ABSTRACT
Many developed countries are currently debating how much to invest in research and development (R&D) funding in order to foster innovation in industry. This debate is occurring largely within the rhetoric of becoming more ‘internationally competitive’ in the face of rapid globalisation, through more production and consumption – rather than through resource and energy savings. This chapter argues that the innovation agenda must prioritise ‘eco-innovation’: that which addresses social and environmental needs while greatly reducing net resource and energy consumption. Innovation that lacks positive social, economic and environmental spin–offs can no longer be afforded.
