Polin Kumar Saha :
‘Industry, innovation and infrastructure’ is one of 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) that form the framework of the 2030 UN mission for sustainable development. There is no doubt that the sustained investment in innovation is a key driver of economic growth and development for a country, especially for the developing countries like Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the essentiality of innovation process is caused by poor infrastructure and weak governance system in almost every development sector. In the global perspective, more than half of the world population is now living in cities with a vast need related to transport, energy, water and so on; with increasing the demand of new industries and technologies providing services with a sustainable solution. That means a solution will be needed with the balanced development among social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the country. The same story goes with the city residents in Bangladesh while progress in innovation is now a crucial demand to reach the country’s SDGs by 2030. In this regard, the initiative ways of promoting sustainable innovation may provide a significant path to facilitate sustainable development of Bangladesh which could be an integrated approach for progress across the SDGs leading to reduce the global temperature; a key agenda at COP21.
However, for reducing global temperature by 2°C, many initiatives have already been taken by different countries under the sequential agreement of UN conferences held across different countries over the period. Among all of those key issues in discussion panel, the process of sustainable innovation is gathering pace, leading to a rethink on changing the path of industrialization for the future. The hot topic of ‘sustainable innovation’ will be discussed at the Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF15) at the largest business oriented discussion at COP21 in Paris. In a close discussion forum SIF15, many Bangladeshi high officials including Ministers, industrialists and international thinkers are going to attend the COP21 in order to negotiate with the common interest on policy making to achieve the country’s sustainable innovation goal. So, what could be the agenda for our discussion on sustainable innovation at COP15 and how Bangladesh stands strategically at the discussion forum for achieving its best benefits in the industrial arena?
To reduce the global temperature, likewise different agenda, an agenda can work on how to reduce an innovation gap between high and low income countries. Therefore, a bridging platform might be a concern between developed and developing countries. Under these circumstances, Bangladesh may raise the related significant issues in the forum since the efforts for emerging as a green economy have already been initiated across different sectors of the country. As a sustainability researcher, I would still say we are so far from the developed countries in the case of innovation concept, process and its implication in our development sectors. In the COP21 climate action, the agenda ‘sustainable innovation’ could be focused on sustainable product innovation system which is the central thought in industrialization leading towards reducing the global warming and its effects.
Generally, innovation is assumed a business agenda within the context of sustainable innovation at COP21. On the other hand, incorporating sustainability movement into companies is vital to overcome major business risks while innovation process affords a vitamin for good corporate health. More specifically, innovation process has power to make more profits in business and at the same time reduces socio-ecological impact of a company. Therefore, a connection between sustainability and innovation is founds for a company that might have seven bottom benefits upon its adoption with sustainable innovation, e.g. increasing revenue, reducing energy cost, waste cost, materials and water cost, increasing employee efficiency, reducing hiring and attrition cost, and strategic and operational risks.
However, in the contextual background for achieving SDGs, a country initially needs a performance based sustainability policy in managing product innovation that is a leading key factor for an organization towards sustainability.
Because, different monitoring strategies are adopted in different countries that make an illusion between sustainability and the concept of innovation. With concern of this, the COP15 sustainability forum may focus on sustainability polices and its practices in product innovation since it has been varied from developed to developing countries. Even, theoretically the policy for sustainability management should be universe and transnational, but the reality of sustainability management is varied significantly, even the sustainability management is seen differently in case of same product development in two countries.
As a result, the countries of low income background may fall back from the competitive advantages of sustainability management achieved in high income countries. In COP21, Bangladesh like other developing countries aim to seek mainly if there are any differences of sustainability policies for product innovation that exists independently in high and low income countries; and if so, ‘why’ these policies are different even though sustainability management is equally concern for the same product development system across two countries; and finally, ‘how’ to establish the common platform for sustainability monitoring policies for monitoring the product innovation system in place considering an increased trend of sustainability demand from stakeholders in both high and low income countries.
Finally, I think the decision making process for sustainable innovation is very vibrant in terms of regional differences with culture, infrastructure, available resources, religion etc. Therefore, an integrated sustainability policy is required across organizations by bridging the common vision for product development between high and low income countries. However, the discussions held so far, Bangladesh should negotiate with the developed countries for the opportunities by attending the Paris sustainable innovation forum in the following interrelated themes: developing and transforming the related strategies for green business; global justice in case of emission versus product innovation; degradation by physical means like land, water, biodiversity etc; fundamental human needs and multilevel capacity increasing; and framing or tool development for monitoring sustainable product innovation.
(Polin Kumar Saha is a Researcher at BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, [email protected]; [email protected])
