If we can carry in our pockets more computing power than the Apollo program needed to put a man on the moon, why can't we solve problems like climate change, famine, or poverty? The answer lies, in part, in the distinctive challenges of creating innovations that address today's pressing environmental and social problems. In this groundbreaking book, Andrew Hargadon shows why sustainable innovation—the development of financially viable products that support a healthy environment and communities—is so difficult when compared to creating the next internet ventures or mobile apps that disregard these criteria. While other books treat innovation across sectors equally, Hargadon argues that most effective innovation strategies hinge on attention to the context in which they are pursued. Instead of relying on a stale set of "best practices," executives must craft their own strategies based on the particulars of their industries and markets. But, there are some rules of the road that foster a triple bottom line; this book provides a research-based framework that outlines the critical capabilities necessary to drive sustainable innovation: a long-term commitment, nexus work, science and policy expertise, recombinant innovation, and robust design. Sustainable Innovation draws on a wide range of historical and contemporary examples to show business readers and their companies how to stand on the shoulders of successful pioneers.
A workshop proceedings address questions that lead to a better understanding of the interaction between innovation and the environment and explored elements of "best practice" policies that can stimulate innovation for the environment and shift our development path towards sustainability.
Innovation Strategies in Environmental Science introduces and examines economically viable innovations to optimize performance and sustainability. By exploring short and long-term strategies for the development of networks and platform development, along with suggestions for open innovation, chapters discuss sustainable development ideas in key areas such as urban management/eco-design and conclude with case studies of end-user-inclusive strategies for the water supply sector. This book is an important resource for environmental and sustainability scientists interested in introducing innovative practices into their work to minimize environmental impacts. - Presents problem-oriented research and solutions - Offers strategies for minimizing or avoiding the environmental impacts of industrial production - Includes case studies on topics such as end user-inclusive innovation strategies for the water supply sector
This book seeks to show the role of sustainability and innovation in the business and productive sector as good strategy to improve performance and contribute to growth and sustainable development through innovative strategies applied to the management process. Different public and private organizations seek to maintain their business and market share, while developing strategies to improve environmental performance through innovation and address new challenges that seek a productive sector responsible on environmental issues. This book offers an analysis of the relationship between sustainability and innovation in production with the aim to offer strategies to improve sustainability performance.
The Handbook of Sustainable Innovation maps the multiple lineages of research and understanding that constitute academic work on how technological change relates to sustainable practices of production and consumption. Leading academics contribute by mapping the general evolution of this academic field, our understanding of sustainable innovation at the firm, user, and systems level, the governance of sustainable innovation, and the methodological approaches used. The Handbook explores the distinctiveness of sustainable innovation and concludes with suggestions for generating future research avenues that exploit the current diversity of work while seeking increased systemic insight.
The most important theme of the discourse on sustainable development and sustainability challenges concerns the relationship between innovation and sustainability. This book represents a realistic critical overview of the state of affairs of sustainable innovations, offering an accessible and comprehensive diagnostic point of reference for both the academic and practitioner worlds. In order for sustainable innovation to truly become mainstream practice in business it is necessary to find out how organizations can strategically and efficiently accommodate sustainability and innovation in such a manner that they accomplish value capturing (for firms, stakeholders, and for society), not merely creating a return on the social responsibility agenda. Addressing this challenge, the book draws together research from a range of perspectives in order to understand the potential shifts and barriers, benefits, and outcomes from all angles: inception, strategic process, and impact for companies and society. The book also delivers insights of (open) innovation in public sector organizations, which is not so much a process of invention as it is one of adoption and diffusion. It examines how the environmental pillar of the triple bottom line in private firms is often a by-product of thinking about the economic pillar, where cost reductions may be achieved through process innovation in terms of eliminating waste and reducing energy consumption. The impact of open innovation on process innovation, and sustainable process innovation in particular, is an underexplored area but is examined in this book. It also considers the role of the individual entrepreneur in bringing about sustainable innovation; entrepreneurs, their small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as the innovation ecosystems they build play a significant role in generating sustainable innovations where these smaller organizations are much more flexible than large organizations in targeting societal needs and challenges. The readership will incorporate PhD students and postgraduate researchers, as well as practitioners from organizational advisory fields.
