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The growing concerns about the energy and environmental crisis drive the development of a sustainable society. The electric vehicle (EV) is a potentially clean technology that can contribute to the decarbonization of the transportation sector. However, EVs face obstacles to being diffused and are not prevalent in the global vehicle fleet. Thus, this research identifies the attractiveness, barriers, and solutions for the diffusion of EVs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key agents of the Brazilian supply chain of this technology. Results showed that EVs have essential attractions, but there are barriers to their diffusion in the Brazilian market related to EV cost, charging infrastructure, and public policies. The main solutions to overcome these barriers and expand EV adoption involve: (i) increase of emission consumer awareness through promotional campaigns by government and industry, (ii) tax and non-tax incentives, e.g., reduction of taxation on EV purchase or parts of it, reduction of annual fees or special transit permits for EV, and (iii) technological advances, notably in terms of battery performance and availability and efficiency of charging stations. This research comprises aspects of EV diffusion in Brazil but can serve as guidance for other countries with emerging economies or regions where EV adoption is still incipient. • The acquisition cost is the main economic barrier for EV adoption. • The most commented attractiveness is the no GHG emission during EV use. • The main solutions are related to incentive policies. • Technological advancement would mitigate both technical and environmental barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the constant demand for environmentally sustainable innovations and considering the impact that multinational organizations' activities have to speed up or slow down the sustainable development process both locally and globally, this paper identifies and discusses the best environmentally sustainable innovation practices developed by multinationals operating in Brazil. To identify the best practices, we conducted a content analysis based on secondary data of a sustainability report prepared by Fundação Getúlio Vargas and published by a business magazine that annually appoints companies that stand out for their sustainable management practices. The results found in this study allow us to state that the sampled multinationals have been developing product, process, organizational and marketing innovation practices to balance business interests and environmentally sustainable growth. In short, the findings show that multinationals have developed a broad set of actions that cover most of the practices described in the literature. However, considering the practices observed, we note that those related to process innovation appeared more frequently, followed by activities related to organizational innovation, product innovation and marketing innovation. Such observations may be justified once that the shift from a reactive environmental behavior towards a proactive managerial posture involves evolutionary stages. Finally, this paper provides a synthesis of the product, process, organizational and marketing innovations developed by multinationals that may especially benefit researchers and practitioners in search of potential insights towards more sustainable processes, businesses and societies, as well as a framework that describes the transition of multinationals to an environmentally sustainable innovative behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the alignment between environmental sustainability and the product development process of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises that operate in Southern Brazil, as well as to propose a system to assist the execution of a green product development process. To that end, an exploratory research was carried out in two steps: (i) narrative bibliographic review and (ii) a field research. The (i) bibliographic review was conducted in the “Web of Science” and “Scopus” databases. The (ii) field research was executed with managers of 18 industries of different segments. Regarding the theoretical research, results show the state-of-the-art in academic research on product development process and sustainability practices, which provided support for the design of the data collection instrument and for the reference system suggested at the end of the work. As to the field research, results show that the sampled organizations understand the need for product and process environmental sustainability and they define internal drivers for the adoption of adequate practices, adapting such practices to the regulatory pressures and to market demands. Nevertheless, environmental matters do not comprise a dominant topic on product development. In this sense, we propose a reference model that aims to support companies to strategically align environmental aspects to the product development process. Although literature describes specific reference models, the need for a new system is justified since previous models presented specificities, lacked both post development assessment phases and introductory phases of product planning before the conceptual design. Therefore, the reference system proposed present phases that precede the development process (Sustainability-Oriented Organizational Strategic Planning; Portfolio Strategic Planning; and Project Strategic Planning), followed by the development phases (Operational Planning of the Product; Production Preparation; and Product's Launch Plan), and one post-development phase (Market Follow-Up of the Product). Future studies can apply the model in real cases through the action research method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]