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Foreword
The Nexus between sustainability and innovation
Mark Starik
Environmental and Social Sustainability Initiative, School of Business, George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
Article Text
This book adds value to two different, emerging fields, and these are identified in its title - Sustainability, and, Innovation. The benefit to the first field is this volume's attention to a wide range of sustainability-related technologies of both the 'soft' and 'hard' varieties. From governance mechanisms and developing rules, on the one hand, to office equipment and energy systems, on the other, this book provides a multi-focal perspective on how sustainability and innovation are mutually influential. The benefit to the innovation field is that this work identifies new developments by examining two and sometimes all three aspects of sustainability - environmental, social, and economic. And, the fact that all societal sectors (ie business, government, and nonprofit organizations), as well as individuals and communities in multiple geographic locations, are examined contributes to a more comprehensive view of both fields, as well as their integration.
All of which yields increased understanding of a very wide range of sustainability and innovation topics and studies. Critical concepts described, analyzed, and evaluated here include democracy, collaboration, alternative technology, scenarios, information management, transition, new product development, e-business, and technology parks, among many others. As may be obvious from this list, this book offers many managers, practitioners, and policymakers the opportunity to connect with and learn from a varied set of peers with a wide range of interests. Such variety can be refreshing for those of us who study and/or practice the nexus between sustainability and innovation, especially in this age of 'quick-fix' eco-experts, some of whom package and sell a painfully limited set of sustainability and innovation prescriptions. The subjects of this volume, in general, and of each of the chapters, specifically, reflect the reality that sustainability and innovation are far more complex than just 'inventing our way out' of our serious socio-environmental problems. Rather, the paradoxes and dilemmas embedded in many sustainability-innovation challenges, such as whether or not biotechnologies and nanotechnologies should be developed, used, and regulated, or, how far ahead in the future or how widely beyond the human species impacts from technological development should be assessed, require far more than platitudes, slogans, and a 'Sustainability 'R' Us' approach.
This book is an important step in this much more meaningful direction. From preface to epilogue, it addresses the chaotic reality of social, environmental, and economic change, durability, and interactivity, and of human creativity, development, and self and social control. I welcome readers to an interesting and vital exploration and share with you the excitement and experience of learning about the sustainability and innovation topic that, too, will both change and endure in the years ahead.
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