Barriers to Resource Efficiency Innovations and Opportunities for Smart Regulations − the Case of Germany

Abstract

There are a variety of economic and ecological benefits to increased resource efficiency. Social, institutional and technical innovations can all contribute towards efficiency increases. Companies face different hurdles in fostering such innovation. Small and medium-sized companies are subject to specific constraints that may prevent them from benefiting from innovationinduced resource efficiency improvements. Qualitative interviews were conducted among German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and intermediaries to identify barriers for resource efficiency innovations and to elaborate a policy mix at the federal level that could help SMEs to overcome these. We found five major barriers to resource efficiency innovations in German SMEs, comprising deficits in innovation culture, inter-firm cooperation along the value chain, finance, awareness and take-up of government funds. We propose a distinct policy mix as a response to this situation. The policy mix comprises the interlocking and synergistic elements of government funding schemes, innovation agents and innovation laboratories.When it comes to cost saving firms often look at labour rather than resources. In the economically orientated debate, the relatively complex topic of resource and material efficiency receives much less publicity than labour costs 309 Governing Resource Efficiency Innovations

Payments for Ecosystem Services as a Policy Mix: Demonstrating the institutional analysis and development framework on conservation policy instruments

“…Policy mix analysis is also an emerging area of analysis in the journal of Environmental Policy and Governance (Klassert and Möckel, ; Jordan et al , ; Kivimaa and Virkamäki, ; Mahzouni, ; dos Santos et al , ). Klassert and Möckel () analyse the constraints and opportunities for introducing further market‐based instruments in conjunction with existing policies under the EU Birds and Habitats Directive and Common Agricultural Policy.…”

“…Klassert and Möckel () analyse the constraints and opportunities for introducing further market‐based instruments in conjunction with existing policies under the EU Birds and Habitats Directive and Common Agricultural Policy. Jordan et al () evaluate a federal‐level policy mix to overcome the barriers of small and medium‐sized enterprises to resource efficiency innovation in Germany. Kivimaa and Virkamäki () analyse the intended paths towards low‐carbon transport systems in Finland with multiple policies.…”

The causal impact of material productivity on microeconomic competitiveness and environmental performance in the European Union

“…As we show that eco-innovations triggered by public financial support leading to improvements in material productivity increase the competitive stance of firms as well as reduce their CO 2 footprint across firms, sectors, and countries within the EU, the EU and its member states are encouraged to support the development and diffusion of such eco-innovations. This can be achieved by providing sufficient finance to firms through, for instance, targeted investment programmes and reducing investment barriers (Jordan et al 2014;Flachenecker and Rentschler 2015;Shahbazi et al 2015;Ghisetti et al 2016). Mainstreaming such efforts across current investment programmes, in particular, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EC 2014c) and the Circular Economy Package (EC 2015a), would be consistent with our findings.…”

On imperfect competition and market distortions: the causes of corporate under-investment in energy and material efficiency

“…Similarly, Jordan et al (2014) show that in Germany restricted access to financing is a key barrier to investments in resource efficiency. Moreover, the extent to which banks recognise the profitability of energy and resource efficiency projects will also depend on monitoring and reporting practices by firms (Onischka, Liedtke, & Jordan, 2012).…”

“…These cases provide a direct rationale for implementing targeted information programs to build awareness. Studying a sample of SMEs in Germany, Jordan et al (2014) identify lacking awareness to be one of the key barriers to investments in resource efficiency.…”