EUREKA industrial R&D projects for an improved environment

International collaboration is increasingly necessary in the field of environmental protection in relation to industrial research and development. The EUREKA initiative, launched in 1985, aims to increase industrial productivity and competitiveness in Europe by encouraging cross-border high technology research and development. The programme encompasses a number of ‘umbrella’ projects—EUROMAR, EUROCARE, EUROENVIRON, EUROTRAC and ENVINET. Each of these is designed to generate and support research and development projects. The paper gives examples of the projects and discusses the value of such large-scale international collaboration.