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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]

Manufacturing is both an essential pillar of China's economy and a significant source of environmental pollution, and there is an urgent need for the manufacturing industry to use green innovation to accelerate its goal of sustainable development. From the intellectual property protection (IPP) perspective, this paper uses Chinese manufacturing and its 26 sub-sectors as a sample from 2003 to 2018, examining the impact of two-way foreign direct investment (FDI) coordinated development in manufacturing green innovation capability. The empirical results suggest that two-way FDI coordinated development enhances manufacturing green innovation, and this finding still holds after endogeneity and robustness tests. Under the influence of IPP, the relationship between two-way FDI coordinated development and manufacturing green innovation capability is nonlinear. Under the influence of macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic dimensions IPP, the effect of two-way FDI coordinated development on manufacturing green innovation capability is U, Steps, and N shaped respectively. This paper's findings can provide empirical evidence for the government to formulate industrial development strategies and for manufacturing enterprises to improve their green innovation capabilities to achieve sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital era, digitalization brings great opportunities and challenges for cities' environmental governance and economic growth. However, it is worth noting that the impact of digitalization on cities' green transition has not been studied from the perspective of Metcalfe's Law. This paper uses the principal component method and non-radial directional distance function (NDDF) to calculate the digital development level and the green economic performance of 269 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019. (1) The empirical findings demonstrate that digitalization has become a strong driver for cities' green economic transformation. (2) Digitalization indirectly promotes green transition through industrial structure optimization and green technological innovation. (3) The heterogeneity results show that the positive effect of digitalization on green development is more obvious in eastern and economically developed cities. (4) Using the partially linear functional-coefficient model (PLFC), this paper studies the non-linear nexus between digitalization and green economic transition from the perspective of Metcalfe's Law. Thus, Metcalfe's law is confirmed in the green transition of Chinese cities. Some policy recommendations are offered for realizing the coordinated development of digitalization and greening of the urban economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Big data industry development and carbon dioxide emissions reduction are the crucial driver and objective functions of economic growth, respectively. Whether the two types of corresponding policies can achieve the "win-win" effect is the key to green development transformation in the future. However, little attention has been paid to the influence of big data industry development on carbon dioxide emissions. Based on the quasi-natural experiment in China's national big data comprehensive experimental area, the paper identifies the causal effect between big data industry development and carbon dioxide emissions. Specifically, the panel data of 282 cities in China spanning from 2010 to 2019 are used in regression analysis. The study reveals that the big data industry development has a substantial impact in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile, the findings are confirmed by a set of rigorous robustness checks. The heterogeneity analyses suggest that the effect of inhibiting carbon dioxide emissions due to the big data industry development is more significant in eastern & central China, and large-sized cities. In addition, the big data industry reduces carbon dioxide emissions through the effects of industrial structure optimization, technological innovation, and resource allocation. Our findings contribute to the nexus between big data industry development and carbon dioxide emissions. In light of these findings, the paper recommends that governments integrate economic growth and environmental protection policies by promoting big data industry development. • The paper provides a novel insight into the CO 2 emission from the perspective of big data industry. • Based on quasi-natural experiment, the paper has identified the causal effect between the big data industry development and CO 2 emissions with the Difference-in-Difference (DID) methodology. • Big data industry development effectively stimulate the reduction of CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food, energy, and water, as the basic resources supporting human survival, are fundamental to the sustainable development of humanity. Urban space plays an influential role in promoting the sustainable development of the three resources. As environmental problems such as global warming, ecological destruction, and resource shortages become increasingly severe, there is also a growing recognition of the importance of community as the fundamental component of urban space in sustainable development. In order to systematically understand the impact between food–energy–water nexus and community spatial planning, this paper provides a comprehensive literature review to bridge the current gaps in this area. This paper uses the nexus approach to summarize the trends and results of the food–energy–water nexus research in the community space field from the following five aspects: spatial scale, spatial interface, interactions, synergistic effects, and research methods. The results show that food–energy–water systems in community space are closely related to each other. However, the existing studies mostly focus on resource interaction and environmental impact, and lack of discussion on how food–energy–water nexus affects community spatial planning and its optimization. Finally, based on the current results, this paper proposes a conceptual research framework of the food–energy–water nexus in community space including influential mechanisms, space utilization, disciplinary integration, new technology application, data and methods. Therefore, the major findings of this review highlight the importance of the impact between food–energy–water nexus and community spatial planning and develop a conceptual framework for research. • This paper reviewed the FEW nexus research in the community space field. • It shows that FEW systems in community space are closely related to each other. • Researchers mainly focus on interactions of the FEW but rarely on other constraints. • It summarized new FEW system integration approaches to promote synergistic effects. • A conceptual research framework for the FEW nexus in community space is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial internet is an effective means to realize the green development of manufacturing industry. Whether the industrial Internet platform can improve the green innovation performance of enterprises is a very significant issue. Based on the Internet platform empowerment theory, this paper takes the industrial internet pilot demonstration project released annually by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2018–2021 as a quasi-natural experiment. By selecting the data of listed companies from 2011 to 2021 as research samples, this paper explores the impact of industrial Internet platforms on enterprises' green innovation performance. The findings indicate that the industrial internet platform dramatically improves enterprises' green innovation performance. And we also find that the impact of industrial internet platforms has greatly boosted the green innovation performance the enterprises with medium-and large-scale and situated in the first tier and new first tier cities. • Chinese industrial Internet pilot demonstration project is taken as a quasi-natural experiment. • The PSM-DID method is used in this paper. • Industrial internet platform can improve green innovation performance in enterprises. • Innovative capability plays an intermediary role between industrial internet platform and green innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative networks (CNs) are joint entities of autonomous partners that work towards a common goal with shared resources and roles. In 2016, the United Nations announced 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 agenda. SDG 17 is "Partnerships for the goals" highlighting the importance of cross-country and cross-company collaborative action. Although the link between CNs and sustainable development is frequently declared, no study in the literature investigates the connection between CNs and the SDGs. This systematic literature review (SLR) follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Based on the SLR results, a context-interventions-mechanisms-outcomes (CIMO) framework for CNs is proposed, serving as a tool to comprehend the types of CNs to achieve the SDGs. Only 10 out of 77 articles mentioned the SDGs they address. The norm is to focus on a single SDG per study and not assess the dimension of the impact on the SDGs or the trade-offs that can be established between them. The most frequently mentioned SDGs in the text are SDG 9 and SDG 12, with only 2 articles focusing on the social dimension. SDG 10 and SDG 16 were not