Approach to Sustainable Innovation
At the first United Nations (UN) Environment Conference in 1972, the idea of sustainability was first introduced. After some time in 1987 the relation between sustainability and development was established. Three aspects of sustainability i.e., financial, ecological and also social were identified in UNEP 1992 to get our needs fulfil and to save the environment from demolition. Afterwards there are new international objectives for sustainable development in Rio+20 UN Conference which covered the concept of green economy through sustainable development and working on the institutional framework. Sustainability is the most talked about topic in today’s world. United Nations in 2015 the Global Goals, often known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with an objective to end poverty, save environment and make sure by 2030 everyone lives in harmony and wealth. To implement policies at the government level requires rigorous planning, an effective utilisation of informational and energy resources. It means that renewable energy requires technological innovations at improved efficiency and thus, sustainability is strongly related with innovation and efficiency.
Sustainability is often said to be based on three pillars: economic, environmental and social or more colloquially, “profits, planet, and people,” as shown in Fig.1.
Figure 1. A conceptual framework of sustainable innovation
The term “economic sustainability” refers to the preservation of natural resources, including both renewable and non-renewable inputs, which are important for economic production.
Focused on the life support systems that must be preserved for prolonged human life and economic activity, such as the soil or atmosphere, “environmental sustainability” refers to the concept of preserving the environment. While social sustainability, on the other side, is concerned with fighting inequality and attempting to eradicate poverty and hunger.