Sustainability innovations and their drivers and barriers

In today`s modern industrial societies, economy, prosperity, and well-being are resource-intensive and often shaped neither socially nor ecologically responsibly:. To follow the normative guidelines of sustainable development in an increasingly complex society, a more sustainable way of doing business is required. This depends on the motives of the actors in the economic equation of supply and demand. Therefore, the study focused on the micro-perspective of individual sustainably operating innovation actors. The goal was to derive trends in the underlying values and orientations of these actors (supply side) and to identify factors that have the potential to foster an innovation climate for an accelerated, more sustainable economy. Despite the diversity of sectors (ranging from agriculture and transport to industry), the results show central trends in the commonalities: Contrary to a purely techno-functional logic of innovation, these innovations emerge in strong, network-based cooperations founded on collective learning processes and shared values. The differences lie primarily in the innovation focus – from social and organizational innovations that question existing market logics, to technological and digital innovations for enhancing the efficiency of established industries.