mentioned in any of the articles. The majority of articles are case studies and technical papers, developing scale-up solutions and creating value from waste. The identified gaps lead to the proposition of several potential research areas: 1) the need for developing mechanisms that allow CNs to effectively implement interventions that achieve specific SDGs; 2) the lack of studies incorporating the social dimension given the social nature of the SDGs; 3) few SDGs are addressed by CNs (particularly SDG 9 and SDG 12) and majority of SDGs are ignored; 4) there is a scarcity of studies targeting the tertiary sector; 5) the need for alignment of CNs' business models with the SDGs; 6) a lack of studies addressing specific SDGs (6, 10, and 16); and 7) the necessity of studies demonstrating collaboration between industry and academia for systemic change. The study aids decision-makers in identifying policies that facilitate the formation of CNs aligned with the SDGs. • This review of the state-of-the-art of CNs research within SDGs establishes a foundation for future research. • A conceptual framework for research on CNs within SDGs is designed. • A research agenda was presented based on what is emerging and what is missing from the literature. • Using the CIMO framework, prescription rules are established to guide actions or decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Environmental issues and cleaner production are getting increasing attentions currently, making the clean production and sustainable consumption with low emissions significant. Traditional energy vehicles are increasingly unsuitable for the development of current society. It's a trend in the current vehicle market to accelerate the substitution of new energy vehicles for traditional energy vehicles. This paper makes a theoretical study on the development of new energy vehicle market supported by the government. First, this paper establishes a Cournot duopoly model which includes domestic and imported new energy vehicle manufacturers. Through the analysis of this model, this paper argues that government support policies such as subsidies and tariffs can effectively expand the market share of domestic new energy vehicles with less technology. Yet this approach is unsustainable, because domestic new energy vehicles with less technology can only survive in the market by shortening the gap with imported brands. Secondly, this paper establishes a Stackelberg model with product price as the decision variable and find that when there is a technical gap, the first mover advantage in the market will no longer exist. Finally, this paper compares two kinds of subsidies for domestic new energy vehicles and shows that the two subsidies are not different from subsidizing consumers or enterprises in expanding market share, and the consumer can obtain higher social welfare level as the subsidy object. Highlights • New energy vehicles boom with obvious substitution effect on traditional ones. • Both subsidies and tariffs can expand the production of domestic new-energy cars. • First move of domestic brands into the market can narrow the price difference. • First mover advantage no longer exists in the Stackelberg game. • Consumer subsidy is superior to enterprise subsidy in new energy auto industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating innovation strategies plays an essential role for supporting sustainable development of the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling industry. This requires the incorporation of the sustainability concept into the strategy evaluation process, which becomes complicated when sustainability-related evaluation criteria have complementary and substitutive interactions. This paper proposes a novel framework to facilitate systematic identification of sustainability-related criteria by integrating the triple-bottom-line (TBL) principle of sustainability and the model of benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks (BOCR). A capacity-based multicriteria decision making (MCDM) approach is developed to evaluate innovation strategies with respect to interacting sustainability-related criteria. Equipped with a new weighting model for interacting criteria on a multi-level hierarchy, the approach can obtain an overall contribution value for each innovation strategy. To illustrate the BOCR-TBL framework and the capacity-based MCDM approach, an empirical study on an innovation strategy evaluation problem of an Australian WEEE recycling company is conducted. This paper makes conceptual and methodological contributions to sustainability and MCDM research and contributes to the WEEE recycling industry by providing a structured methodology for innovation strategy evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines what drives green innovation investment and exploitation with regard to sustainability. The specific focus of this paper is on company valuations of different dimensions of sustainability and their relationships to green innovation. Empirical data were gathered from a cross-section of horse industry companies located in Finland. The scientific value of the paper lies in showing that certain dimensions of sustainability lead to the exploitation of and investment in green innovation, while other dimensions do not. The results of this study's regression analyses show that the more a company values economic, institutional, and social sustainability, the more likely it is to invest in green innovation. Further, a high valuation of institutional and economic sustainability increases the willingness to exploit green innovation. The valuation of environmental sustainability was not found to affect the willingness to invest in or exploit green innovation. Our results suggest that green innovation is driven by economic and institutional pressures, and that such innovation can create value in terms of social sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular actions cannot be considered sustainable if their financial benefits are not demonstrated. While the environmental benefits of the circular economy have been widely studied, sustainable development from a financial point of view has been much less studied. In this paper we assess the financial benefits of circular innovations applied in the fashion industry that have been previously assessed as sustainable using the Life Cycle Assessment. The focus is on two innovative processes such as salt recovery and tannin baths reuse that reuse water, chemicals and raw materials in an Italian small company operating in the tanning industry. A cost benefit analysis was carried to evaluate the net contribution of these actions to the operating margin. Then we model a forward-looking cash flow projection in order to determine the fundamental value of circular investments. Through these practices, the company achieved an increase in operating profitability above 30% and the 10-year value of the salt recovery is 159,061.40 euros, while the reused tanning water equals just over one million euros. The results show unexpected and strong financial benefits that can leverage similar initiatives that would advance resource equity and finally promote a real and convenient industrial dedication to environmental guardianship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the emerging landscape of Industry 5.0, the integration of innovative technologies such as Cognitive Digital Twins (CDTs) is pivotal for steering industrial processes towards sustainability and inclusivity, particularly in developing nations striving to align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study explores the transformative capabilities of CDTs in Industry 5.0, concentrating on India's quest for inclusive and sustainable industrialization in alignment with SDGs. The inclusion of the TOE-HOT framework enriches the research's analytical foundation, providing a nuanced perspective to investigate the multifaceted dynamics of technology, organization, environment, and human aspects within the sphere of industrial evolution. By employing the Best-Worst Method (BWM), Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), and MICMAC analysis, the study delves deep into the synergies between industrial strategies, technology, and sustainable development. The findings reveal the paramountcy of the Technological Dimension, emphasizing CDTs strategies like real-time optimization and data analytics, which are instrumental in dynamically adjusting manufacturing processes and fostering alignment with market demands. The research also stresses the roles of various CDTs strategies like strategic alignment, change management, job security, skill augmentation, and environmental compliance in industrial sustainability and inclusivity. The paper concludes with invaluable insights for policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers, emphasizing the necessity for a holistic, interconnected approach to fully harness the potential of CDTs in realizing the aspirations of Industry 5.0 and contributing to India's sustainable industrial advancement by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the inaugural attempt to investigate the herding behavior of firms in the context of environmental orientation to achieve the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in the ASEAN region. Insights from the previous literature infer that peer effect is visibly seen in firms across various fields, especially amongst their CSR and ESG performance. Using data from the Thai listed firms, we document strong evidence