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Book System Innovation for Sustainability 1

Download or read book System Innovation for Sustainability 1 written by Arnold Tukker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) was adopted as a priority area during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 and has since become one of the main vehicles for targeting international sustainability policy. Sustainable consumption focuses on formulating equitable strategies that foster the highest quality of life, the efficient use of natural resources, and the effective satisfaction of human needs while simultaneously promoting equitable social development, economic competitiveness, and technological innovation. But this is a complex topic and, as the challenges of sustainability grow larger, there is a need to re-imagine how SCP policies can be formulated, governed and implemented. The EU-funded project "Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges" (SCORE!) consists of around 200 experts in the field of sustainable innovation and sustainable consumption. The SCORE! philosophy is that innovation in SCP policy can be achieved only if experts that understand business development, (sustainable) solution design, consumer behaviour and system innovation policy work together in shaping it. Sustainable technology design can be effective only if business can profitably make the products and consumers are attracted to them. To understand how this might effectively happen, the expertise of systems thinkers must be added to the mix. System Innovation for Sustainability 1 is the first result of a unique positive confrontation between experts from all four communities. It examines what SCP is and what it could be, provides a state-of-the-art review on the governance of change in SCP policy and looks at the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches. The SCORE! experts are working with actors in industry, consumer groups and eco-labelling organisations in the key consumption areas of mobility, food and agriculture, and energy use and housing – responsible for 70% of the life-cycle environmental impacts of Western societies – with the aim of stimulating, fostering or forcing change to SCP theory in practice. The System Innovation for Sustainability series will continue with three further volumes of comprehensive case studies in each of these three critical consumption areas. Each chapter of this book examines problems and suggests solutions from a business, design, consumer and system innovation perspective. It primarily examines the differing solutions necessary in the consumer economies of the West, but also comments on the differing needs in rapidly emerging economies such as China, as well as base-of-the-pyramid economies. The System Innovation for Sustainability series is the fruit of the only major international research network on SCP and will set the standard in this field for some years to come. It will be required reading for all involved in the policy debate on sustainable production and consumption from government, business, academia and NGOs for designers, scientists, businesses and system innovators.

Book System Innovation and the Transition to Sustainability

Download or read book System Innovation and the Transition to Sustainability written by Boelie Elzen and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern societies face several structural problems such as transport congestion and greenhouse gas emissions due to the widespread use of fossil fuels. To address these important societal problems and achieve sustainability in the broad sense, major transformations are required, but this poses an enormous challenge given the complexity of the processes involved. Such transformations are called 'transitions' or 'system innovations' and involve changes in a variety of elements, including technology, regulation, user practices and markets, cultural meaning and infrastructure. This book considers two main questions: how do system innovations or transitions come about and how can they be influenced by different actors, in particular by governments. The authors identify the theories which can be used to conceptualise the dynamics of system innovations and discuss the weaknesses in these theories. They also look at the lessons which can be learned from historical examples of transitions, and highlight the instruments and policy tools which can be used to stimulate future system innovations towards sustainability. The expert contributors address these questions using insights from a variety of different disciplines including innovation studies, evolutionary economics, the sociology of technology, environmental analysis and governance studies. The book concludes with an extensive summary of the results and practical suggestions for future research. This important new volume offers an interdisciplinary assessment of how and why system innovations occur. It will engage and inform academics and researchers interested in transitions towards sustainability, and will also be highly relevant for policymakers concerned with environmental issues, structural change and radical innovation.

Book Towards Environmental Innovation Systems

Download or read book Towards Environmental Innovation Systems written by K. Matthias Weber and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-02-11 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is a dialog among worldwide experts across disciplines concerning theoretical frameworks and practical experiences to guide research and policy "towards environmental innovation systems". The contributors explore new directions of research at the border of two research traditions: systems of innovation and environmental innovations. The text examines the four main components of environmental innovation systems: conceptual foundations, empirical experiences, strategic approaches, and experiences with policy instruments.

Book Indicator Systems for Sustainable Innovation

Download or read book Indicator Systems for Sustainable Innovation written by Jens Horbach and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-03-30 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Book Eco Innovation and Sustainability Management

Download or read book Eco Innovation and Sustainability Management written by Bart Bossink and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainability is a phenomenon that must be pursued in a complex system of interrelated elements of business, society, and ecology. It is important to gain an understanding of these elements, the interplay between them, and the behavior of the system. This book explores the business-societal-and-ecological system in which sustainable innovation has to be envisioned, conceptualized, realized, and improved. Author Bart Bossink offers insight into the systematic coherence of drivers of eco-innovation and sustainability utilizing a three-part approach: (1) eco- and sustainable innovation in business is based on ideas and people who cooperatively develop these ideas; (2) groups of people, organized in commercial firms, must realize these ideas cooperatively and create the innovations that can conquer the market; and (3) that people from governmental, non-governmental, not-for-profit, research, and commercial organizations can build institutional arrangements that stimulate these sustainable innovations, changing both industry and society. Adopting a managerial perspective and discussing concepts and methods to manage eco-innovation in business, this book highlights the interrelated roles of the individual, the firm, partnerships, and business environments. Researchers and practitioners who want to combine a commercial and economical approach with an ethical and social ambition to create an ecologically sustainable firm stand to learn much from these pages.

