Today, the sustainable development agenda is relevant not only as a factor of investment attractiveness for business, but also for the state as a whole. In the current situation, of course, it is important to stay the course towards the goals of sustainable development, but taking into account our own economic, socio-economic and technological interests. Many components of ESG are based on solving technological problems. At the same time, technologies and tools to a certain extent have reached their limit and can no longer provide the necessary level to solve the problem. In this regard, the role and relevance of innovative projects are increasing daily. This article is devoted to an overview of current views on the innovative design approach, in particular start-ups, in the context of sustainable development approaches.