Unit 1: Definitions and Concepts
What are innovation and sustainability, and how can they be effectively integrated? Innovation and sustainability are terms which have been used with increasing frequency in the last several decades and have become associated with multiple meanings. Innovation often implies something new or changed in products, services, ideas, or fields. Sustainability implies the opposite-- an entity or phenomenon that continues on an on-going basis. Recent combinations of the two concepts, however, have come to mean how organizations do, can, and should transform themselves to advance socio-economic and environmental quality improvement, with the goal of promoting wellbeing.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 12 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify aspects of innovation in products and services combined with social and environmental sustainability;
- analyze how businesses transform themselves to advance socio-economic and environmental wellbeing; and
- analyze social and environmental ethical issues, such as equity, wellbeing, production and consumption, as related to the relationship between innovation and sustainability.
1.1: Innovation and Sustainability Defined
We all share one planet: we breathe the same air, drink the same water, and depend on the same oceans, forests, and biodiversity. Watch this video to learn how economist Naoko Ishii sees it as her and our mission to protect the shared resources (known as the global commons) that are vital for our survival. In this eye-opening talk about the wellness of the planet, pay attention to the four economic systems Ishii says we need to change to safeguard the global commons: 1) change our cities into green cities, 2) change our energy system, 3) change our production-consumption system, and 4) change our food system.
What types of resources make up the global commons? How can we create new social contracts to protect the global commons? How can we change our economic systems to preserve and sustain the global commons?
This chapter will introduce you to how businesses are increasingly acting with concern for the environment and society. Read Chapter 1 to see how companies can play a positive role in sustainability, follow legal and regulatory concerns, lower costs and increase profits, and achieve competitive advantages in the marketplace.
How can businesses play a positive role in helping to solve environmental and social problems? What are some examples of sustainable business practices? What does the term "triple bottom line" mean?
1.1.1 Innovation
Sustainability innovators create new products and services designed to solve problems created by the collision of economic growth, population growth, and natural systems. Read this chapter on the changing conditions for business and how sustainable innovation concepts can be applied to deliver goods and services to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous global community.
What is the definition of sustainability innovation? How do sustainability design criteria differ from conventional business approaches?
1.1.2 Sustainability
Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. This video introduces the problem of unsustainability, then explores the importance of sustainability in business. Sustainability requires us to study ecosystem services, resource depletion, the effects of business on society, and planetary and societal boundaries.
What does it mean for something to be sustainable or unsustainable? How is our current lifestyle taking away from future generations to live comfortably and thrive?
Common sense tells us that air, water, food, and shelter are fundamental to the survival of humans and businesses. However, the pathway to healthily integrating the two remains a challenge. Read this chapter to explore the important interrelationships between the environment, society, and economics and their importance to sustainable business. What are the merits of both views of economics with limits versus no limits to growth? How do businesses and individuals threaten ecosystems and the environment? What roles can businesses play in addressing environmental challenges as well as the limitations?
1.2: Innovation and Sustainability Integrated
The value proposition is the cornerstone of a company. Traditional businesses view value as economic performance, whereas sustainable businesses include social and environmental responsibilities as part of their definition. Watch this video to see how real companies organize around the value proposition. Where does sustainability fit in the value proposition? How do businesses translate the concept of sustainability into real actions? How can these actions lead to a competitive advantage?
Even as humans have sought to dominate nature, the reality is that business systems and the economy are subsystems of the biosphere. Read this chapter to discover the four key "meta-concepts": sustainable development, environmental justice, earth systems engineering and management, and sustainability science. You will also find practical frameworks and tools businesses can apply to develop sustainable innovation.
What is the difference between eco-efficiency and ecosystem solutions? How can the meta-concepts, frameworks, and tools be applied to identify sustainable business practices?
1.2.1: Ecosystem Services and Biomimicry
When solving a design problem, look to nature first. You will find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered, and more. Watch this video, which reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.
How can biomimicry and the natural genius of nature inspire sustainable innovation? What if every inventor asked: how does nature solve this? What are some other problems worth solving?
This article highlights how a "take, make, waste" economy is not tenable in the long term and that it's time to reinvent. By looking at the 3.8 billion years of planetary evolution and the genius of nature, we can find examples to use as blueprints for products, processes, and system organization that help us create a healthier, more resilient future. Read this article to discover practical approaches to biomimicry.