Book System Innovation for Sustainability 1

Download or read book System Innovation for Sustainability 1 written by Arnold Tukker and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) was adopted as a priority area during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 and has since become one of the main vehicles for targeting international sustainability policy. Sustainable consumption focuses on formulating equitable strategies that foster the highest quality of life, the efficient use of natural resources, and the effective satisfaction of human needs while simultaneously promoting equitable social development, economic competitiveness, and technological innovation. But this is a complex topic and, as the challenges of sustainability grow larger, there is a need to re-imagine how SCP policies can be formulated, governed and implemented. The EU-funded project "Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges" (SCORE!) consists of around 200 experts in the field of sustainable innovation and sustainable consumption. The SCORE! philosophy is that innovation in SCP policy can be achieved only if experts that understand business development, (sustainable) solution design, consumer behaviour and system innovation policy work together in shaping it. Sustainable technology design can be effective only if business can profitably make the products and consumers are attracted to them. To understand how this might effectively happen, the expertise of systems thinkers must be added to the mix. System Innovation for Sustainability 1 is the first result of a unique positive confrontation between experts from all four communities. It examines what SCP is and what it could be, provides a state-of-the-art review on the governance of change in SCP policy and looks at the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches. The SCORE! experts are working with actors in industry, consumer groups and eco-labelling organisations in the key consumption areas of mobility, food and agriculture, and energy use and housing - responsible for 70% of the life-cycle environmental impacts of Western societies - with the aim of stimulating, fostering or forcing change to SCP theory in practice. The System Innovation for Sustainability series will continue with three further volumes of comprehensive case studies in each of these three critical consumption areas. Each chapter of this book examines problems and suggests solutions from a business, design, consumer and system innovation perspective. It primarily examines the differing solutions necessary in the consumer economies of the West, but also comments on the differing needs in rapidly emerging economies such as China, as well as base-of-the-pyramid economies. The System Innovation for Sustainability series is the fruit of the only major international research network on SCP and will set the standard in this field for some years to come. It will be required reading for all involved in the policy debate on sustainable production and consumption from government, business, academia and NGOs for designers, scientists, businesses and system innovators."--Provided by publisher.

Book Sustainable Development and Innovation in the Energy Sector

Download or read book Sustainable Development and Innovation in the Energy Sector written by Ulrich Steger and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores how these conflicting scenarios could be reconciled; how can we shape a more sustainable energy system from the existing one; and possible technological progress and innovations to enable a brighter future. Addresses the reality that there exists no consensus on the extent to which innovations can really contribute to reconciling ever-growing energy consumption, availability of resources and the environment, and the structural demands on any energy system. Offers and explains a four-point strategy: Energy should according to its importance regain a top priority in the political arena; higly targeted subsidies should be given for a limited amount of time to speed up the market introduction of energy-efficient and regenerative techniques in analogy to the ‚Dutch model‘; Negotiated agreements and unilateral self-commitments can subsequently ensure further market diffusion of sustainable energy innovations.; the basic research in energy should not be diminished but intensified instead

Book Sustainable Innovation

Download or read book Sustainable Innovation written by Andrew Hargadon and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-24 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Book Innovation for Sustainability

Download or read book Innovation for Sustainability written by Nancy Bocken and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-02-22 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this edited book is to provide a comprehensive overview of the opportunities and challenges related to innovation for sustainability. Combining work from both emerging and established scholars in different academic fields, this book provides an integrated understanding of the topic from four perspectives. First, the big picture: frameworks, types, and drivers; second, strategy and leadership; third, measurement and assessment and fourth, tools, methods and technologies. Chapter 11 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com. The editors donate their remuneration for this book to conservation organisation the WWF.

Book Handbook of Sustainable Innovation

Download or read book Handbook of Sustainable Innovation written by Frank Boons and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2019 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Book Case Studies in Sustainable Consumption and Production

Download or read book Case Studies in Sustainable Consumption and Production written by Saadi Lahlou and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The EU-funded project Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges (SCORE ) consists of around 200 experts in the field of sustainable innovation and sustainable consumption. The SCORE philosophy is that innovation in SCP policy can be achieved only if experts that understand business development, (sustainable) solution design, consumer behaviour and system innovation policy work together in shaping it. Sustainable technology design can be effective only if business can profitably make the products and consumers are attracted to them. To understand how this might effectively happen, the expertise of systems thinkers must be added to the mix.

