System Innovation for Sustainability: Pt. 2: Case Studies in Sustainable Consumption and Production - Mobility

System Innovation for Sustainability: Pt. 2: Case Studies in Sustainable Consumption and Production - Mobility Review

The EU-funded project 'Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges' (SCORE!) consists of around 200 experts in the field of sustainable innovation and sustainable consumption. The SCORE! philosophy is that innovation in SCP policy can be achieved only if experts that understand business development, (sustainable) solution design, consumer behaviour and system innovation policy work together in shaping it. Sustainable technology design can be effective only if business can profitably make the products and consumers are attracted to them. To understand how this might effectively happen, the expertise of systems thinkers must be added to the mix.

The publication in 2008 of "System Innovation for Sustainability 1" was the first result of a unique positive confrontation between experts from all four communities. It examined what SCP is and what it could be, provided a state-of-the-art review on the governance of change in SCP policy and looked at the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches.

"System Innovation for Sustainability 2" is the first of three books of case studies covering respectively the three key consumption areas of mobility, food and agriculture, and energy use and housing - responsible for 70 per cent of the life-cycle environmental impacts of Western societies - with the aim of stimulating, fostering or forcing change to SCP theory in practice.

This book focuses on change towards sustainable personal mobility based on implemented cases analysed from a system perspective. It examines how changes can be realised so that consumers and end-users on average will start to reduce their need for mobility, or start to make use of more sustainable mobility systems. This is clearly a critical and highly problematic area. Increasing living standards of a growing global population have resulted in rapid rises in both car and air travel along with the associated pollution. Uniquely, this book approaches the problems and solutions from a systems perspective, explaining the meta-trends, specific issues for the mobility sector, socio-economic trends, political considerations, socio-cultural developments and environmental issues. Apart from the mobility system itself, other societal systems, such as labour and taxation that impact the need for mobility are addressed in order to provide sustainable solutions to induced lock-in situations.

Three major problem areas are considered: the three C's of carbon emissions (and the growing contribution of mobility to the crisis of global warming), congestion and casualties. The strategies proposed address one or more of these problem areas. Among the cases discussed are: Norway's carbon compensation scheme for air travel; Madrid's high-occupancy vehicle lanes; London's congestion charge scheme; market-based instruments such as eco-labelling on car purchasing; and, taxation.

The book identifies opportunities for actors - governments, manufacturers and consumers - to intervene in the complex system to promote sustainable mobility and concludes with a reflection on problems, trends and requirements for action.

The "System Innovation for Sustainability" series is the fruit of the first major international research network on SCP and will set the standard in this field for some years to come. It will be required reading for all involved in the policy debate on sustainable production and consumption from government, business, academia and NGOs for designers, scientists, businesses and system innovators.