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)