Sustainability: a long-term journeyRen Kemp
MERIT & TNO-STB
On sustainabilitySustainability is about protection and creationRequirements of sustainability are multiple and interconnected Pursuit of sustainability hinges on integration Core requirements and general rules must be accompanied by context-specific elaborations: Diversity is necessarySurprise is inevitable Transparency and public engagement are key characteristics of decision making for sustainability Explicit rules and processes are needed for decisions about trade-offs and compromises The end is open
Key elements of SD strategypolicy integrationcommon objectives, criteria, trade-off rules and indicatorsinformation and incentives for practical implementationprogrammes for system innovation(Kemp, Gibson and Parto, 2004)
To sustain meansto innovate
This is accepted by the CommissionThe Commission emphasises the role of policy at the EU scale, to generate major public and private investments in crucial sustainability-related areas including the development and application of new, environmentally-friendly technologies and more broadly to be catalyst for institutional reform, changes in corporate and consumer behaviour, and innovative solutions that create new, high-quality jobs (EC 2001b:2-3).
And by the OECD in its 4 policy prioritiesMaking markets work for SDStrenghtening the decision-making processes for SDFostering SD through science and technologyMaking their policies more coherent andmutually supportive, and opening markets in ways that ensure that the benefits from globalisation and technological advance are widely shared
But innovation is different thingsPolicy innovationTechnological innovationNew sociotechnical systemsthat are interrelated
Example of system innovationCoal
SD is a non-ending process of adaptive changeBut:It is useful to view it as a transition process--to something more sustainable
CO2 policy
P+R, bus lanes
Advanced
collective transport
Personalized
public transport
Mobility leasing
Organized car
sharing
Urban cars
Car electronics
Intelligent
motorways
Anti congestion policy
Fuel cell vehicles
System
Optimization
(cleaner cars)
System innovation
(chain mobility)
Indicators for
for social change
System optimization versus system innovation in passenger road transport
(Kemp and Rotmans, 2001)
Transition management
. is a deliberate effort to work towards a transition in a stepwise, adaptive manner, utilising dynamics and visions in which different visions and routes are explored: system innovation and optimisation
Transition Management: bifocal instead of myopic
The cyclical, iterative nature of transition management
Mathematically transition management = current policies + long-term vision + vertical and horizontal coordination of policies + portfolio-management + process management.
... is bottom-up and top-down, using strategic experiments and control policies
Transition management in the NetherlandsThe energy transition
Sustainable energy economy:economically efficient (profit)reliable (people)minimal negative environmental and social impacts (planet)Long term goals, combined withConcrete short term stepsand successes...
Areas of interest in the Energy transition
2050
No definitive choice is made as to technological meansDifferent routes are investigatedDecisions are made in an interative waySupport is temporaryEach option has to proof its worthTechnology choices are made at the decentralized level
The orientation to transition goals (less short-termism)The orientation to learning and innovation (helps to overcome the preference for quick results, and policy reliance on technical fixes)Alignment of different policy domains (helps to deal with fragmented policies)Programmes for system innovation based on visions of sustainabilityLess domination by vested interests: opening up of policy processWhats new about transition management?
Would this be something for the EU?The Commission expects much from sustainability assessment and good governance (-) Innovation is a strategic area for EU policy: Lisbon strategy, Innovation Action plan, ETAP (+) The Commission has demonstrated a willingness and capacity for engaging in transitions (single market, EMU, economic convergence) (+)?
Transition management and other governance approaches
PlanningIncremental PoliticsAdaptive governanceInteractive governanceMulti-level governance
Transition councilsJoint-decision making Transition goals Transition agendasTransition arenas
Instruments of transition policy
New institutions
Science police---------------Assessment of system innovationsKnowledge about past transitionPolicy analysis
Innovation policy----------------------- Innovation alliances R&D programmes for sustainable technologies User experiments Alignment policies to transition goals
Sector policy------------------------------ niche management (procurement) infrastructure for system innovation longer term goals and visions
Programmes for system innovation
Transition policies and institutions
ConclusionTransition management is not a megalomaniac attempt to control the future
But an attempt at goal-oriented modulation:
It is a journey to a better world in which system innovations are explored, gradually (alongside the route of system improvement)
Strategies for eco-innovationMaking companies proactiveImproving sustainability assessment by companies and customersImproving the system of innovation for eco-innovationTargeted policies for eco-innovations The use of market-based instrumentsPolicy integrationKemp and Munch Andersen (2004)