Book Entrepreneurship  Innovation and Sustainability

Download or read book Entrepreneurship Innovation and Sustainability written by Marcus Wagner and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses the intersection of entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability (EIS), presenting high-quality research illuminating the relationship between the three fields. The EIS nexus is particularly relevant from a European point of view given the focus of the European Commission on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, as well as their prominent role within the European Union in general. Also, the rapid economic growth witnessed especially in the BRIC countries in recent years requires that firms reconcile sustainability aspects with profitability and innovation, and entrepreneurs are seen as key diffusers of these aims. Sustainability requires both radical and incremental innovation at many different levels (technology, product, process, system). In many cases, such innovations come from small and medium-sized enterprises and so the role of the entrepreneur is key to their success. The book is split into six sections. The first section examines the nexus in detail focusing on system-oriented connectivity between sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship. The second section looks at how to nurture corporate entrepreneurship for sustainability; and the third considers "mature" industries such as automotives, chemicals and electronics and how sustainability aspects can be integrated into innovation process and strategy. The fourth section examines the nexus through the lens of developing countries in Africa. Sustainable entrepreneurship is identified as a hugely beneficial way to foster development. The fifth section of the book concentrates on SMEs; and finally the EIS nexus is approached from a network perspective and focuses on inter-organisational partnerships, which are often an important facilitator or spark for EIS initiatives.This book will prove to be essential for researchers in the EIS nexus and be of invaluable help to practitioners, governments and inter-governmental bodies attempting to encourage sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation.

Book Scale

    Book Details:
  • Author : Geoffrey West
  • Publisher : Penguin
  • Release : 2018-05-15
  • ISBN : 014311090X
  • Pages : 498 pages

Download or read book Scale written by Geoffrey West and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is science writing as wonder and as inspiration." —The Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal From one of the most influential scientists of our time, a dazzling exploration of the hidden laws that govern the life cycle of everything from plants and animals to the cities we live in. Visionary physicist Geoffrey West is a pioneer in the field of complexity science, the science of emergent systems and networks. The term “complexity” can be misleading, however, because what makes West’s discoveries so beautiful is that he has found an underlying simplicity that unites the seemingly complex and diverse phenomena of living systems, including our bodies, our cities and our businesses. Fascinated by aging and mortality, West applied the rigor of a physicist to the biological question of why we live as long as we do and no longer. The result was astonishing, and changed science: West found that despite the riotous diversity in mammals, they are all, to a large degree, scaled versions of each other. If you know the size of a mammal, you can use scaling laws to learn everything from how much food it eats per day, what its heart-rate is, how long it will take to mature, its lifespan, and so on. Furthermore, the efficiency of the mammal’s circulatory systems scales up precisely based on weight: if you compare a mouse, a human and an elephant on a logarithmic graph, you find with every doubling of average weight, a species gets 25% more efficient—and lives 25% longer. Fundamentally, he has proven, the issue has to do with the fractal geometry of the networks that supply energy and remove waste from the organism’s body. West’s work has been game-changing for biologists, but then he made the even bolder move of exploring his work’s applicability. Cities, too, are constellations of networks and laws of scalability relate with eerie precision to them. Recently, West has applied his revolutionary work to the business world. This investigation has led to powerful insights into why some companies thrive while others fail. The implications of these discoveries are far-reaching, and are just beginning to be explored. Scale is a thrilling scientific adventure story about the elemental natural laws that bind us together in simple but profound ways. Through the brilliant mind of Geoffrey West, we can envision how cities, companies and biological life alike are dancing to the same simple, powerful tune.

Book Smart Quintuple Helix Innovation Systems

Download or read book Smart Quintuple Helix Innovation Systems written by Elias G. Carayannis and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-21 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the relationships among social ecology, innovation, sustainable development and economic growth. The Quintuple Helix innovation model focuses on the interactions among five key elements of society: academia, industry, government, culture, and the environment--with particular respect to harnessing knowledge to promote social, political, and economic development. The Quintuple Helix is a powerful theoretical and practical lens for analyzing and understanding such critical and complex ecological and socioeconomic issues as global warming and climate change and their implications for sustainability. The authors provide policy approaches and strategies to help create a balance among the often competing forces of environmental protection, innovation, entrepreneurship, and social and economic growth that will successfully benefit society and protect democratic values.

