IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025i2p3086-3098.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable innovation: Case studies from product development

Author

Listed:
  • Walter Leal Filho
  • Tiago F. A. C. Sigahi
  • Rosley Anholon
  • Izabela Simon Rampasso
  • Johannes (Joost) Platje
  • Luis Velazquez
  • Amanda Lange Salvia

Abstract

Attempts to implement sustainable development in industry are hampered by the fact that production processes are often not environmentally sound. Therefore, there is a need for innovation processes that are sustainable. This means that they need to be durable on the one hand, but also with reduced materials consumption and a low carbon footprint, on the other. Current trends suggest that much could be gained, by undertaking research that may lead to more sustainable industrial production and processes. Against this background, this paper describes the characteristics of sustainable innovation, discusses what makes innovation sustainable, and introduces a set of case studies where different types of innovation in product development are described, drawing the lessons learned. The paper concludes by describing the items, which need to be considered in the future, to make a greater use of sustainable innovation principles in product development, as part of a systemic transformation.

Suggested Citation

  • Walter Leal Filho & Tiago F. A. C. Sigahi & Rosley Anholon & Izabela Simon Rampasso & Johannes (Joost) Platje & Luis Velazquez & Amanda Lange Salvia, 2025. "Sustainable innovation: Case studies from product development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 3086-3098, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:2:p:3086-3098
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3269
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.3269?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daiho Uhm & Jea-Bok Ryu & Sunghae Jun, 2017. "An Interval Estimation Method of Patent Keyword Data for Sustainable Technology Forecasting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Chuan Li & Pau Rausell Köster, 2020. "Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges of European Design Policy to Enable Innovation. The Case of Designscapes Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, June.
    3. Ricardo S. Santos & Jose Soares & Pedro Carmona Marques & Helena V. G. Navas & José Moleiro Martins, 2021. "Integrating Business, Social, and Environmental Goals in Open Innovation through Partner Selection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Lisa Melander, 2018. "Customer and Supplier Collaboration in Green Product Innovation: External and Internal Capabilities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 677-693, September.
    5. Christophe Midler, 2019. "Crossing the Valley of Death: Managing the When, What, and How of Innovative Development Projects," Post-Print hal-02300848, HAL.
    6. Jordana Marques Kneipp & Clandia Maffini Gomes & Roberto Schoproni Bichueti & Kamila Frizzo & Ana Paula Perlin, 2019. "Sustainable innovation practices and their relationship with the performance of industrial companies," Revista de Gestão, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(2), pages 94-111, April.
    7. Gabriela Scur & Adriana Marotti de Mello & Lilian Schreiner & Fernando José das Neves, 2019. "Eco-design requirements in heavyweight vehicle development – a case study of the impact of the Euro 5 emissions standard on the Brazilian industry," Innovation & Management Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(4), pages 404-422, October.
    8. Alireza Javanmardi Kashan & Kavoos Mohannak & Mirko Perano & Gian Luca Casali, 2018. "A Discovery of Multiple Levels of Open Innovation in Understanding the Economic Sustainability. A Case Study in the Manufacturing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Luigi Aldieri & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2019. "Firm Size and Sustainable Innovation: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-9, May.
    10. Alberta Bernardi & Chiara Luisa Cantù & Elena Cedrola, 2022. "Key success factors to be sustainable and innovative in the textile and fashion industry: Evidence from two Italian luxury brands," Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 116-133, April.
    11. Samuel Wicki & Erik G. Hansen, 2019. "Green technology innovation: Anatomy of exploration processes from a learning perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 970-988, September.
    12. Rosario Domingo & Sergio Aguado, 2015. "Overall Environmental Equipment Effectiveness as a Metric of a Lean and Green Manufacturing System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-17, July.
    13. Anita M. McGahan & Leandro S. Pongeluppe, 2023. "There Is No Planet B: Aligning Stakeholder Interests to Preserve the Amazon Rainforest," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(12), pages 7860-7881, December.
    14. Moritz Ostermann & Julian Grenz & Marcel Triebus & Felipe Cerdas & Thorsten Marten & Thomas Tröster & Christoph Herrmann, 2023. "Integrating Prospective Scenarios in Life Cycle Engineering: Case Study of Lightweight Structures," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-24, April.
    15. Fred A. Yamoah & James S. Kaba & David Botchie & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah, 2021. "Working towards Sustainable Innovation for Green Waste Benefits: The Role of Awareness of Consequences in the Adoption of Shaded Cocoa Agroforestry in Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, January.
    16. Başak Kalkanci & Morvarid Rahmani & L. Beril Toktay, 2019. "The Role of Inclusive Innovation in Promoting Social Sustainability," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 28(12), pages 2960-2982, December.