of peer effects concerning environmental performance and its dimensions (emission reduction, product innovation, and resource reduction). The targeted time frame for the current study is from 2009 to 2019 for which we analyze the firms listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange (SET). Moreover, the results of our study support the fact that mimicking behavior is one of the common behaviors that is followed by the majority of the firms keeping in view their varied purposes which include enhancing their market reputation, increasing profits, attracting shareholders and investors and most importantly raising their sustainability standing. Thus, overall our study highlights the main perspective that peer effects and herding behavior a common practices amongst firms concerning their environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast majority of supply-chain literature has focused on supply chain management, innovation and sustainability, separately. However, little supply-chain research focuses on innovation under the supply chain context, which is expected to deliver a sustainable outcome. Is it a great research opportunity to explore or a subject unworthy of studying? This paper offers a systematic literature review considering 107 related papers published from 1996 to 2014. In this review, both descriptive and thematic analyses demonstrate it to be a great research opportunity worthy of exploring. A conceptual framework containing the definition of sustainable supply chain innovation (SSCI) and its distinctive characteristics are proposed and identified. Furthermore, some opportunities for the research in future, such as antecedents to SSCI, are suggested and discussed in this paper. Both academics and practitioners in companies might find this review useful as it stimulates further research and guides sustainable supply chain innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coherency of research, development, and innovation processes are vital in promoting a more resource efficient society. Sustainability-oriented innovation systems define specific kinds of innovation systems, i.e. those that are directed to the aims of sustainable development. This paper develops an integrated method with four layers of analysis to evaluate the priorities and performances of such systems. The method is applied to a sample of emerging and innovation based economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Turkey, and Singapore. The analyses consider the 6 main activities or functional dynamics of innovation systems and a set of 19 keywords. The keywords relate to the thematic clusters of renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency, and environmental management. The priorities of the countries in each main interaction of the system are classified accordingly. The priorities are compared to the existing level of specialization in the keywords based on the intermediate outputs of the system. The analyses cover 153,838 papers and 15,138 patents between the years 2003 and 2014. A Sustainable Innovation Index is developed to aggregate the normalized values of country performance across all keywords. Singapore receives the highest value (21.17) and the average of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa is 14.91. The results determine the ability of countries to align priorities and performance towards more mature innovation systems for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of digital finance has profoundly changed the pattern of economic and social development, which is of great significance for the realization of the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature and for the promotion of sustainable development. This study measures the state of China's provincial ecological footprint from 2011 to 2019, combines the characteristics of digital financial development, and explores whether such development can promote sustainable development from an ecological footprint perspective. The results show that (1) China's provincial ecological footprint per capita, which was continuously aggravated, increased by an average of 29.15% during the sample period. Digital financial development is shown to be able to effectively suppress the ecological footprint, and an environmental inclusion effect is also observed, which helps achieve a win‒win solution for economic development and ecological conservation while promoting environmental equality. Endogeneity tests and other robustness tests indicate that causality holds. (2) Bridging the digital divide, the improvement of environmental constraints and government digital governance capacity can help amplify the marginal effects of digital finance and mitigate the ecological footprint. (3) Green technological innovation and green finance are critical paths to achieve sustainable development. Digital financial development can facilitate green-biased technological innovation and increase the scale of green credit effectiveness, thereby reducing the ecological footprint. In the future, digital technology should be used to achieve the precise sinking of financial resources, while the government's role in guiding sustainable development should be enhanced, the digital divide should be narrowed, and the role of digital finance in supporting sustainable development should be strengthened. • Using the latest improved methodology, this paper measures the provincial ecological footprint in China. • This paper investigates the impact of digital finance development on the ecological footprint. • Digital finance development can effectively mitigate the ecological footprint and has an environmentally inclusive effect. • The reasons for this are the green bias push of digital finance towards technological innovation and the increase in the scale of green credit effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, green innovation has become an important means of achieving sustainable development, but the impact of peer firms on green innovation is less discussed. To fill this research gap, this paper explores the effect of peer firms on the green innovation activities of the Chinese A-share listed firms in the manufacturing industry from 2011 to 2020 and investigates influencing factors of peer effect. The main findings are as follows. First, there is a peer effect in making green innovation decisions. Second, industry competition has a positive moderating effect on the peer effect of green innovation. Third, digital financial inclusion and government intervention both promote the peer effect of green innovation. The peer effect is more significant with a high degree of digital financial inclusion. But the peer effect has no significant difference between different degrees of government intervention. This paper aims to explore the influencing factors of a firm's green innovation from the perspective of peer effect. The research results can provide a guide for the government to better promote green innovation activities of firms and benign competition in the industry. • A firm's green innovation activities are positively affected by industry peers. • Industry competition has a positive moderating effect on green innovation peer effect. • Digital financial inclusion and government intervention both promote the peer effect. • The peer effect is more significant with a high degree of digital financial inclusion. • The peer effect has no significant difference between different degrees of government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the interaction among innovation, tourism, and climate change has become a point of focus recently. This study examines the impact of innovation and tourism development on the sustainable development of the G7 economies. Panel data from 2000 to 2019 was analyzed for cross-sectional dependency, and a series of panel unit root tests were used to confirm the variables' unit root properties. Pedroni and Kao's tests confirm the cointegration relationship among the variables. The fully modified OLS and dynamic OLS results show that higher economic prosperity and lower environmental pollution are associated with innovation as measured in scientific publications and patents, highlighting the importance of innovation. The results highlight the positive significant impact of tourism arrivals on pollution reduction and economic expansion, which mark the steps for sustainable development. The study finds further evidence that asylum refugees did not positively contribute to economic prosperity, nor were they active in the environmental correction plans of the countries. The level of education provides strong evidence supporting sustainable development by encouraging economic growth and discouraging environmental degradation. Overall, the results recommend raising the level of innovation, tourism development, and higher technical education for the sustainable development of the G7 economies. These findings offer important contributions to firms, policymakers, and UN sustainable development agendas. [Display omitted] • The paper assesses the impact of innovation and tourism on sustainability. • The results show that innovation helps improve environmental quality. • The results reveal that innovation helps foster economic prosperity. • The paper finds that tourism helps in pollution reduction and economic expansion. • The results show that the level of education is important for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of digital finance has profoundly changed the pattern of economic and social development, which