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• The EIB is a policy innovation that seeks to enable the role of finance as a mediator of sustainability transitions. • Transformative outcomes can be used to analyse the interpretation of novel policy innovations such as EIBs. • The EIB was interpreted in three different ways, according to visioned outcomes. • The dimensions of knowledge base and scale capture the differences of visioned outcomes. • The transformative potential of the EIB lies in bringing together stakeholders in separate policy spheres. Impact bonds have emerged as a policy innovation with the potential to change public policies towards being more outcome-based and pre-emptive – and more effective in answering sustainability challenges. This financial instrument has been used for social problems and only recently for environmental issues. One example is the Nutrient-EIB (environmental impact bond) which is in preparation to be implemented in Southwest Finland. We study involved stakeholders' framings of the Nutrient-EIB's potential for solving problems of eutrophication of the Baltic Sea and the lock-in situation of recycled fertiliser development. Based on stakeholder interviews, we identify three interpretative frames: applying the impact investing logic, challenging agri-environmental policy, and extending experimental policy-making. We recognise frictions between the frames regarding the required knowledge base and scale. We discuss how visions of transformative outcomes may challenge each other and what kinds of barriers transformative policy innovations may face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing urgency of environmental problems, such as climate change, pollution, and waste management, has highlighted the importance of eco-innovation. It includes the development of sustainable solutions for goods and services. As corporations adopt sustainability practices, governments are increasingly essential in propelling eco-innovation. Innovation and economic growth are inextricably linked since innovation helps reduce costs, increases productivity, and builds knowledge. Eco-innovation, requiring stakeholders' collaboration and knowledge sharing where public policy plays a critical role in fostering eco-innovation, is frequently catalyzed by climate change and environmental issues. This paper provides an assessment of the public policy of several countries and its part in promoting eco-innovation. It explores how policy tools such as research and development investments, regulations, incentives, and infrastructure can be used successfully. It also explores how such instruments influence small and medium enterprises due to their importance in environmental sustainability policy. This research contributes to knowledge and adds to the literature by offering a global approach to the subject, complementing previous regional/single-country studies. It demonstrates the worldwide consequences of policy actions on eco-innovation and provides recommendations for policymakers, businesses, academics, and environmental stakeholders. The results highlight how governmental support is integral to ensuring the sustainability of a green future with economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public environmental awareness (PEA) is critical to the implementation of environmental policies by governments and product strategies by companies, however, there is less literature discussing its drivers. Environmental information disclosure (EID), as a bottom-up environmental policy, promotes public environmental management. This paper takes the Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) as a proxy for the degree of EID and discusses its impact on PEA. Using the PITI of 113 cities and the Baidu index-based PEA for 30 provinces from 2010 to 2019, we find a significant increase in PEA with the widening of EID, and the impacts of EID get larger as the quantile increases. Moreover, the effects of EID on PEA are amplified in areas with heavy pollution, high levels of green innovation, and stringent environmental governance capacities, but are diminished in areas with rampant corruption. The findings of this paper provide recommendations for optimizing EID implementation. • With the expansion of EID, PEA has increased significantly. • The impacts of EID on PEA are amplified in areas with high pollution, green innovation, and strict governance capacities. • The impacts of EID on PEA are diminished in areas with rampant corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]