Environment, Innovation, and Business Strategies

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Environment, Innovation, and Business Strategies

• Ian Miles
• Nov 2000

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The Bramble Bush 1

• There was a man in our town, and he was wonderous
  wise he jumped into a bramble bush, and pricked
  out both his eyes!

Male Urbanised Scientific wisdom Rash
action Raw nature Blinded
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The Bramble Bush 2

• And when he saw what he had done, with all his
  might and main he jumped right in the bramble
  bush and scratched them on again!

Late and contradictory realisarion? Much effort
required Resolve the problem by using the same
tools
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Why Clean Technology?

• Hard to change LEVELS of production, consumption
• Scope for changing METHODS of production,
  consumption
• New technologies in products and processes

• Pressure on Resources (ecosystems more than
  exhaustion)
• Pollution and Waste - health and QOL
• Styles of Production
• Styles of Consumption

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Clean and CleanerTechnology for Sustainability

• GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
• CLEAN-UP / END OF PIPE
• CLEANER / PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
• INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

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Clean and Cleaner

• GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
• CLEAN-UP / END OF PIPE
• CLEANER / Proc. Imp.
• INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

• Optimise existing process adjust machines,
  rmaintain them regulate use of materials

• remove pollutants from discharge clean and
  filter, washing systems remove dust and grease

• adjust process to reduce input requirements
  and/or discharges recycle wastes

• change use of raw materials, consumables

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Environmental Concerns

• 1960s
• 1970s
• 1980s
• 1990s

Population explosion - GROWTH as problem

• Very long historry of concerns about air and
  water quality - laws in UK 500 years ago during
  industrialisation, traditional pressure groups
  with interests in nature conservation,
  wilderness, parks, access to country, etc

• Pesticides, agrochemicals - SILENT SRING -
  pollution as widespread but local ecological
  hazard

GROWTH as problematic splitting of green concerns

• Institutionalisation (EPA, DoE 1970) - UNCED
  Stockholm 1972) LIMITS TO GROWTH 1972 new
  pressure groups but economic crises, oil shock,
  neoconservativism

GLOBAL problems, associated with (numerous)
specific practices, pollutants

• Acid rain Chernobyl 1985 Antarctic survey -gt
  Ozone holes Climate Change (IPCC 88) Green
  parties grow

New problems recognised - BSE and other health
threats pseudoestrogens, etc - and much
controversy

• UN Rio Conf 92 -gt Sustainable development.
  Style of growth biodiversity, habitats...

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Environmental Concerns

• Env concerns are VERY diverse, and evolving
• Patterns of emphasis is changing
• Misleading to suggest that concern is merely
  product of affluence

• 1960s
• 1970s
• 1980s
• 1990s

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Environment as Externality, as Commodity

• POLLUTION OF
• air
• land
• water
• organisms
• POLLUTION BY
• gases
• liquids
• particulates
• chemicals
• heat
• radiation
• noise

• DEPLETION OF
• raw materials
• arable land
• energy resources
• biological resources
• nature/wilderness

Environment NOT regarded as value in itself
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Innovation Research
Innovation studies are Not greatly connected yet
with new environmental economics nor into
related policy discourse e.g. on eco-taxes

• Some key concepts for analysis of clean(er)
  technology are TECHNOLOGICAL
• INNOVATIONS
• TRAJECTORIES
• REGIMES
• REVOLUTIONS

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Tech-Fix? Panacea?

• Only part of solution?
• Tech development not so easy to shape -
  technology paradigms
• UNEVEN INFLUENCE from SPECIFIC actors
• stocks of acquired knowledge drawn upon (inc.
  meta-knowledge)
• inbuilt occupational structures, professional
  qualifications
• company accounting, reporting practices
• contexts of technology use physical
  arrangements, supply chains, regulations,
  infrastructures

• Substantial change is liable to involve shift on
  many of these dimensions considerable time to
  consolidate. Most innovations incremental within
  established paradigms.
• Technological revolutions can induce paradigm
  shift. Can greening?

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Drivers for Clean(er) Technological Choices

• PRESSURES
• regulatory
• tax regimes
• consumer
• community
• other stakeholders management philosophies

Source based on Alan Irwin Paul Hooper, 1992,
Clean Technology, Successful Innovation the
greening of industry Business Strategy and The
Environment

• COMMERCIAL CALCULATION
• improving production processes
• saving materials
• saving energy
• reducing costs for waste disposal/treatment
• new market opportunities (product process)

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Prospects for Clean(er) Technologies

• INNOVATIVE SUPPLY
• Technological opportunities
• Market and social demand
• Appropiability

Source Rene Kemp et al

• INNOVATIVE DIFFUSION
• Price and quality of products
• Knowledge information
• Risk and uncertainty

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But are incremental changes enough - even lots of
them?

• Creating a new trajectory?
• Will enough practice accumulate to form new
  routines?
• New generic technologies?