is of great significance for the realization of the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature and for the promotion of sustainable development. This study measures the state of China's provincial ecological footprint from 2011 to 2019, combines the characteristics of digital financial development, and explores whether such development can promote sustainable development from an ecological footprint perspective. The results show that (1) China's provincial ecological footprint per capita, which was continuously aggravated, increased by an average of 29.15% during the sample period. Digital financial development is shown to be able to effectively suppress the ecological footprint, and an environmental inclusion effect is also observed, which helps achieve a win‒win solution for economic development and ecological conservation while promoting environmental equality. Endogeneity tests and other robustness tests indicate that causality holds. (2) Bridging the digital divide, the improvement of environmental constraints and government digital governance capacity can help amplify the marginal effects of digital finance and mitigate the ecological footprint. (3) Green technological innovation and green finance are critical paths to achieve sustainable development. Digital financial development can facilitate green-biased technological innovation and increase the scale of green credit effectiveness, thereby reducing the ecological footprint. In the future, digital technology should be used to achieve the precise sinking of financial resources, while the government's role in guiding sustainable development should be enhanced, the digital divide should be narrowed, and the role of digital finance in supporting sustainable development should be strengthened. • Using the latest improved methodology, this paper measures the provincial ecological footprint in China. • This paper investigates the impact of digital finance development on the ecological footprint. • Digital finance development can effectively mitigate the ecological footprint and has an environmentally inclusive effect. • The reasons for this are the green bias push of digital finance towards technological innovation and the increase in the scale of green credit effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, green innovation has become an important means of achieving sustainable development, but the impact of peer firms on green innovation is less discussed. To fill this research gap, this paper explores the effect of peer firms on the green innovation activities of the Chinese A-share listed firms in the manufacturing industry from 2011 to 2020 and investigates influencing factors of peer effect. The main findings are as follows. First, there is a peer effect in making green innovation decisions. Second, industry competition has a positive moderating effect on the peer effect of green innovation. Third, digital financial inclusion and government intervention both promote the peer effect of green innovation. The peer effect is more significant with a high degree of digital financial inclusion. But the peer effect has no significant difference between different degrees of government intervention. This paper aims to explore the influencing factors of a firm's green innovation from the perspective of peer effect. The research results can provide a guide for the government to better promote green innovation activities of firms and benign competition in the industry. • A firm's green innovation activities are positively affected by industry peers. • Industry competition has a positive moderating effect on green innovation peer effect. • Digital financial inclusion and government intervention both promote the peer effect. • The peer effect is more significant with a high degree of digital financial inclusion. • The peer effect has no significant difference between different degrees of government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the interaction among innovation, tourism, and climate change has become a point of focus recently. This study examines the impact of innovation and tourism development on the sustainable development of the G7 economies. Panel data from 2000 to 2019 was analyzed for cross-sectional dependency, and a series of panel unit root tests were used to confirm the variables' unit root properties. Pedroni and Kao's tests confirm the cointegration relationship among the variables. The fully modified OLS and dynamic OLS results show that higher economic prosperity and lower environmental pollution are associated with innovation as measured in scientific publications and patents, highlighting the importance of innovation. The results highlight the positive significant impact of tourism arrivals on pollution reduction and economic expansion, which mark the steps for sustainable development. The study finds further evidence that asylum refugees did not positively contribute to economic prosperity, nor were they active in the environmental correction plans of the countries. The level of education provides strong evidence supporting sustainable development by encouraging economic growth and discouraging environmental degradation. Overall, the results recommend raising the level of innovation, tourism development, and higher technical education for the sustainable development of the G7 economies. These findings offer important contributions to firms, policymakers, and UN sustainable development agendas. [Display omitted] • The paper assesses the impact of innovation and tourism on sustainability. • The results show that innovation helps improve environmental quality. • The results reveal that innovation helps foster economic prosperity. • The paper finds that tourism helps in pollution reduction and economic expansion. • The results show that the level of education is important for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a systematic literature review of how market-based instruments can influence the development of sustainable innovation. Our analysis of empirical papers published in selected peer-reviewed journals from 1992 to 2021 shows that contextual factors such as geography and industrial sector impact whether market-based instruments successfully stimulate firms to adopt sustainable innovation. Interestingly, while most of our selected papers on East Asia report positive effects of market-based instruments, about half of the papers on Europe report negative or non-significant effects. Moreover, we appear to uncover a link between the research method they use for analysis and the observed effectiveness of market-based instruments. We reflect on the limitations and bias in current methodological approaches and discuss explanations for our findings, implications for policymakers, and avenues for future research. • We review the effect of market-based instruments on sustainable innovation. • Results from 76 empirical papers show mixed effects. • The observed effect appears to depend on geography and the research method applied. • Instruments appear more effective in East Asia than in Europe. • Reported effectiveness is higher in studies using patent data versus surveys. [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]

Many environmental networks form around specific initiatives with prescribed outcome objectives. When the objectives are met, the networks frequently disband. Technological transfer halts and the social capital built up during the initiative fragments, in many cases, disappearing altogether. In an era of globally unsustainable economic activity, encouraging progressive innovation and broadening the scale and scope of knowledge transfer is one strategy for helping to attenuate ecological damage. This paper presents empirical field work which explores the Kalundborg Symbiosis in Denmark – a network of economic actors that has organically come together to implement industrial ecology principles – and documents how this network has managed to foster progressive innovation. The four drivers which emerged as central for fostering collaboration are i) a pragmatic environmental mindset, ii) the existence of opportunities to explore possibilities, iii) mutually beneficial initiatives and iv) the presence of dominant needs which stimulate a proactive search for solutions. The paper also contributes to sustainable public policy and urban planning literature by considering how municipal involvement can foster progressive and sustained development within the Kalundborg Symbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart grids could revolutionize the electricity sector when they stimulate customer empowerment and allow new players such as ICT firms to participate. A key question is whether electricity firms would either benefit or lose from smart grid deployment, because their established business model might be at risk. This paper seeks to explain under which conditions smart grid deployment will have an enabling or a constraining effect on electricity firms' engagement in business model innovation. Critically reviewing existing studies on smart grids, the paper investigates the consequences of smart grid deployment on each of the elements of the business model: value creation, value delivery, and value capture. The main argument posited is that while there are many reasons to believe that electricity firms will embrace smart grids and innovate their business model to accommodate sustainable energy, there are still many uncertainties related to consumer engagement, government support, and new entrants that might induce