Search

Since the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established in 2015, scientists have attempted to utilize them for sustainability assessments. This paper aims to synthesize the existing approaches in order to make recommendations for future utilization. A systematic literature review was conducted, focusing on innovations as the assessment object and including scientific papers as well as gray literature. Of the initially identified 603 documents, 30 articles contained precise descriptions of approaches utilizing the SDGs for the sustainability assessment of innovations. These approaches were analyzed in three sequential steps: categorization of the operational choices of SDG-based sustainability assessments, discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these operational choices, and finally deriving recommendations for future utilization. We identified two main approaches: (1) integrating the SDGs into the sustainability assessment methodology or (2) subsequently assigning the assessment results to the SDGs. For the first approach, the SDGs were most frequently used as assessment criteria, but were also used to derive benchmarks or select indicators. In the second approach, assessment results were linked to goals, targets or indicators. The majority but not all articles clearly stated that all 17 SDGs were considered. The most frequently mentioned motivation for SDG utilization was to provide a holistic definition of sustainable development, followed by providing a precise description of sustainable development and international recognition. Only the integration of all 17 SDGs into the sustainability assessment conveys all three of these motivations. Hence, this approach is recommended for maximizing the utilization of SDGs when assessing the sustainability of an innovation. Subsequently assigning the assessment results to the SDGs is suggested as an alternative approach if the scientist's time and resources are limited. Since this approach predefines the SDGs that can be linked through the sustainability assessment methodology utilized, the holistic character of the SDGs is forfeited. More generally, the diversity of approaches found in the literature can be explained by several individual limitations and prerequisites. It is therefore recommended that authors document their research motivation transparently and justify the operational choices they made to fulfil it. This study contributes to the scientific community by (a) providing an overview of possible approaches for utilizing the SDGs in sustainability assessments of innovations and (b) providing recommendations for utilization based on a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages. [Display omitted] • Sustainability assessments of innovations utilizing SDGs were systematically reviewed. • Operational choices in SDG utilization were categorized. • More than 10 (sub-)categories of SDG utilization were identified. • Most frequent reason for utilizing SDGs is their holistic nature. • Holistic nature is transferred only by integrating all 17 SDGs into the assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frugal innovation can help to foster sustainability and address global challenges, like building economic growth, addressing various social needs, and protecting the environment. However, if one wants to measure the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation or enable companies to make empirically informed decisions between frugal and alternative innovation, the question of how to assess these empirical impacts arises. The main objectives of this paper are the identification of approaches and indicators for assessing the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation and the analysis of empirical findings relating to prior assessments. To this end, a systematic literature review was conducted, which identified 15 texts, and a qualitative content analysis was employed to evaluate their contents. From these analyses two main approaches for assessment emerged. First, the assessment based on the triple bottom line or the dimensions of sustainability (ecological, social, and economic). Second, assessment against the Sustainability Development Goals. In the identified texts, the sustainability dimensions are preferred over the Sustainable Development Goals for assessing the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation. From the 15 identified texts, 13 use qualitative indicators and two quantitative (conceptual) indicators. To answer the research question of the paper, a set of 47 qualitative indicators relating to integrated dimensions of sustainability for the assessment of the sustainability impacts of frugal innovation is proposed. In addition, this paper presents new insights relating to the empirical evidence of sustainability impacts of frugal innovation. Approximately 60% of 334 empirical findings from 70 different cases related to the Sustainable Development Goals contribute to the five (socially and economically focused) SDGs 8, 3, 10, 12, and 9. After a transformation to the Triple Bottom Line, these findings contribute predominantly to the economic and social dimensions (in each case 45%), and only slightly to the ecological dimension (the remaining 10%). In turn, 164 empirical results from 77 different cases related to the Triple Bottom Line show an almost similar contribution to all three sustainability dimensions with a small lead of the economic dimension. Nonetheless, in the opinion of the author, these findings confirm other studies, that from an empirical perspective, frugal innovation can be described as inherently socially and economically sustainable and ecological sustainability is mostly not the primary focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]