Technological Innovation and Sustainable Development

Author(s):  
Teresa Paiva ◽  
Luis Farinha

Industrial competitiveness is linked to sustainable business practices if firms want to be competitive and position themselves as sustainable companies. This chapter analyses how the knitwear industry integrates the sustainable concerns into their strategy and mission and how they adopt new ways of production, performance, and product definition, mainly through technological innovation and therefore improve their industrial competitiveness. The study is exploratory applied into all the knitwear industries of two counties of the Centre Region of Portugal. The innovation, mainly technical, adopted expresses the sustainable concern to the limit of the law and business revenue. It seems that the business environmental concerns showed have a paradoxical behaviour as they don't translate into a clear contribution for the sustainable development and to an industrial competitiveness concern.

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 772-785
Author(s):  
Unai Tamayo ◽  
Gustavo Vargas

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of biomimicry to inspire sustainable development in economic systems. The research purpose is to explore the link between ecological systems and economic systems to highlight applied environmental solutions. The goal is to propose some driver to develop sustainable business practices inspired on the principles of biomimicry. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a theoretical approach that builds the basis for a better understanding of the relationship between nature and sustainable economic decisions. The premise is that in the field of sustainable development, strategies based on “learning from nature” are useful. Furthermore, the concept of biomimicry provides principles and tools specifically aimed at design practice. Findings The complexity of economic systems has shown that high levels of abstraction are required when conceptualising problems and explanations related with nature-inspired solutions. Stakeholder engagement and transdisciplinary collaboration are required to face long-term environmental challenges. Moreover, the exploratory analysis applied in this paper appeared suitable to compile existing literature. Practical implications The study provides some general guidelines and empirical approach through case studies that could help decision makers convert nature-inspired alternatives into valuable strategic business opportunities. Although presented practical cases are framed in the local sphere (i.e. the Basque Country), they can serve as references in other international contexts. Social implications New business models should recognize the positive synchronization between well-managed social, environmental and economic systems. Originality/value The proposed ideas deepen the understanding on the sustainable development and the link between ecological and economic systems. In fact, the concept of biomimetic economy has not been dealt with or developed in depth in previous academic works, nor has it been published thoroughly in the field of research.


Author(s):  
Julia Dobreva

This chapter aims to focus on the role of innovations for achieving sustainable development of Bulgarian enterprises. Following an analysis of the Bulgarian economy, the chapter explores a model for transforming businesses towards sustainability through innovations in production processes. The socioeconomic and environmental implications are considered in terms of defining the major outcomes of implementing sustainable business practices in Bulgaria. A comparison is made with the sustainable development levels in some EU countries to serve as a basis for identifying and further elaborating the main political and economic targets for Bulgaria.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1245-1266
Author(s):  
Julia Dobreva

This chapter aims to focus on the role of innovations for achieving sustainable development of Bulgarian enterprises. Following an analysis of the Bulgarian economy, the chapter explores a model for transforming businesses towards sustainability through innovations in production processes. The socioeconomic and environmental implications are considered in terms of defining the major outcomes of implementing sustainable business practices in Bulgaria. A comparison is made with the sustainable development levels in some EU countries to serve as a basis for identifying and further elaborating the main political and economic targets for Bulgaria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3748
Author(s):  
Rachel Shields ◽  
Samer Ajour El Zein ◽  
Neus Vila Brunet

There is a growing demand for sustainable business practices and for sustainable and impact investment as has been signaled by the Sustainable Development Goals ratified by all the United Nations members. However, there is not that much evidence on how sustainable investments perform during crises compared to regular investments. This paper investigates if sustainable investments within the NASDAQ have a lower volatility rate when reacting to a significant global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It groups the shares of businesses with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices that are ranked 70% or higher given by CSRHub, Inc. and compares it to business shares with the lowest-ranked CSR business practices at 30% or lower. The top 30% and bottom 30% CSR stocks’ volatility will be predicted using variations of the GARCH model. The top 30% CSR stocks of the NASDAQ had a lower rate of volatility for a global crisis than the bottom 30% CSR stocks. Technology is the only sector whose top 30% showed higher volatility. However, the top 30% of companies in the Health Care and Utilities sectors show a higher increase in returns and a lower drop in returns. These results signal the higher uncertainty associated with some cutting-edge products and services offered by the top 30% of technology companies and the preference for more established companies that offer higher quality services when it comes to satisfying basic needs such as health and utilities in difficult times.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-119
Author(s):  
PHAN THI THANH QUYEN ◽  

