Measuring the technological coherence of environmental technologies with the industry knowledge base

Abstract

This paper evaluates the importance of environmental technologies (ET) in the base pf knowledge of 21 industries by using a new methodology based on analysis of networks. To do that, we consider that industry base of knowledge must consist not only in the addition of the technological competences of the firms, but also in the specific way by which industries combine and develop new knowledge. Inspired in the Patel and Pavitt's (1997) seminal work, we elaborate indicators of centrality and relatedness to build a hierarchical taxonomy that classifies environmental technological classes in four categories by industry: central (core), niche, background and marginal. The paper uses data from patent applications filed at European Patent Office in the 1980-2012 period by industrial companies from 21 industrial sectors. The main results are the following. First, the main creators of ET are also the main pollutant industries: agriculture, coke and petroleum, chemical and motor vehicles. Second, concentration, diversification and specialization indexes point out that investments in environmental innovation are still very low and concentrated in few technical fields, highlighting technologies related to pollution abatement and biofuels. Third, the methodology based on network analysis reinforced previous results, but extend the set of central-knowledge to which the ET are linked in, including also technologies related to renewable energy sources and GHG emissions mitigation. Thus, it reveals that knowledge relatedness matters and must be taken into account in the analysis of the industrial technological profiles.