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Change in Trajectory

• Innovations continue to improve in specific
  performance features this is a reinforcing
  feature
• In this case, reduced use of resources, less
  pollution waste
• Less liable to be offset by change in demand and
  by subsequent innovations

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Technological Regime
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How is change in Technological Regime toward
Cleaner Technologies happening - if it is?How
can it be further facilitated?
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Clean Technology

• One-off, discrete changes versus continual change
  along trajectory
• Responses to specific pressures rather than
  embodiments of new criteria
• RD following established lines and methods
  rather than being substantially reoriented

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Lamp Posts and Keys
Technological Development driven by regimes,
paradigms - even when solutions to problems
sought, these may be developed withi the
perspective of such opportunities - thus IT,
biotech, etc.
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Changing Technological Regimes

• Change organisational structures of RD

• Change methods and practices of RD

• Change Knowledge Base used in Product and
  Process Development

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Industrial Evolution
OSTRICHES
CHICKEN LICKENS
PALE GREEN HORNETS
BRIGHT GREEN HORNETS
ROBIN HOODS
GREEN GIANTS
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Industrial Evolution 1
OSTRICHES
Hostile to environmental concerns, activists Keen
to argue, contest Declines to take action
(might be scientificaly correct, but at odds
with public/regulatory perceptions)
CHICKEN LICKENS
PALE GREEN HORNETS
BRIGHT GREEN HORNETS
ROBIN HOODS
GREEN GIANTS
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Industrial Evolution 2
OSTRICHES
CHICKEN LICKENS
Reactive, regulatory response (sometimes,
market-driven response) resulting in minor
technical changes environment seen as
threatening, compliance dominates
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Industrial Evolution 3
OSTRICHES
CHICKEN LICKENS
PALE GREEN HORNETS
Reactive, but environment seen as offering some
opportunities, not just as a cost. Compliance
dominates, but more foresight involved.
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Industrial Evolution 4
OSTRICHES
More attention to underlying technologies,
seeing these as providing competitive
opportunities.
CHICKEN LICKENS
PALE GREEN HORNETS
BRIGHT GREEN HORNETS
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Industrial Evolution 5
OSTRICHES
CHICKEN LICKENS
New technological directions actively sought,
seen as providing radical alternatives to
existing product lines, possibly completely new
businesses.
PALE GREEN HORNETS
BRIGHT GREEN HORNETS
ROBIN HOODS
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Industrial Evolution 6
Cleaner technological regimes promoted. Firms
products challenge other product systems or
industrial sectors, providing similar final
functionality but avoiding major processes
causing environmental damage (e.g. nonCFC / CFC
substitute refrigeration, telecomms instead of
business travel).
OSTRICHES
CHICKEN LICKENS
PALE GREEN HORNETS
BRIGHT GREEN HORNETS
ROBIN HOODS
GREEN GIANTS
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Where does the impetus come from?

• Compliance still dominates.
• Litigation important, esp USA.
• In few sectors, new customer concerns, markets.
• Saving costs - esp. energy.
• Technological opportunities - esp. biotech and IT.

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Changing Technological Trajectories

• Variety of Firm-specific procedures and routines
  - e.g. ban use of Hg, institute choice algorithms
  around mass, radiation, etc.
• Contested applications of bioscience.
• Energy conservation, CHP, and clean energy
  production systems very generic.
• Social technology - env. management?

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Environmental Management

• Much analysis of policies and views - case
  studies, surveys
• Innovations frequently mentioned but...
• Little attention to RD in EM guides
• Little theorisation of innovation processes

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Environmental Management Programmatic Choices

• Structure For Env Policy
• Mechanisms to review, monitor env perf.
• Incentives, controls to encourage env ach.
• Guidelines, tools for env investments
• Methods, tools for env decision-making
• Guidelines for comm. with stakeholders
• source Sandra Rothenberg, James Maxwell, Alfred
  Marcus 1992, Issues in the Implementation of
  Proactive Environmental Strategies Business
  Strategy the Environment vol 1 pt 4

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Environmental Management Programmatic Choices

• Structure For Env Policy
• Mechanisms to review, monitor env perf.
• Incentives, controls to encourage env ach.
• Guidelines, tools for env investments
• Methods, tools for env decision-making
• Guidelines for comm. with stakeholders

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Environmental Management Programmatic Choices

• Structure For Env Policy
• Mechanisms to review, monitor env perf.
• Incentives, controls to encourage env ach.
• Guidelines, tools for env investments
• Methods, tools for env decision-making
• Guidelines for comm. with stakeholders

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Environmental Audits

• Full Management Commitment
• Audit Team Objectivity, Competence
• Defined Systematic Procedures
• Documented Written Reportage
• Quality Maintenance of Auditing System
• Active Implementation Follow Up

Moves toward national international auditing
standards - e.g. BS7750 Courses running,
curricula developed Software for decision support
re compliance
International Chamber of Commerce/ Environment
Protection Agency list of essential
elements source A Zich, 1991, Keeping Tabs on
Risky Business Tomorrow vol 1 no 2 pp 24-29
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Environmental Management Programmatic Choices

• Structure For Env Policy
• Mechanisms to review, monitor env perf.
• Incentives, controls to encourage env ach.
• Guidelines, tools for env investments
• Methods, tools for env decision-making
• Guidelines for comm. with stakeholders

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Environmental Management Programmatic Choices

• Structure For Env Policy
• Mechanisms to review, monitor env perf.
• Incentives, controls to encourage env ach.
• Guidelines, tools for env investments
• Methods, tools for env decision-making
• Guidelines for comm. with stakeholders

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Environmental Management Programmatic Choices

• Structure For Env Policy
• Mechanisms to review, monitor env perf.
• Incentives, controls to encourage env ach.
• Guidelines, tools for env investments
• Methods, tools for env decision-making
• Guidelines for comm. with stakeholders

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Environmental Management Programmatic Choices

• Structure For Env Policy
• Mechanisms to review, monitor env perf.
• Incentives, controls to encourage env ach.
• Guidelines, tools for env investments
• Methods, tools for env decision-making
• Guidelines for comm. with stakeholders

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Changing Trajectories

• Changing Knowledge Base
• Changing Decision Criteria
• New Perceptions liable to follow, with
  environment moving from constraint to opportunity

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and will it be enough?

• World population and economic growth how can
  everybody have decent living standards?
• Can improving QOL be decoupled from increasing
  material consumption?
• Oops! Politics...