Green Innovations in Sustainable Production and Consumption

Dear Colleagues,

The latest report of the 'Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change' (IPCC) signals that it is urgent for nations to focus on the role of consumption and its harmful consequences for environmental sustainability (IPCC, 2023). Along the same lines, data made available in the document 'The future of urban consumption in a world of 1.5°C' indicates that consumption needs to drop by 50% to avoid climate collapse, mainly due to the emission of polluting gases (C40 Cities, 2019). Additionally, other available data indicate that domestic consumption is responsible, directly and indirectly, for more than 70% of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide (Ganglmair-Wooliscroft; Wooliscroft, 2022).

According to data from the World Bank (2022), in 2020, the global final consumption expenditure (resulting from the sum of final family expenses and public administration expenses) increased by 24% in the last decade. This increase is reflected in other sectors, such as waste generation. Globally, 2.1 billion tons of solid waste are generated per year, of which about 33% do not have safe environmental management (Silpa et al. 2018). In addition, the World Bank projects that the value will reach 3.4 billion tons by 2050, an increase greater than the estimated population growth. Therefore, if production and consumption patterns do not change significantly, the planet will need 183 billion tons of materials per year to survive, three times more than the current amount (UN, n.d.).

Faced with this problem, research on sustainable production and consumption has advanced (Dawkins et al., 2019; Calzolari et al., 2021; Garcia et al., 2021; Ganglmair-Wooliscroft, Wooliscroft, 2022; among others). However, there is a latent need for more studies that address paths and practices for responsible production and consumption systems to be viable (Schröder et al., 2019). In this context, we considered pertinent to investigate how green innovation can mediate this process.

Although green innovation can be used to establish sustainable production and consumption systems, the fragmented approach with which the theme has advanced needs to be revisited (De Medeiros, et al., 2022). For example, in political frameworks, the pro-environmental objectives used in the formulation of strategies stand out as purely technical, without considering the multiple actors/players in the process, in particular the roles and responsibilities of consumers (Köhler et al., 2019). Along the same lines, organizations that innovate their business models only through the implementation of traditional improvement processes are not focusing on encouraging conscious production and consumption (Daae and Boks, 2015; Kurek et al., 2023). In addition, understanding what predisposes individuals to adopt pro-environmental behaviors is a complex issue and, although a broad body of research has been developed in recent years, there are potential barriers to environmentally correct practices in the daily lives of the population. (White et al., 2019). 

Based on the above, in this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Public Policies:

• Roles that the formulation of public policies plays in the transition to responsible systems of production and consumption;
• Existing barriers in the political–legal environment that make it difficult to mediate green innovation for the development of responsible production and consumption systems;
• The effects of government policies for leveraging and sustaining responsible business models in different countries, and the influence of regional and (inter)national policies in promoting pro-environmental behavior by society.

New Business Models:

• Examples of innovative business models that can leverage responsible production and consumption systems;
• Drivers for responsible production and consumption in green business models;
• Business practices focused on reducing waste.

Social Learning:

• Narratives and types of social learning capable of leading to responsible production and consumption systems;
• Design for sustainable behavior;
• Effect of different communicational arguments on the attitude and responsible behavior of consumers;
• Digital transformation and social learning.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Janine Fleith de Medeiros
Prof. Dr. Márcia Elisa Soares Echeveste
Prof. Dr. Jose Luis Duarte Ribeiro
Guest Editors

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• green innovation
• responsible consumption
• production and consumption systems
• design for sustainable behavior
• digital transformation and social learning