Since 1994 SUSTECH (SUStainable TECHnology) has been supporting and facilitating collaborative research programmes and networks that have had significant impact on the industry and received European funding.

More recently SUSTECH has significantly expanded its scope to encompass innovation in its wider sense, including economic, legal and other issues that inhibit innovative activity.

The programme has increased its engagement with the European Commission providing an improved channel to relay industry’s research, development and deployment priorities including non-technical barriers to innovation.

The establishment of the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry is a direct result of this activity.

The need to improve innovation and competitiveness in the industry is a key outcome of Cefic’s Horizon 2015 study and this parallels the wider European Lisbon agenda. Going forward the role of SUSTECH will be to promote the chemical sciences research agenda at the European level and to address strategic innovation issues.

The successful establishment of the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry is a major plank of SUSTECH’s efforts to stimulate innovation. SUSTECH will aim to engage with a wide cross-section of stakeholders to achieve wide-scale buy-in to the Platform and its research priorities.

Further expansion of the SUSTECH network of networks and research consortia will not be proactively sought, however support for current active consortia will be maintained. SUSTECH will continue to encourage and assist the environment for collaborative research both within the industry and between industry and academic institutions.