Page 46 - Hojnik, Jana. 2017. In Persuit of Eco-innovation. Drivers and Consequences of Eco-innovation at Firm Level. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 46
In Pursuit of Eco-innovation
Social eco-innovation
One of the aspects of social eco-innovation is that any discussion of re-
source consumption considers the human element to be integral. Social
eco-innovation includes market-based dimensions of behavioral and life-
style change and consequently focuses on ensuring the demand for green
goods and services. Some companies try to follow and practice the so-
called user-led innovation, through which the functionality of new goods
is developed with stakeholders and the risk of superfluous product fea-
tures is minimized. Another important aspect that leads to an absolute
decrease of material use without decreasing the provided quality of ser-
vices to the user is product sharing (EIO 2013a).
System eco-innovation
46 System eco-innovation refers to a series of connected innovations that
bring improvement or create entirely new systems delivering specific func-
tions with a reduced overall environmental impact (EIO 2013a). Its key
feature is a collection of changes implemented by design. This means that,
for example, a system eco-innovation related to a house is not just about
window isolation or just use of a better heating system; it is about inno-
vating the entire design to improve its functionality (EIO 2013a). EIO
(2013a, 3) proposes another example of system innovations called “Green
cities”: “when innovation and planning efforts lead to a combination of
changes to make the functioning of the city and city life more ‘green’.
This includes, for instance, new mobility concepts that tackle not only
traditional public transportation services (e.g. buses) but also shared-bike
systems (and related infrastructure like bike stations) as well as planning
to reduce the need for travel (requiring that supermarkets, day care facili-
ties, etc. are incorporated in new housing developments)”. Kemp and Fox-
on (2007) have defined green system innovations as alternative systems of
production and consumption, which are more benign than already exist-
ing systems (e.g., biological agriculture, renewable-based energy systems).
The European Commission (2012) includes in systemic eco-innovations
comprehensive solutions based on innovative business models (e.g., smart
cities), sustainable mobility and industrial ecology.
Measuring eco-innovation
Researchers (Speirs, Pearson, and Foxon 2008) argue that the lack of rele-
vant data and indicators hinders policies and measures related to the pro-
Social eco-innovation
One of the aspects of social eco-innovation is that any discussion of re-
source consumption considers the human element to be integral. Social
eco-innovation includes market-based dimensions of behavioral and life-
style change and consequently focuses on ensuring the demand for green
goods and services. Some companies try to follow and practice the so-
called user-led innovation, through which the functionality of new goods
is developed with stakeholders and the risk of superfluous product fea-
tures is minimized. Another important aspect that leads to an absolute
decrease of material use without decreasing the provided quality of ser-
vices to the user is product sharing (EIO 2013a).
System eco-innovation
46 System eco-innovation refers to a series of connected innovations that
bring improvement or create entirely new systems delivering specific func-
tions with a reduced overall environmental impact (EIO 2013a). Its key
feature is a collection of changes implemented by design. This means that,
for example, a system eco-innovation related to a house is not just about
window isolation or just use of a better heating system; it is about inno-
vating the entire design to improve its functionality (EIO 2013a). EIO
(2013a, 3) proposes another example of system innovations called “Green
cities”: “when innovation and planning efforts lead to a combination of
changes to make the functioning of the city and city life more ‘green’.
This includes, for instance, new mobility concepts that tackle not only
traditional public transportation services (e.g. buses) but also shared-bike
systems (and related infrastructure like bike stations) as well as planning
to reduce the need for travel (requiring that supermarkets, day care facili-
ties, etc. are incorporated in new housing developments)”. Kemp and Fox-
on (2007) have defined green system innovations as alternative systems of
production and consumption, which are more benign than already exist-
ing systems (e.g., biological agriculture, renewable-based energy systems).
The European Commission (2012) includes in systemic eco-innovations
comprehensive solutions based on innovative business models (e.g., smart
cities), sustainable mobility and industrial ecology.
Measuring eco-innovation
Researchers (Speirs, Pearson, and Foxon 2008) argue that the lack of rele-
vant data and indicators hinders policies and measures related to the pro-
