The study provides theoretically and empirically well founded assessments of the employment effects of environmental innovations, which are as such closely tied to the increased adoption of integrated technologies. The analysis rests on case studies, a large scale survey among firms of the manufacturing industries including additional telephone-based interviews with environmentally innovative firms, a patent analysis as well as model calculations in the framework of a general equilibrium approach for the European Union.
As compared to additive technologies, integrated environmental protection schemes bring about positive employment effects for more firms. At the same time, however, as is the general tendency in employing technlogical innovations, environmental innovations will primarily promote qualification increases, i.e., the demand for high-skilled employees will tend to grow, whereas that for low-skilled labour will likely drop.
The results do much to suggest that the progress towards integrated environmental technologies does not impede employment policy objectives in general, in part generating synergies; yet at the same time, technology policy and particularly the promotion of integrated environmental protection schemes should not be expected to grant significant contributions regarding the relief of mass unemployment pressures.