The role of internal audit in ensuring sustainable development of economic entities is indisputable. How-ever, the biggest challenge faced by internal auditors is how the level of their contribution can truly be weighed against the ability and role recognized by society, especially as most economic actors move from a traditional business model to a sustainable business model. The article highlights the main approaches to the transfor-mation of internal audit in order to make it an integral part of the corporate governance structure and make a significant contribution to sustainable development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 90-94
Author(s):  
V. V. Rebrova ◽  

The article gives the author's vision of the sustainable development of a public corporation based on the movement towards "green" growth. The results of the author's research aimed at establishing a link between the financial condition of Russian public corporations and ESG criteria are presented. This is a connection that necessitates the transition to a "green" economy at the level of an individual enterprise, not only for reasons of ethical business practices, but also because of the possibility of extracting financial and economic benefits. The article proves that the application of ESG practice leads an individual economic entity to economic and social prosperity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 235 ◽  
pp. 02041
Author(s):  
Rui Wang

The Chinese government actively uses the new media platform to disseminate government information and provide government services. Contemporary scientific and technological innovation, with computers and information science and technology as engines, has become the core driving force of “leading development”. This article puts the new media of Chinese government affairs under the perspective of technological innovation, analyzes the bottlenecks and possible solutions it faces, discusses the sustainable development path of new media for Chinese government affairs, and strive to provide some reference for the sustainable development of new media for government affairs in other countries or regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Vallaster ◽  
Sascha Kraus ◽  
Norbert Kailer ◽  
Brooke Baldwin

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an up-to-date assessment of key topics and methods discussed in the current literature on responsible entrepreneurship. In the past years, sustainable development itself has become a more popular and important topic in the academic literature and hence the field of sustainable entrepreneurship has become a greater topic of interest and opportunity for solution. Therefore, a systematic literature review is conducted to assess new contributions to the field and its potential for the future of sustainable development, with a focus on responsible innovation.Design/methodology/approachSystematic, evidence-informed literature review following Tranfieldet al.(2003).FindingsBased on a conceptual literature review, five streams of research that responsible entrepreneurs distinguish from purely for-profit entrepreneurs are identified and discussed: walking the line between profit creation and value creation for society; business models of responsible entrepreneurs; their role in transforming society; getting ready to innovate responsibly; and the role of market incentives to foster sustainable business practices.Originality/valueThe structured literature review allows to identify future research paths. In detail, ideas as regards the management of upcoming tensions when trying to combine profit creation and value creation for society, and finally, the way innovation processes need to be rethought when innovating responsibly are discussed and outlined.


Author(s):  
Vasja Roblek ◽  
Ivan Erenda ◽  
Maja Meško

The purpose of the chapter is to find out the meaning of the sustainable development in the post-industrial society in the first half of the 21st century. The financial crisis that started in 2008 is an indicator of how short-term profitability mindsets and related strategies, policies and actions of individuals and individual organizations can cause global economic, ecological and ethical crises. These events have contributed to the judgement that most organizations operate on business models that are not sustainable. The conceptual content contributes to the ongoing discussion about the increasingly important role of sustainable development as a major concern for the profit and non-profit sector that wish to develop the policies that will enable low but sustainable growth of society.


Author(s):  
Job Taminiau ◽  
Joseph Nyangon ◽  
Ariella Shez Lewis ◽  
John Byrne

Establishing a sustainable energy future can justifiably be considered the next frontier in global sustainable development under the agenda laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The newly adopted Paris Agreement which seeks to hold global average temperature increase to “well below 2°C” above pre-industrial levels inserts additional urgency into this agenda. To realize the commitments outlined in the agreement, implementation of innovative sustainable business models capable of producing strong mitigation and adaptation outcomes is required ‘on the ground' and needs to be available for subsequent diffusion across different countries, contexts and domains. This chapter explores the value of polycentric climate change governance through an investigation of sustainable business model innovation. An example of a sustainable business model, called the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU), is evaluated and an assessment of United Nations-based programming to aid future diffusion of such business models is conducted.


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