• Selected References
• Diffusion paths for sustainable innovations

Conditions for success and strategies for accessing sustainability potentials, using the example of resource-efficient information technologies

Taking one hundred innovative products and services spanning three decades as examples, the project analyzed the decisive factors for success or failure of “green” innovations and developed recommendations for action to accelerate the diffusion of these innovations.

Despite two decades of debate about sustainable development as a guiding principle, it is still far from being broadly implemented in the economy and society. Yet by no means is there a lack of innovative technologies and solutions that would make it possible to combine economic and social prosperity with both climate mitigation and the protection of resources. The key dilemma in successfully implementing the principles of sustainable economic activity is that innovative resource- and climate-friendly technologies and sustainable solutions are not diffused into the economy and society quickly and broadly enough to be able to solve urgent sustainability challenges such as climate mitigation and resource protection.

Against this background, the project’s aim was to study the conditions and factors involved in the diffusion processes of sustainable innovations, as well as to study the strategies which led to the success of these innovations. The project focused on ecological sustainability and studied not only those innovations and diffusion processes that contribute to securing the natural foundations of our livelihoods, but also to styles of economic activity and consumption that can be transferred globally and over the long-term.