Roles of Academia in Supporting Eco-design in Small Companies for Better Environmental and Economic Performance

摘要

Development and diffusion of new or improved products and services is key to solve sustainability challenges such as climate change, resource depletion and loss of biodiversity. Small firms are important for developing these new solutions, but because of resource constraints they normally have to seek external support from e.g. academia and consultancy firms. This paper discusses how academia can provide such support (e.g. knowledge transfer, assessments and new perspectives) in an effective and efficient manner. To illustrate this, three examples of firms, two monitored over a long period of time, are described using interviews, previous evaluations and project reports for data collection.