Sustainability and Innovation

Abstract

Over a couple of centuries, technological innovations have produced an enormous beneficial change in man’s lifestyle and level of comfort. That outcome required the use of massive use of the earth’s natural resources. Wastes being a consequence of development, much pollution resulted in air, water and land. In the beginning the innovations were mainly about profit maximization, later they were also geared to resource use minimization. Sustainable development teaches an optimization that is supposed to provide economic benefits along with environmental protection and societal uplifting. This is the biggest challenge to innovation. Businesses and entrepreneurs are engaged and many innovations are happening especially in the product and process level. Much larger challenges remain in the bigger areas of concern such as drastic reduction of greenhouse gases, making non-fossil energy financially sound, approximating zero discharge, and solving problems of water quality and quantity.

“Some class of rash, even suicidal, risk taking is healthy for the economy—under the condition that not all people take the same risks and that these risks remain small and localized.”

— Nassim N. Taleb, in Antifragile