Helsinki to be Europe’s capital of chemicals through the Helsinki REACH concept
The Helsinki REACH Centre concept of the Helsinki Business and Science Park Oy Ltd has been honoured as the science park ‘best practicet of the year’. The results of the TEKEL Best Practice 2007 competition were announced on 28th November 2007 at a stakeholder seminar in Espoo.
The aim of the Helsinki REACH Centre concept is the creation of a cluster of EU chemicals-based representative offices in Finland. The purpose is to attract to Helsinki the representatives of chemical importers from countries outside Europe, with the lure of the new European Chemicals Agency. The aim of the project is to build an international cluster for chemical safety in the capital region, and to make Helsinki into Europe’s ‘capital of chemicals´. Services relating to chemical legislation will be gather together under the umbrella of the Helsinki REACH Centre concept, and through these services, efforts will be made to encourage representative offices to set up in Finland.
The shared objective of this cluster has created the framework for co-operation between different organisations. Through such co-operation, new enterprises and jobs are being created around the Helsinki REACH Centre project. The China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemical Importers & Exporters (CCCMC) has already announced that it will be setting up its own representative office in Helsinki. Up to October 2007, meetings have also taken place with chemical industry representatives from countries such as the USA, Canada, Russia, India, South Korea and Japan.
Every year, the TEKEL network honours an action or project carried out amongst its membership that has best implemented, developed or is currently developing an international or Finnish science park concept. The best science park practice of the year is by nature innovative, reproductive and creates added value. It is also acknowledged as a significant achievement by a member centre. The 2006 TEKEL Best Practice competition was won by Technopolis Ventures Ltd, as a result of the innovation it demonstrated in the commercial packaging of its business incubator services.
