Innovations and the Environment

This book Innovations and the Environment aims to review the state of knowledge and to provide an empirical basis for the development and use of new technologies, products and services to reduce the impact of human activities on environmental quality. This is at the core of the debate on economics and the environment. The message is optimistic. Advances in thinking and actions make it possible to maintain high environmental quality at reasonable costs, sometimes even having a positive effect on corporate results. The progress is by no means automatic. Risk taking by entrepreneurs, managers and policy makers is necessary. The idea to write a book about innovations and the environment was born during discussions with Professor Han Brezet who was convinced of the importance of this subject for engineering students. This is because he has found many stories about the successes and failures of environmental technologies and even more on the impact of technologies on environmental qualities, but no reviews on technology and the mindset of entrepreneurship to explain the forces that drive innovations for sustainable development.

First book to provide a systematic review of the forces that drive technologies towards sustainable development Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Auteur
Dr Yoram Krozer is Director of the Cartesius Institute, the Institute for Sustainable Innovations of the Netherlands' Technical Universities.

Texte du rabat

Companies wishing to become less environmentally polluting without incurring high (or increasing) costs must embrace innovations. There are various technologies which enable organisations to achieve large reductions in their emissions by employing resource saving, using new resources or following pollution controls. The costs of the available technologies decrease with use as adaptations are made based on practical experience. This rate of cost reduction is rapid for most industrial sectors. Environmental policies provide a further incentive for innovation, as the environmental demands of authorities can have short lead-time in preparation and fast and strict enforcement, or involve negotiations between stakeholders if the harmed interests use legal instruments to ensure that their demands can be enforced. Companies which undertake environmental innovations and adaptations can reduce their emissions down to levels that do not preclude sustainable environmental qualities, without increasing their costs and in many cases even enjoying cost savings.

The first book to provide a systematic review of the forces that drive technologies towards sustainable development, Innovations and the Environment discusses the possibilities for fostering renewable energy and environmental quality oriented innovations from the perspective of decision makers in policy and business. The economy and management of the innovations are addressed regarding users' interests and the interests of technology suppliers. It is shown that technological progress enables the attainment of far reaching objectives at low cost and, in many cases, even at net benefit.

Innovations and the Environment will be of interest to researchers in environmental management and policy, the staff of regional and national authorities, and those involved in management of corporate social responsibility and environmental management.

Contenu
Technology for Sustainable Development.- Projecting the Cost of Emissions Reduction.- Projecting Innovation Costs and Benefits.- Environmental Policy and Technological Progress.- Policy Demands and Environmental Management.- Social Demands and Environmental Management.- Environmental Policy for Innovations.- Does Self-regulation Work?.- How to Progress?.