying companies for missions and other awareness-raising events. JEMU also works closely with the industry to help representative bodies to identify and address competitiveness issues, such as the major problem of fragmentation, which impact on export performance. This has included help with establishing world-class certification schemes and benchmarking trade association performance.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

19329; 292 c135-6W

Session

1996-97

Subjects

Exports Environment protection Industry Government assistance Overseas trade Technology Science Joint Environmental Markets Unit Trade promotion