them to wait with business model innovation until such uncertainties have been resolved. The paper contributes to the emerging literature on business models for smart grids by not only identifying factors that enable, but also those that inhibit the transition of electricity firms towards sustainable energy. In highlighting electricity firms' reasons to resist smart grid technology, the paper provides a more nuanced picture of the potential of smart grids to disrupt the long-standing business models in the electricity sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy instruments introduced with the aim of promoting environmental sustainability are often designed and evaluated in terms of their impact with regard to facilitating technological change. Most ‘green’ policy instruments that have emerged in recent decades have targeted facilitation of the development and adoption of greener processes, goods and services. Concurrent business models have sought to create and capture value arising from this policy-induced transition to more environmentally sustainable practices. Both such policy instruments and the business models are, however, often evaluated more in terms of their impact on the development and adoption of innovations and less in terms of their impact on behavioural change. This paper provides a critical review of the interplay between green policy instruments and green business models from a behavioural perspective. Instead of looking at policy instruments from a technology-push and demand-pull perspective, this paper samples them in terms of ‘sticks’, ‘carrots’ and ‘sermons’ and then provides a critical review of business models that have emerged in response to these types of policy regimes. The paper finds that most green business models that have emerged in the built environment - in response to sticks - may be characterised as buck-passing, i.e. passing costs to others and skirting around the stick of regulation. Those that emerge in response to carrots as opportunistic carpet-bagging aimed at capturing a temporary gain. Finally, those that emerged in response to sermon-orientated awareness campaigns, show a tendency to diffuse even in the absence of supportive fiscal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fish processing industry is currently shifting from being heavily manual labor-based into automation of most of the operations along the processing line. This paper reports on a case study of fish processing equipment-producing companies and seeks to investigate how green innovation can be integrated within the activities of the companies to secure sustainable fish processing in the future. Although the companies studied were all found to be involved with innovation, none of them were working with green innovations. This paper suggests that smaller companies (such as small and medium sized enterprises) that supply to larger companies may lack feedback on environmental requirements of their products due to the perceived relative size of the contribution of their product to the overall environmental footprint of the end product of the consumer. Better and tougher environmental requirements on fish processing equipment from governmental agencies, as well as long term commitment between producer and end customers may be an effective way of sparking green innovation initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid population growth and urbanisation have accelerated waste generation, and effective waste management has become a major challenge worldwide. With advances in technology and management methods, waste management strategies have begun embracing digitalisation, leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, cloud/edge computing, machine learning, 5G communication, and blockchain technologies. Amongst them, the blockchain technology has the structural features of achieving information security and integrity without central guarantees. Blockchain also meets the data record/storage needs of waste management and the design of new mechanisms for effective waste management. These benefits make blockchain an attractive technology in the field of waste management, with researchers and practitioners alike investigating its broad applications to support sustainable waste management. However, this emerging technology has not yet been widely accepted by potential users. To further champion the application of blockchain technology, this review paper provides a systematic overview of the various pathways in which the technology has been applied in the waste management industry and further discusses its related challenges and opportunities via considering the promising prospect of combining blockchain technology with IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) and life cycle assessment (LCA). This review also provides insights for interpreting some emerging applications of blockchain in the field of waste management and clarifying the research paths in the context of blockchain, digitalised waste management, and circular economy. [Display omitted] • Impacts of blockchain technology on waste management have been substantial. • Recent development from blockchain's functional perspectives was surveyed. • There is a long way towards blockchain-based sustainable waste management. • Relevant challenges and opportunities in blockchain applications were discussed. • Outlooks in digitalised waste management and circular economy were clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As one prominent form of sustainable innovation, eco-efficient services have been promoted as a promising way towards more sustainable societies. However, they have not turned into reality as expected. This paper argues that one of the primary reasons for the slow market penetration of eco-efficient services is the mismatch between customers’ needs and service providers’ offerings. While previous research has predominantly focused upon a variety of aspects of existing or potential eco-efficient service concepts, there is hardly any systematic research on customer needs for innovative eco-efficient services. In order to start to bridge the knowledge gap, we investigate such customer needs through the analysis of interview and survey data obtained from over 300 potential customer companies in Finland, most of which operate either in the EU or globally. The paper discusses what kinds of eco-efficient services customers need and under what conditions, and which barriers hinder the use of eco-efficient services by business customers. The customer companies desire material efficiency services for managing side streams and non-core processes. They primarily seek cost and broader business-efficiency improvements from these services, and find that service providers should be able to construct a clear business case when marketing services. Finally, although there are material efficiency services in the market, customer companies find they are not being marketed actively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Product-Service System (PSS) approaches and resulting benefits have been viewed mainly from a business world standpoint and in terms of economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. This paper seeks to extend the application of PSS for community social-economic transformation and links it with Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), especially the Customer-Actor-Transformation-Worldview-Owner-Environment (CATWOE) method, to propose a model for synergistically sustainable community development. This approach recognises the diverse views and transformation goals of multiple stakeholders, fosters value co-creation in achieving desirable outcomes and uncovers synergies between system entities and various PSS elements. By analysing two examples of disadvantaged regional communities, the paper indicates how systems thinking and PSS can facilitate service innovation and opportunities for synergistic sustainability by transforming the local economy and improving services and social livelihoods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract The transition towards Sustainable Product-Service Systems (SPSS) is not an easy journey. The literature indicates several difficulties in obtaining success in the development of SPSS offers. These hardships indicate the need for well-structured methods supporting the systematic generation of sustainable innovations and solving contradictions during the stages of the servitization process. The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) is worldwide recognized by its potential to systematically solve contradictions and generate innovations. However, the research framework available and its application into SPSS domain· are still very limited. Thus, to address this gap, this paper aims to explore the contributions and challenges of the adoption of TRIZ in the development of SPSSs. A systematic literature review of the foundations and advances in this topic was conducted. The primary results indicate the main contributions from TRIZ to SPSS development, the types of eco-innovations resulting, the artifacts (e.g. models, methods, proposition or instantiation) that applied TRIZ towards SPSS and the most frequent category of PSS resulting according to TRIZ. Findings suggest that the systematic innovation proposed by TRIZ has great potential to enable the development of systematic SPSS offers. Synergies between TRIZ and the sustainable strategies of Cleaner Production also were mapped. Finally, our study proposes a research agenda and indicate the