    17. Yue, Cen April & Tao, Weiting & Ferguson, Mary Ann, 2023. "The joint effect of corporate social irresponsibility and social responsibility on consumer outcomes," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 744-754.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu Zhang & Yajuan Wang, 2022. "Do Managerial Ties Help or Hinder Corporate Green Innovation? The Moderating Roles of Contextual Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Annesi, Nora & Battaglia, Massimo & Sganzetta, Lorenza, 2023. "Mutual benefits of sustainability integration in the value chain: Responsible innovation by public utilities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Pavla Vrabcová & Hana Urbancová, 2023. "Sustainable innovation in agriculture: Building competitiveness and business sustainability," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 69(1), pages 1-12.
    4. Fabricia S. Rosa & Lorenzo Compagnucci & Rogerio J. Lunkes & Januário J. Monteiro, 2023. "Green innovation ecosystem and water performance in the food service industry: The effects of environmental management controls and digitalization," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5459-5476, December.
    5. Chauhan, Chetna & Kaur, Puneet & Arrawatia, Rakesh & Ractham, Peter & Dhir, Amandeep, 2022. "Supply chain collaboration and sustainable development goals (SDGs). Teamwork makes achieving SDGs dream work," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 290-307.
    6. Muhammad Fakhrul Yusuf & Nur Anis Imalyn Mohamad Nasarudin & Shahryar Sorooshian & Muhammad Ashraf Fauzi & Nur Muneerah Kasim, 2023. "Exploring the Impact of Contingency Theory on Sustainable Innovation in Malaysian Manufacturing Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.
    7. Henryk Wojtaszek & Ireneusz Miciuła & Miłosz Gac & Dominik Kabus & Robert Balcerzyk & Jerzy Będźmirowski & Anna Kowalczyk, 2023. "Social and Environmental Responsibility Manager on the Example of Companies from Poland and Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-26, September.
    8. Siying Long & Zhongju Liao, 2021. "Are fiscal policy incentives effective in stimulating firms' eco‐product innovation? The moderating role of dynamic capabilities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 3095-3104, November.
    9. Hung M. Nguyen & George Onofrei & Dothang Truong & Simon Lockrey, 2020. "Customer green orientation and process innovation alignment: A configuration approach in the global manufacturing industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2498-2513, September.
    10. Haider, Zulqarnain & Hu, Yujie & Charkhgard, Hadi & Himmelgreen, David & Kwon, Changhyun, 2022. "Creating grocery delivery hubs for food deserts at local convenience stores via spatial and temporal consolidation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PB).
    11. Abdullah Yıldızbaşı & Cihat Öztürk & Deniz Efendioğlu & Serol Bulkan, 2021. "Assessing the social sustainable supply chain indicators using an integrated fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making methods: a case study of Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 4285-4320, March.
    12. Hua Cheng & Yinhong Yu & Shiyu Zhang, 2024. "Subsidies, green innovation, and the sustainable performance: evidence from heavy-polluting enterprises in China," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 14(1), pages 102-116, March.
    13. Pierre‐Xavier Meschi & Anne Norheim‐Hansen, 2020. "Partner‐diversity effects on alliance termination in the early stage of green alliance formation: Empirical evidence from carbon‐emission reduction projects in Latin America," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 250-261, January.
    14. Snow, Stephen & Fielke, Simon & Fleming, Aysha & Jakku, Emma & Malakar, Yuwan & Turner, Charles & Hunter, Tammy & Tijs, Sigrid & Bonnett, Graham, 2024. "Climate services for agriculture: Steering towards inclusive innovation in Australian climate services design and delivery," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    15. Abdüssamet Polater, 2024. "In pursuit of increasing supply chain innovation performance through suppliers’ promotive voice: the moderating role of unlearning and transparency," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 55-74, March.
    16. MingCan JI & Xing Zhang, 2024. "Assessing the Impacts and Mechanisms of Green Bond Financing on the Enhancement of Green Management and Technological Innovation in Environmental Conservation Enterprises," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 12709-12750, September.
    17. Giancarlo Nota & Francesco David Nota & Domenico Peluso & Alonso Toro Lazo, 2020. "Energy Efficiency in Industry 4.0: The Case of Batch Production Processes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-28, August.
    18. Yongchao Wu & Xinyuan Wei & Yanan Liu & Huilong Li, 2024. "Can the Circular Economy Demonstration Policy Enhance the Green Innovation Level? A Quasi-Natural Experiment from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-17, April.
    19. Qianlingzi Zou & Shuaizhong Ge & Yu Peng & Daqian Shi & Zhifen Tan, 2024. "How Does a Green Supply Chain Improve Corporate Carbon Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-17, October.
    20. Enrique Acebo & José‐Ángel Miguel‐Dávila & Mariano Nieto, 2021. "External stakeholder engagement: Complementary and substitutive effects on firms' eco‐innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2671-2687, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:2:p:3086-3098. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.