How can the seven principles of life be applied to help companies adopt nature's way and create sustainable innovation? What can we learn from nature to change our "take, make, waste" ways?
1.2.2: Life Cycle Analysis and Design
Systems thinking is an interdisciplinary approach that broadens perspectives when designing sustainable solutions for issues like food supply. This article discusses the usefulness of mapping food systems and how applying systems thinking to food security and production helps identify the best opportunities for more efficient use of natural resources while shedding light on the tradeoffs between different intervention strategies.
How can a systems approach lead to better policymaking and more sustainable solutions?
Since fashion is one of the most polluting industries on the planet, every stage of the fashion and textile supply chain threatens our planet's well-being. Read this article to learn how eco-design is an important part of sustainable supply chains. The researchers conduct a product line analysis of the outdoor sportswear brand, Patagonia, and its use of organic, recycled, and traceable materials in its eco-product-line development.
What is the impact of eco-design on product line development? How do sustainable fashion firms manage eco-design in the supply chain? How will consumers evaluate eco-design?
1.3: Organizational Vision and Values for Sustainability
This video describes a company's relationship with and responsibilities to its suppliers throughout the global supply chain. It sheds light on the challenges and opportunities for sustainability, the need for long-term strategic supplier relationships, and the company vision and values that act as core drivers of innovation and sustainable supply chains.
Why is long-term thinking essential to developing sustainable supply chains? How do a company's vision and values act as drivers for innovation and sustainability?
Throughout this course, we will explore real-life case studies on how to transform ideas and inventions into innovations that make a real difference. We will use examples from an international network of leaders, entrepreneurs, and scholars to examine the mechanisms that lead to genuine breakthroughs. This section explains the framework used to analyze the cases, which can be applied to all innovation processes.
What is the underlying structure of the innovation process that makes success tangible?
The underlying research in these case studies is a study of generic factors that play a role in innovation and breakthrough processes. Read this section which presents the research methods used in the qualitative analyses and graphs for the case studies. Familiarize yourself with how qualitative analysis provides context to innovations and breakthroughs.
We will be revisiting these real-life case studies throughout the book. This section explains the framework used to analyze the cases, which can be applied to all innovation processes.
What is the underlying structure of the innovation process that makes success tangible?
The Qualitative Analysis section in Breakthrough: From Innovation to Impact Volume 2 presents the research methods applied in the case studies in the book. In this section, gain an understanding of how advanced qualitative analysis provides context to innovations and breakthroughs.
1.3.1: Eco-Social Values and Worldviews
This case study describes how to move from a profit-driven organization to a multiple-added-value organization using an applied scientific approach. It sketches the developments from moving from a linear economy to the circular economy, shows new developments, structures, and strategies, and discusses how to translate them into real-world practices.
What are the values and new perspectives that companies need to embrace in a circular economy? How do society- and value-based business models support circular economies?
How can we reconcile the industrial worldview believing in unlimited economic growth, free markets, and the value of continually increasing consumption of products and services with sustainability goals? This article focuses on business schools and marketing academics and the related perpetuation of overconsumption that works against sustainability.
What are the institutional challenges in changing worldviews and values in the production-consumption system? How can we transform social paradigms and worldviews to meet dematerialization goals?
1.3.2: Stakeholder Management
This case study explores the steps that must be taken to apply circular thinking in the real world. It gives examples, shares experiences, and discusses the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach. It also describes the need for upscaling and innovation from a pragmatic and programmatic approach and shows how implementation gaps can be bridged.
Why is cooperation in the value chain needed at a multi-stakeholder level? If capitalism and industrialization are responsible for social and environmental degradation, what economic reforms are needed to create a circular economy?
1.3.3: Ethics Related to Innovation and Sustainability
This study explores the highly polluting and resource and labor-intensive features of the textile and apparel industry. It reveals four key areas or goals in corporate sustainability: environmental protection, labor relations, operation improvement, and public welfare involvement. Only 22% of Chinese textile and apparel corporations can be considered "Truly Sustainable Corporations", leaving ample opportunity for improvement.
What moral responsibility do corporations have when producing goods? What factors determine the degree to which a corporation takes on social and environmental responsibilities? What factors would account for lack of consistent, long-term commitment to sustainability by a company?
Study Sessions
These study sessions are an excellent way to review what you've learned so far and are presented by the professor who created the course. Watch these as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.
We also recommend reviewing this Study Guide before taking the Unit 1 Assessment.
Unit 1 Assessment
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Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.