Innovation for Sustainability

Course goals

Content

The course explores the dynamic role of innovation in promoting sustainability, emphasizing both biophysical and economic efficiencies. Students will explore the concept of planetary boundaries as limits to the impacts of economic development, among other sustainability challenges, and examine the strategies through which innovation can mitigate these issues. This course will introduce a variety of analytical tools, such as private and social cost-benefit analysis, the technological learning curve, and the production function, to evaluate the performance of sustainable technologies enhanced by innovative practices. Furthermore, methods for the internalization of environmental externalities aimed at aligning biophysical and economic outcomes will be discussed, including a critical examination of their limitations. Additional emphasis will be placed on cumulative and future environmental and societal implications identified through, for instance, Social Cost-Benefit Analysis.

In addition to a series of lectures and tutorials, students will engage in practical assignments to apply the learned tools and concepts, thereby deepening their understanding of the intricate relationship between innovation and sustainability.