Small Firms Need Academic Help to Develop Sustainable Products
A new study shows that resource-strapped small companies can successfully adopt eco-friendly design practices when universities provide hands-on support like knowledge transfer and environmental assessments. The finding matters because small firms drive much of the innovation needed to tackle climate change—but they lack the internal expertise to do it alone.
Originaltitel: Roles of Academia in Supporting Eco-Design in Small Companies for Better Environmental and Economic Performance
<p>Development and diffusion of new or improved products and services is key to solve sustainability challenges such as climate change, resource depletion and loss of biodiversity. Small firms are important for developing these new solutions, but because of resource constraints they normally have to seek external support from e.g. academia and consultancy firms. This paper discusses how academia can provide such support (e.g. knowledge transfer, assessments and new perspectives) in an effective and efficient manner. To illustrate this, three examples of firms, two monitored over a long period of time, are described using interviews, previous evaluations and project reports for data collection. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.</p>