Standardisation plays a pivotal role in assuring the credibility and reliability of environmental technologies’ performance claims. By undergoing a performance verification process compliant with ‘International Standard ISO 14034, Environmental Management: Environmental Technology Verification (ETV)’, innovative water solutions can gain the trust and recognition needed to thrive in today’s competitive market.

Current EU and national policies and programmes related to climate, environment, research, and innovation reinvigorate the commitment of decision- and policymakers, providers, manufacturers, investors, purchasers, and users to innovative environmental technologies. Therefore, the interest and investment in novel and green technical solutions are growing rapidly, but their adoption and widespread implementation is not a simple task.

ETV helps overcome key challenges to market entrance and widespread adoption of new environmental technologies related to lack of market confidence, high costs vs. uncertainty of potential long-term savings, regulatory compliance uncertainty, technology adoption hurdle, technology readiness, and performance challenges in real-world environments, or limited trust of investors.

For individual solution providers

Ready to make a real impact on environmental sustainability? Watch our online training video on the ISO 14034 Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) scheme and its benefits, led by the LIFEproETV project. It equips solution providers with the knowledge and tools to build market confidence in their innovative environmental technologies.

By watching the video, you:

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of the ISO 14034 ETV standard and its significance in the water industry.
• Learn the step-by-step process of obtaining ETV verification.
• Explore case studies and real-world examples of successful ETV implementations.

For research and innovation projects

Find five key lessons learned from the B-WaterSmart experience to aid the integration of ETV in research and innovation projects with a technology demonstration component (e.g.  EU Horizon projects).

1. Not all technologies qualify for ETV. Pre-check if your technology meets the ETV eligibility criteria (formal and technical) before the project starts, using the ETV self-assessment tool provided by the LIFEproETV project:
   • The technology must be market-ready, meaning it should have reached at least TRL 7.
   • The technology must demonstrate environmental added value, i.e. result in reduced environmental impacts compared to technologies for which it is an alternative.
   • The intended application, i.e. technology purpose and material(s) must be well defined together with all assumptions, constraints, and limitations that affect the performance.
   • The technology must work stably in its operational environment.
   • Standard operating procedures and maintenance requirements must be defined.
   • The performance claim reflecting innovative, market-relevant features of the technology must be specified so that it can be measured and tested.
2. Verification incurs cost. Allocate the required financial resources to the technology developers/providers for the ETV process in the proposal based on a pre-selection to avoid lengthy procurement processes (a significant portion of the budget will be required for performance tests conducted by an accredited lab).
3. Verification takes time. Plan for a verification period of about one year, considering a six-month test period. However, the test duration depends heavily on the specific performance claim of your technology. Some tests may require testing in different climatic conditions (e.g. in winter and in summer), extending the overall verification time, while simpler processes might only need three months.
4. Early involvement of verification bodies to ensure that your pilot tests meet the ETV requirements, saving time and money. The involvement of one of the verification bodies in the consortium is an option to get an agreement for technology test planning at an earlier stage of the project. The verification body is impartial however and will not get engaged in any activity related to technology development or finetuning of its performance.
5. Consider ETV test data requirements in your research and pilot tests. If your project is already advanced and pilot tests are completed, the test results may be recognized for verification, provided they meet the ETV requirements. This includes a detailed testing protocol that is followed during the testing. It ensures compliance of the generated test data to stringent quality assurance requirements compliant with ISO/IEC 17025 standards (i.e. testing and analyses performed by accredited laboratories), testing conditions identical to the ones that apply to the performance claim with all the operational parameters reflecting them measured and monitored throughout the testing. The generation of the test data for performance verification should be made with the unit of the technology demonstrating identical performance features as the final product to be commercialised (i.e. the verified unit should be identical to the one to be placed on the market at the end). This avoids duplication and saves time.
6. Tips for involving ETV in an R&I project are defined here (just scroll down a little).

Questions?

Visit the ETV-HUB or contact the expert Izabela Ratman-Kłosińska (ETV Body Manager & LIFEproETV Coordinator, Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, Poland)

E-mail: i.ratman-klosinska@ietu.pl