Following the Brexit and Trump election cycles, consistent, long-term policy solutions to environmental and other societal challenges are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Stepping into this breach is a clear opportunity for innovation by public and privately held companies, as well as the increasingly significant role of investment and consumption. Sustainable Innovation and Impact provides a roadmap of the many critical pathways of positive change emerging to achieve modern day societal success, including rapidly evolving corporate and investment innovation and impact strategy considerations. Exploring innovation around the future of energy, electricity and related technologies, as well as transportation and buildings efficiency, Krosinsky and Cort consider ideas framed around the circular economy, operational and supply chain strategies and the global economy. Drawing together a diverse range of contributors and case studies, this book will be of great relevance to students, scholars and professionals with an interest in innovation, economics and sustainability more broadly.
In the recent past, environmental innovations have led to a considerable reduction of many pollutants; however, further innovation is required to tackle remaining pollution sources. This work analyses the significance and the effects of framework conditions on innovation activities that contribute to the realisation of a sustainable development. The book links the experiences of different research projects with the aim to develop a system of indicators to evaluate sustainable effects of (environmental) innovations. A comprehensive framework for an indicator system is established that allows to include different environmental innovation fields such as process innovations in the steel production, substitution of dangerous chemicals, organisational innovations in the field of waste disposal or sustainable water management.
Eco-Innovation considers the impact industry has on our environmental surroundings whilst exploring the need for more sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development and the general understanding of the interdependence of the environment and the economy are both examined in this thought-provoking new book.
. . . offering an enjoyable read in comparative politics and policy, it offers a point of reference for understanding the conceptual and empirical possibilities for further research in EPI. Darren McCauley, West European Politics . . . a bank of internationally based case studies written by leading environmental experts. The Environmentalist The organisation of th[is] book is exemplary, particularly for an edited volume. . . [A]n impressive intellectual contribution to the understanding of EPI. . . I strongly recommend it to scholars and students. . . and, crucially, also to politicians and civil servants who have attempted (or half-attempted) the task of remedying the historical neglect of environmental issues. Ian Bailey, Environment and Planning C Good social science may not raise our spirits, but it should improve our policy understanding. Andrew Jordan and Andrea Lenschow have produced a volume that provides a subtle and empirically informed understanding of environmental policy integration, using a design that looks both at the full policy cycle and at cross-national comparisons. From the foreword by Albert Weale FBA, University of Essex, UK Policy coordination is normally studied in hierarchical and institutional terms. This volume demonstrates the power of an idea to function as a framework for coordination. It offers an innovative study of policy coordination, as well as a thorough study of environmental policy. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, US This book deals with a critical challenge facing modern governments: how to integrate environmental thinking into all policy areas. It provides fascinating insights into the progress made in realizing this objective and is a must read for anyone interested in understanding how far we have come, and how far we still have to go, in greening government for sustainable development. James Meadowcroft, Carleton University, Canada This collection brings together leading scholars in the field to explore the origins and applications of different instruments of environmental policy integration from a comparative perspective. This book is a must read for environmental policy practitioners and scholars with an interest in how environmental outcomes can and are being improved. Miranda A. Schreurs, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany Environmental Policy Integration (EPI) is an innovative policy principle designed to deliver sustainable development. This book offers an unrivalled exploration of its conceptualization and implementation, drawing upon a set of interlinked case studies of the most common implementing instruments and the varied experience of applying them in six OECD states and the EU. Written by a team of international experts, it identifies and explains broad patterns and dynamics in what is an important area of contemporary environmental policy analysis. This insightful account of the state-of-the-art aims to offer a valuable resource for academics interested in environmental politics and policy analysis, as well as the broader, interdisciplinary theme of governance for sustainable development . It will interest advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in comparative politics, public administration and environmental politics and policy-making. Given the continuing political relevance of sustainability, it should also appeal to NGOs, think tanks and international bodies attempting to coordinate policies across and within different levels of governance.