main challenges to apply the TRIZ in SPSS models. A new concept emerges in servitization field: the Systematic and Sustainable Product-Service Systems (SSPSS). Highlights • The integration between TRIZ and Sustainable Product-Service Systems is a promising topic in servitization arena. • TRIZ enables the development of Systematic and Sustainable Product-Service Systems (SSPSS) models. • There are several synergies between TRIZ and the sustainable strategies of the Cleaner Production. • Academics and practitioners can use this study to improve the development of sustainable business models. • A new concept emerges in servitization field: the Systematic and Sustainable Product-Service Systems (SSPSS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Combining sustainable consumption with the circular economy concept could help tackle challenges, such as resource scarcity and climate change by reducing resource throughput and increasing cycling of products and materials within the economic system, thereby reducing emissions and virgin material use. To achieve sustainable consumption in a circular economy production and consumption practices need to change. Business models can potentially influence both practices as it defines how a company conducts business and shapes the company-consumer relationship. This paper developed future business models for sustainable consumption through two rounds of semi-structured interviews with experts from academia, industry, and policy. During the first interview round, four business model elements that are important for sustainable consumption were identified: Resource strategy, Revenue model, Consumer effort, and Objective to (decrease/increase) consumption level. Based on these elements, we developed a comprehensive business model framework. Using this framework, experts envisioned future business models for sustainable consumption of clothing during the second interview round. The findings of this study suggest that the most promising business models for sustainable consumption are those that reduce overall consumption levels and consumer effort. Further, we found that a diverse range of business models in the market can potentially enable different customer segments to consume sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper includes the new constraints of haze in the environmental efficiency research framework, and the SBM-Undesirable and Malmquist exponential models are used to measure and analyse the evolution characteristics and regional differences of regional green environmental efficiency of China. And applied China's regional panel data and a spatial Dubin model to deeply explore the impact of environmental regulation, openness, urbanisation, industrial structure, and technological innovation on regional green environmental efficiency. The result show that, under the constraints of smog, the regional green environment efficiency of China is different with each area and shows strong spatial dependence and spatial differentiation. The overall spatial distribution of the 'east–middle–northeast–west' gradient is decreasing. Environmental regulation had a major impact on the green environment efficiency of the region and demonstrated an 'inverted N-type' relationship. The degree of openness, urbanisation, industrial structure, and technological innovation play an active role in promoting regional green sustainable development. Economic growth, corporate ownership structure, fiscal policy, and foreign investment dependence have hindered the progress of regional green sustainable development to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The areas of Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and innovation are under-explored in research generally, and specifically in sustainability-oriented research. In this paper we propose a practice-based concept of Compliance-Innovation and set out its significance for sustainability. Development of the concept is based on a literature review and exploratory qualitative research with eighteen practitioners. The concept acknowledges the central role of knowledge integration across business domains as the basis of modern competitive advantage. The absence of such integration in the GRC and innovation domains, revealed in practice, opens opportunities. The governing force for such integration is presented here as sustainability, when applied as a strategic orientation for business. We outline how the integration of GRC and innovation domains drive commercial exploitation for environmental sustainability and business sustainability. Building on the concept of Absorptive Capacity we identify both external and internal sources of knowledge as determinants of organization's selected sustainability goals, which are relevant across the phases of organizations' innovation activities throughout its Innovation Value Chain. We argue that a quality-based orientation is necessary to derive value from the networks employed in applying the concept in practice. Highlights • A concept integrating key knowledge contexts of Compliance and Innovation is presented. • The C-I concept integrates imposed regulations and strategic imperatives of business. • Linking Quality and the Innovation Value Chain permits bridging knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper makes a distinction between three theoretical frameworks that have been highly influential in the discourse on innovation, competitiveness and sustainability: sectoral systems of innovation (SSI), technological innovation systems (TIS) and socio-technical systems (ST-Systems). These frameworks share a common systems approach to innovation but are often positioned as different bodies of literature that correspond to different epistemic communities. This paper is explorative and conceptual in nature. It presents a systematic comparative review of SSI, TIS and ST-Systems based on the following analytical dimensions: (1) system boundaries, (2) actors and networks, (3) institutions, (4) knowledge, (5) dynamics and (6) policy approach. In the concluding section commonalities and differences, of the three approaches, are presented and suggestions for complimentarily are made. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The combined impacts of the financial crisis and climate change are driving the evolution of sustainable business and changing the way that governments plan for development. Markets are emerging for a range of environmentally orientated products and services as societies move (or lurch) towards reducing impacts and adapt to changing conditions. National governments are actively formulating policy and providing investment to develop green economies as one of the responses to the global financial crisis. Many of the political and economic drivers have been focused at the international and national scale, and while critical for setting the national framework for development, it often neglects the key role that regions and localities can play in ecological modernization. This paper explores two regional case studies in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, that are initiating shifts towards networks of sustainable businesses and communities and offers recommendations for further policy development. The focus of this paper is on the evolving regional sustainability market and its relationship to other social institutions including governments, communities and the individual. The unifying concept is the idea of the ‘natural advantage’, a model that integrates innovation and sustainability as a part of the regional development policy agenda. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production is based upon papers presented at the 1st International Workshop Advances in Cleaner Production (CP) held in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2007. The conference had the short-term purpose of deepening the Brazilian discussion on “The Roles of Cleaner Production in the Sustainable Development of Modern Societies”, and it had the long-term objective of providing an on-going interdisciplinary forum for knowledge development and exchange on Cleaner Production (CP) and Sustainable Development. This issue is devoted to papers covering a broad range of perspectives of CP practices and strategies. A special focus is placed upon methodological tools designed to support effective decision-making pertaining to quantitative benefits from CP. The ten papers provide insights from research designed to holistically integrate CP to help society make effective progress to sustainability. Papers cover the importance of informal knowledge, as complementary to formal knowledge, in performing effective ‘Environmental Impact Assessments.’ One paper explores the roles of radical and incremental innovation in the context of alternative automotive technologies. Benefits of Ecodesign are explored in two papers; one concerning its integration with remanufacturing to extend the life of used products and one focusing the adoption of ‘Emergy Environmental Accounting,’ as a complementary decision-making tool. The development of the Brazilian LCI database for ‘hydroelectric power generation’ and its contribution to support regionally relevant LCA studies is highlighted in one paper. The complete production chains of biodiesel and bioethanol are evaluated by using global methodologies, which help in the development of more objective and effective solutions. A “compensatory area”, calculated in terms of emergy, is proposed in order to work in a sustainable way for bamboo production. Finally, a paper about a novel approach for recycling used PET is also included. