Page 17 - Hojnik, Jana. 2017. In Persuit of Eco-innovation. Drivers and Consequences of Eco-innovation at Firm Level. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 17
Introduction
There is no business to be done on a dead planet.
David Brower, Executive Director, Sierra Club
In recent years, eco-innovations have gained importance and generated
vast interest in both the academic and business worlds. Due to the sa-
lient issues, among which are primarily scarce resources and increasing
population, the conservation of environmental quality has become essen-
tial (Govindan et al. 2014). Moreover, resource management, pollution
control and climate change phenomena are all issues that, by their na-
ture, reach beyond geographic borders (i.e., economic trends that occur
in one country and/or internationalization of production and interna-
tional trade all affect also other national economies) and thus make the
challenges of sustainability a priority shared by countries and communi-
ties worldwide (Strange and Bayley 2014). The equilibrium in the envi-
ronment has been distorted; therefore, the key challenge that must be un-
dertaken is to reestablish that equilibrium.
The interest in eco-innovation in research and practice has increased,
particularly because of companies’ adverse impacts on the environment,
which have resulted in serious global environmental problems and rising
global concern for the environment on the other hand. Related to those,
the data (OECD 2009) demonstrate that manufacturing companies ac-
count for a significant part of the world’s consumption of resources and
generation of waste and were estimated to account for nearly a third of
global energy usage. Therefore, the manufacturing industries carry the
potential to become a driving force for the creation of sustainable soci-
There is no business to be done on a dead planet.
David Brower, Executive Director, Sierra Club
In recent years, eco-innovations have gained importance and generated
vast interest in both the academic and business worlds. Due to the sa-
lient issues, among which are primarily scarce resources and increasing
population, the conservation of environmental quality has become essen-
tial (Govindan et al. 2014). Moreover, resource management, pollution
control and climate change phenomena are all issues that, by their na-
ture, reach beyond geographic borders (i.e., economic trends that occur
in one country and/or internationalization of production and interna-
tional trade all affect also other national economies) and thus make the
challenges of sustainability a priority shared by countries and communi-
ties worldwide (Strange and Bayley 2014). The equilibrium in the envi-
ronment has been distorted; therefore, the key challenge that must be un-
dertaken is to reestablish that equilibrium.
The interest in eco-innovation in research and practice has increased,
particularly because of companies’ adverse impacts on the environment,
which have resulted in serious global environmental problems and rising
global concern for the environment on the other hand. Related to those,
the data (OECD 2009) demonstrate that manufacturing companies ac-
count for a significant part of the world’s consumption of resources and
generation of waste and were estimated to account for nearly a third of
global energy usage. Therefore, the manufacturing industries carry the
potential to become a driving force for the creation of sustainable soci-