Book Sustainable Culinary Systems

Download or read book Sustainable Culinary Systems written by C. Michael Hall and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-04 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is increasing public and academic interest in local and sustainable foods and food tourism. These interests have been reflected in such diverse elements as the growth of farmers markets, green restaurants, food miles, crabon and sustainability labelling, concerns over food supply and security, Slow Food, Fair Trade, and a desire to buy and 'eat locally'. Food related hospitality and tourism is integral to this process because of the way in which it simultaneously acts to globalise and localise food consumption and create new foodways and commodity chains. This book therefore aims to provide an integrated understanding of the contemporary interest in food and food tourism through the use of an international collection of illustrative case study chapters as well as the provision of a novel integrative framework for the book, a sustainable culinary system. This is the first volume to examine the concept of sustainable culinary systems, particularly with specific reference to tourism and hospitality. Divided into two parts, firstly the notion of the local is explored, reflecting the increased interest in the championing of local food production and consumption. Secondly treatment of sustainability in food and food tourism and hospitality in settings that reach beyond the local in a business and socio-economic sense is reviewed. The book therefore, reflects much of the contemporary public interest in the conscious or ethical consumption and production food, as well as revealing the inherent tensions between local and broader goals in both defining and achieving sustainable culinary systems and the environmental, social and economic implications of food production and consumption. This book provides the reader with an integrated approach to understanding the subject of how culinary systems may be made more sustainable and will be valuable reading to all those interested in sustainable food and food tourism.

Book System Innovation for Sustainability 4

Download or read book System Innovation for Sustainability 4 written by Saadi Lahlou and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The EU-funded project "Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges" (SCORE!) consists of around 200 experts in the field of sustainable innovation and sustainable consumption. The SCORE! philosophy is that innovation in SCP policy can be achieved only if experts that understand business development, (sustainable) solution design, consumer behaviour and system innovation policy work together in shaping it. Sustainable technology design can be effective only if business can profitably make the products and consumers are attracted to them. To understand how this might effectively happen, the expertise of systems thinkers must be added to the mix. The publication in 2008 of System Innovation for Sustainability 1 was the first result of a unique positive confrontation between experts from all four communities. It examined what SCP is and what it could be, provided a state-of-the-art review on the governance of change in SCP policy and looked at the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches. System Innovation for Sustainability 4 is the third of three books of case studies covering respectively the three key consumption areas of mobility, food and agriculture, and energy use and the built environment - responsible for 70% of the life-cycle environmental impacts of Western societies - with the aim of stimulating, fostering or forcing change to SCP theory in practice. Energy consumption is obviously a key issue for sustainability, primarily because it depletes non-renewable fossil fuels, produces CO2 and other pollution. As climate change is becoming a key political issue, and as oil prices rise, society has become acutely aware of this issue. Energy is a special case because it is a key input to almost all other consumption and production processes. Housing is, with transport and food, a major consumer of energy, accounting for about one quarter of the environmental impact from the general consumption of products in the European Union, on a par with food and transport. Energy use in houses and buildings is also set to rise as populations - and the buildings they need -continue to increase. In France, for example, energy consumption in houses and offices accounts for 43% of the total national energy consumption, and one-quarter of national greenhouse gas emissions. The UK's 21 million homes consume around 50 million tonnes of oil equivalent (responsible for 27% of UK CO2 emissions); this energy use has increased steadily by about 1.3% per year since 1990. Germany's buildings contribute one-fifth of the country's CO2 emissions. Beyond this, buildings are the environment where we spend most of our lives; they deeply influence many other consumption patterns, and are an important factor for life and comfort. The societal function and nature of buildings as they are currently constructed presents some key difficulties in moving towards sustainable consumption and production. Buildings have a long lifetime; and therefore they are a major target for any structural changes in consumption patterns. Conversely, long lifetimes come with associated strong inertia; therefore the stock of existing buildings is often an obstacle to policies aimed at behavioural change. This book examines, through a case study approach, opportunities to influence energy consumption in housing and buildings and thereby provide options for implementation at a macro, meso and micro level. A growing body of evidence shows that cases demonstrating action towards SCP in energy use in housing can inspire innovation through a range of actors. The cases include examples of steps towards the sustainable use of energy in houses and buildings, from "local experiments", to "innovative communities", to wider regime or non-local scale change in Europe and North America. The System Innovation for Sustainability series is the fruit of the first major international research network on SCP and will set the standard in this field for some years to come. It will be required reading for all involved in the policy debate on sustainable production and consumption from government, business, academia and NGOs for designers, scientists, businesses and system innovators."--Provided by publisher.

Book Advanced Research in Technologies  Information  Innovation and Sustainability

Download or read book Advanced Research in Technologies Information Innovation and Sustainability written by Teresa Guarda and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-11-17 with total page 754 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on Advanced Research in Technologies, Information, Innovation and Sustainability, ARTIIS 2021, held in La Libertad, Ecuador, in November 2021. The 53 full papers and 2 short contributions were carefully reviewed and selected from 155 submissions. The volume covers a variety of topics, such as computer systems organization, software engineering, information storage and retrieval, computing methodologies, artificial intelligence, and others. The papers are logically organized in the following thematic blocks: ​Computing Solutions; Data Intelligence; Ethics, Security, and Privacy; Sustainability.