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The growing importance of the concept of the circular economy as a way to attain sustainable development has encouraged scholars to propose different ways to understand it. Given the large number of studies done on the circular economy, their differing approaches and their multiple applications, this paper attempts to propose a consensus view of the basic notions of the circular economy framework and highlight its relationship with eco-innovation. To that end, this study carried out a systematic literature review that resulted in four main outputs: a knowledge map of the circular economy, an analysis of the main notions of the concept, principles, and determinants of a circular economy. Finally, this study brings to light some remarkable examples of eco-innovations developed for implementation in the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological innovations are seen as means to optimize the efficient and clean use of vital resources in social-biological-economic systems. However, partial theoretical perspectives and experiences of their effects can lead to significant oversight of their potential and limitations. There is a need to manage technological innovations for sustainable growth from a holistic perspective, systemically and systematically. To do so, we present and validate an ontological framework, map the current body of knowledge, and identify the emphases and gaps in the domain. The ontological framework is constructed from the common terminology of the domain. The analysis is based on a map of 375 research papers published in the most prestigious journals relevant to the domain. The results show significant gaps in the research to fulfil the potential. Future research can be directed to fill these gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizing practices at the collective level of firms and entrepreneurs, i.e. ‘meta-organizing’, is a necessity for the development and diffusion of sustainable innovations. This paper seeks to build a meta-organization approach of sustainable innovation's governance. To do so, we conducted a three-stage literature review and analysis to 1) identify organizational capabilities that businesses need to acquire to develop sustainable innovations, 2) uncover attributes of meta-organizations as devices for governance, 3) relate these attributes to the capabilities for sustainable innovations. Our contributions are twofold: first we build a more comprehensive understanding of organizational capabilities, insisting on the overlooked importance of accountability, in addition to existing literature on anticipation, resilience, reflexivity, responsiveness and inclusion. Second, we highlight the key role of meta-organizations in facilitating the meta-governance of these capabilities. We propose a research agenda to further investigate these issues in several families of meta-organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of strategies, actions and programs on sustainability through innovation has been taking into account within the current essential and disorderly train of events. The issue of designing mechanisms was considered by institutions and organizations, which innovate on sustainability, the way of speeding the progress, as well as the process of learning on sustainability. There has been always a concern over forwarding the incremental innovations, which actually improve or renew the already existing ideas and practices at the level of system, or even the SoS systems' level, together with a new focus over the technical, social-human and environment or markets interspaces. The main issue regards the type of changes necessary on transforming the sustainability (new institutions, public politics, strategies of settlements, new ways of thinking and business practices). The analysis of innovative part within the process of economic and social change should gather interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research. Although there is an obvious agenda of integrating the sustainability within the process of innovation, the long-term approach has not been provided with a phasing and the process has been quite complex. The current global process has been characterized by a socio-technological dynamism of an accurate changing management, more exactly by the oscillation between intervals of normality and steadiness and disorderly and volatile intervals that influence the design way of strategies, since these should understand and integrate the new dynamics of change, of markets and of the external environment. The traditional approach cannot show such mixtures of dynamics and cut-off over the markets and stakeholders. This paper emphasizes the synergic assortment between the systematic control of innovation for sustainable development focused on the internal environment and that based on a mix between the concept of innovation enterprise in context of enterprise systems engineering, the dynamic capabilities for spectral selection in a multiple dynamics and option thinking as a paradigm well adapted in innovation. The dynamic capabilities, seen as “strategy of creating the strategies” have offered a quick qualitative image, so that this approach has been combined with the paradigm of real options, within a frame that proposes the active control over the extended performance of innovation enterprise. The novelty has been offered by the possibility of emphasizing some mechanism of inter-correlations between innovation enterprise, the dynamic capabilities, as strategic tool of high level and the real options, as tool of option thinking on one hand, and the capabilities for innovation on extended way, on the other hand. Adapting the paradigm of dynamic capabilities to the oscillation between the normality or steadiness times and those full of disorder and volatility, by means of real composed options, has offered a dynamic image of relative performance, during a complex process. Viewing the performances progress in two steps and two volatilities has been quite significant, since it offered the possibility of some immediate actions of reconfigurations and conformation to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable innovation practices, those which simultaneously contribute to environmental, social and economic value creation, have drawn increased attention from academics, industry leaders and policy makers around the globe. There is a general agreement that innovation is a very important part of the puzzle in achieving long-term sustainability. Thus, a critical question to be answered is what factors actually differentiate, and appear to contribute to, sustainable innovations (SI) at the firm level. This paper addresses the question by examining empirical evidence from the IBEX 35 companies, from the years 2010–2015. Our results obtained from multivariate regression model indicate that the intensity of a firm’s SI activity is strongly and statistically significantly associated with the sector in which a given firm operates, with a rising level of environmental footprint acting as a stimulant for innovation. Additionally, firms characterized by higher net profit margins and returns on equity were also much more likely to introduce SIs. The findings also suggest that factors like size and age of a given company, as well as level of competition in a sector in which it operates are not significant predictors for the implementation of sustainable innovations. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the main characteristics of companies active in the area of SI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative effects arising from the presence of waste materials on the environment is a major problem worldwide, requiring emphasizing of the recycling processes and reuse processes. In this context, the objective of the research was based on finding of a technology that enables a higher recovery of rubber waste for a sustainable development. To date, for a higher recovery of waste rubber is necessary to transform them into reclaimed rubber involving the use of polluting technologies. Thus, through the proposed technology, respectively through the grinding with tools activated in an ultrasonic field, has been possible to decrease rubber particle size and there was obtained a crumb rubber with a particle size of 100–150 μm. It can replace a large proportion of reclaimed rubber from the composition of a type of analyzed rubber, and the obtained results demonstrate changes in the physico-mechanical rubber properties thus produced with effects on the growth of the life of rubber products and reduce environmental pollution. Also, by applying new technology there is a clear improvement of sustainable development indicator (SDI) defined and analyzed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1972, for the first time, the term “sustainable development” was coined at the Stockholm conference, and in 1987, the Brundtland report established the sustainability-innovation “binomial”. Since then, extensive research into sustainability-oriented innovation has been conducted, focused during the last decade on SMEs and recognizing these as the main actor of sustainable development, for which foreign direct investment (FDI) is considered, from a research and institutional point of view, as a vital source, although academic literature presents conflicting conclusions. In this context, this paper aims to perform a microeconomic analysis of