知識循環システムとしてのサステイナビリティ・イノベーション

With long-term constraints on resources including food, water, and energy, there has been a strong concern with regard to global sustainability. In such issues as those involving science, technology, economy, policy, and institution, relevant information and knowledge are widely distributed among various actors, and no single organization has all the necessary knowledge to bring forth innovation at the societal level. Sustainability science has been developed to describe the characteristics of complex and dynamic interactions between natural, human, and social systems. To understand the mechanisms of innovation for sustainability, the social process of production, diffusion, and utilization of various types of knowledge needs to be analyzed. There are many phases of knowledge process with feedbacks among different actors, without so much coordination with each other. Cases of photovoltaics and water treatment technologies suggest that gaps and inconsistencies in the knowledge circulation system could be serious challenges in pursuing sustainability innovation.