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Local sustainability initiatives are studied from two scholarly perspectives: the perspective of sociotechnical innovation, which relates to the capacity of bottom-up initiatives to contribute to the development of sociotechnical alternatives; and the perspective of civic engagement which relates to the capacity of citizens to organize themselves in order to pursue community goals. This paper argues that taking both these perspectives into account overcomes the problem of being too instrumental or the problem of neglecting the role of technology and innovation in local initiatives. The perspective of sociotechnical innovation presents different types of innovation pursued by local initiatives: the creation of new technology, the application of existing technology and the development of social innovation. Furthermore, innovations might diffuse over wider society by: replication, scaling up, and translation. In turn, civic engagement may take the shape of: the strengthening of social capital, the formation of social movements, and the substitution of functions and services. The insights from literature are illustrated and qualified by applying them in the context of concrete local initiatives. Finally, local initiatives will be portrayed as social contexts that are successful in gathering actors with different motivations and world views and that may contribute to the democratization of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Circular Economy (CE) gained significant traction in business and academia. While in the building sector issues around energy efficiency are being widely explored, CE is still a relatively new topic. This article reports on three CE pilots in the Dutch building sector and develops a collaboration tool for developing and operating circular buildings and their supply chain collaborations. First, a conceptual framework is developed to study supply chain collaboration in circular buildings, which uses theoretical building blocks for visions, actor learning, network dynamics and business model innovation. Second, a case study is presented where the framework is applied to three cases using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Third, an empirically-based tool is developed to enhance collaboration for CE in the building sector. The cases include a newly built project, a renovation project and a demolition project. It was found that developing circular buildings requires (i) a new process design where a variety of disciplines in the supply chain is integrated upfront, (ii) the co-creation of an ambitious vision, (iii) extension of responsibilities to actors along the entire building supply chain, and (iv) new business and ownership models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper provides an outline to this portion of the two part special volume on knowledge collaboration and learning for sustainable innovation, which is built upon papers from the ERSCP portion of the joint ERSCP/EMSU conference. This paper briefly reviews the topic of sustainable innovation, based upon the levels of niche, incremental and systemic innovation. A review of the literature on learning, knowledge collaboration and participation shows that niche innovations and systemic innovation typically require so-called ‘2nd order learning processes’, in which tacit knowledge and implicit frames have to be adjusted. This 2nd order learning process is less needed in case of incremental innovations. Another relevant dimension that appears from the literature is the distinction about whether actors involved in change are active in niches or mainstream. Subsequently, the ten papers in this portion of the special joint volume are highlighted. They cover a broad range of relevant topics, such as learning in innovation systems, system innovations at the local level, learning and collaboration in knowledge arenas, application of design scenarios and participatory backcasting, involvement of end-users in energy saving and energy efficient refurbishment and collaboration among participants in global sustainability programs. Together, these papers provide an overview of learning, knowledge collaboration and participation for sustainable innovation and consumption. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sustainable development requires radical and systemic innovations. Such innovations can be more effectively created and studied when building on the concept of business models. This concept provides firms with a holistic framework to envision and implement sustainable innovations. For researchers, the concept provides an analytical tool that allows them to assess the interplay between the different aspects that firms combine to create ecological, economic, and social value. In addition, the business model concept provides a link between the individual firm and the larger production and consumption system in which it operates. This paper provides an introduction to the special issue, which emerged from selected papers presented at the ERSCP-EMSU 2010 Conference held in Delft, The Netherlands. Papers in the special issue cover a broad range, from a conceptual discussion resulting in a research agenda, the assessment of diffusion of specific business models such as Product-Service Systems, the introduction of new management tools for business transition management, to case studies on how specific business models evolved in specific communities. Together, these papers provide insight into the promise of the business model concept for understanding and advancing sustainable innovation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]