how FDI influences the innovative process of SMEs and how this can lead to a process oriented towards sustainability. To this end, a panel of 4667 SMEs has been analyzed, spanning a sample period between 2004 and 2013, through a binary logit model, which compares and contrasts SMEs with FDI and equivalent SMEs without FDI, over time and, therefore, exposed to a changing economy. The most significant results are that FDI is attracted mainly by factors associated with technological supply, which, when coupled with being of medium size and located in a manufacturing sector of medium-high technology, generates positive spillovers. These depend, to a large extent, on public funding, which allows these companies to be more innovative and makes it more likely they focus their innovative process on sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is on the interplay between sustainability and the adoption of various types of innovations. Little empirical research addresses how the valuation of sustainability affects the adoption of different types of innovations. This study contributes to this research gap by presenting the explanatory sustainability factors behind horse industry operators' willingness to adopt technological, service, and business model innovations. The study was executed in Finland, where currently only a fraction of horse manure's potential is utilized and the horse industry is asking for new business models, innovations, and sustainable development. Empirical results collected through a survey of 139 Finnish horse industry operators reveals that the more an operator values economic sustainability, the more likely it is to adopt technological innovations, service innovations, and business model innovations. Moreover, a high valuation of environmental sustainability diminishes the input needed to adopt technological innovations, and the more an operator values institutional sustainability, the more likely it is to adopt business model innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of engineering science is to generate step changing technological solutions, leading to paradigm-shifts in innovation. But today, the path from discovery to innovation, and from innovation to industrial uptake has become more convoluted: the increased understanding of the wider impacts of technologies on environment and society has led to more complex and strict regulatory frameworks. New technological solutions must address a progressively larger number of simultaneous goals, among them is the contribution of technologies to sustainable development. To facilitate the success of translation of novel technologies into innovation and industrial adoption within Europe, the authors advocate an innovation management and a new decision-making approach, which promotes holistic understanding of economic, environmental and societal challenges that a new technology must respond to. The MEASURE approach was developed based on experiences in sustainability assessment and innovation management within previous collaborative projects, and the outcomes of two stakeholder workshops. It allows comparison of alternative solutions, understanding of their benefits and drawbacks, as well as the evaluation of the (remaining) distance to a defined target and, as a result, robust holistic decision-making for innovative sustainable process design. We propose an iterative stage-and-gate approach coupled with sustainability assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis. The paper exemplifies how development teams could set their own most informative criteria, the necessary gates and key targets. It is mainly intended to support technology-driven collaborative research projects between industry and academia within the European Horizon 2020 framework programme, as being an integral part of the Innovation Union Flagship Initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether financial agglomeration is conducive to eco-efficiency is of great importance for countries to better pursue cleaner production, low carbon emission reduction, and sustainable development paths. This paper focuses on 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members. Based on the scientific accounting of green eco-efficiency by the super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model, the relationship between financial agglomeration and eco-efficiency is thoroughly investigated by combining the spatial Durbin model (SDM), the mediating effects model, and the panel threshold regression (PTR) model, bridging the knowledge gap. Empirical results reveal that (1) Financial agglomeration has strong positive externalities for eco-efficiency in the home country and its neighbors, with the trickle-down effect playing a key role. (2) Financial agglomeration can indirectly promote cleaner production and eco-efficiency by strengthening technological innovation and upgrading industrial structure, with the latter being more strongly mediated. (3) The effect of financial agglomeration in enhancing eco-efficiency has clear stage differences. The low-level financial agglomeration will impede the improvement of green eco-efficiency while the high-level will support it, which is in line with the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory and the law of economic development. The research broadens the theoretical underpinnings of financial agglomeration and eco-efficiency and provides guidance and implications for OECD members and other emerging economies on how to optimize the spatial allocation of financial resources, promote eco-efficiency, and advance green sustainable development. [Display omitted] • The eco-efficiency of 38 OECD members was estimated. • The impact of financial agglomeration on eco-efficiency was examined quantitatively. • The spatial Durbin model considering potential spatial spillover effects was employed. • Technology innovation, industrial upgrading, and urbanization may affect eco-efficiency. • Financial agglomeration can greatly boost eco-efficiency, but the relation is non-linear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pilot and demonstration plants (PDPs) perform critical tasks in the development of new sustainable technology by bridging basic knowledge generation and large-scale commercialization. Significant private and public funding has therefore been allocated to PDPs addressing climate change, pollution abatement technology and/or increased resource efficiency. After technology verification, PDPs typically struggle with evolving objectives, and reports of stalled or delayed development are common. Key problems may center on technical difficulties, but challenges of a non-technical nature are equally important, not least for the development of clean technology. This paper draws on a longitudinal case study of four PDPs used for advanced biorefinery technology development in Sweden and delineates the key managerial and organizational challenges that arise in and around such plants. By taking the actor networks around PDPs as the main unit of analysis, this paper gives a detailed description of various challenges, such as the division of responsibility for the operation and ownership of the PDPs, unclear roles and objectives, and the lack of specific competences and resources in the actor networks. One important conclusion is that improved knowledge about such challenges should increase the resilience of actor networks in and around PDPs, and also help shorten the formative phase of developing sustainable technology. Image 1 • Pilot and demonstration plants face key managerial and organizational challenges. • Unclear responsibility for operation and ownership hampers development. • Lack of specific competences/resources in the actor networks hampers development. • Improved knowledge about key challenges increase resilience of the actor network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creativity workshops (i.e. brainstorming, creativity contests and design jams) are increasingly being used by organisations to explore new design spaces and find original ideas for new products or services. The selection of ideas resulting from these creative processes is a key activity for a firm, as it serves as a foundation for time management and decisions on further investments. Moreover, the selection of promising ideas has a more significant impact than the creative process itself as it colours the overall innovation process. We argue that this type of decision is strongly context dependent. That is, the selection process is conditioned by several factors such as the firm's technological and organisational capabilities and its strategy. This implies that a relevant idea for a particular company is not necessarily relevant for another. This paper proposes a context formalisation approach, supported by multi-criteria decision-making analysis tools to evaluate ideas resulting from a creative workshop. This evaluation process seeks to assist the decision-making by requiring success criteria to take into account the firm's context and priorities and give decision-makers the keys to establish a coherent evaluation. Implementation of this approach during a creative workshop validates the appeal of this type of contextualised evaluation. It contributes to the field of practical application of ideas in productive environments. The proposed methodology is illustrated through a case study on the new eco-tourism services for the city of Leticia in the Amazonian region of Colombia with a view to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]