Managing the politics of innovation and sustainability

• Published date: 01 February 2015
• Date: 01 February 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1521
• Author: Stefan Schepers

■Practitioner Paper

Managing the politics of innovation and

sustainability

Stefan Schepers*

EPPA sa/nv, Brussels, Belgium

Purpose: Policy objectives and government interventions about sustainability resulting from social debates forces busi-

ness models to adapt and determines the kind of innovation that is required and the ways in which it can be achieved.

Yet, governments’role in defining sustainability and innovation is often overlooked, and new ways of managing the

government dimension of sustainability is required as well as the development of corporate strategies encompassing

inclusive visions of the corporations’role in society.

Design/methodology/approach: This article aims to examine the issue from various perspectives in view of doing further research.

Findings: The management of innovation for sustainability requires increased collaboration and mentoring by public

governance systems and the elaboration of coherent and inclusive strategic visions also serving the public interest

when setting corporate strategies.

Originality/value: The article is based on political and economic writings and on practical experience in the public and

private sectors. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

INTRODUCTION

Sustainability, as a concept, appeared three centu-

ries ago, in Saxony (Germany), when people were

worried about wood shortage because of its overuse

in melting furnaces of silver mines (Grober, 2010).

Also, in Britain and France, people were worried

about deforestation and its potential consequences.

Clearly,concerns about the use of the earth’s resources

have accompanied industrial modernization since

the beginning.

But when does a human activity become

unsustainable? Sustainability needs a definition with

a desired outcome, set against present conditions. Do

we want salmon swimming in our rivers again or

are we satisfied with more pollution-resistant spe-

cies? Is a traffic jam of 10 min every day economi-

cally sustainable or not? Are the supply chains of

retailers sustainable for people’s livelihood in devel-

oping countries or not? Indeed, the word sustain-

ability has now migrated from the environmental

to also the economic and social spheres. Neverthe-

less, the desired outcome of sustainability, as an

aspect of the public interest or common good, will

emerge usually after complex interactions between

various stakeholders, influenced by context and by

interests, in a process where in fact each participant

starts on equal footing to others (Habermas, 1986).

Whoever enters late in such debate may find the

contours already shaped by others.

Social debate leads normally to intervention by

governments in order to set the rules for sustainable

use of resources, or for other forms of sustainability

and to determine the kind of sustainability to be

achieved. Three hundred years ago, rules were

proclaimed to re-forest territories and to protect

forests; this in turn led the furnace owners to search

for more efficient melting methods.

Yet, policy objectives and regulations about sus-

tainability resulting from such social demands si-

multaneously create restrictions, obligations and

incentives for companies and citizens. Their charac-

teristics and objectives are the key determining

factors for the kind of innovation that may be required

and for the ways in which it can be achieved. This role

of governments is critical but often overlooked when

*Correspondence to: Stefan Schepers, EPPA sa/nv, Place du

Luxembourg, Luxemburgplein 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.

E-mail: Stefan.Schepers@eppa.com

Journal of Public Affairs

Volume 15 Number 1 pp 91–100 (2015)

Published online 19 May 2014 in Wiley Online Library

(www.wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pa.1521

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.