Sustainabilities and Their Foundations

Sustainability. Innovation. Purpose. Words that repeatedly surface in corporate speeches, social responsibility reports, and global forums — often accompanied by colourful graphs, net-zero pledges, and aerial shots of rainforests that, in reality, continue to vanish. While it may resemble the usual greening of corporate actions — also known as greenwashing — and often is, we must not ignore the fact that there is a genuine pursuit, by individuals and organisations alike, to be more environmentally friendly. Yes, there is a growing, authentic, and well-founded movement for transformation.

In this blog, we will explore how innovation for sustainability can genuinely move beyond being a mere buzzword and become a tool for systemic change. Innovation not just as new gadgets or delivery platforms, but as a mechanism to regenerate ecosystems, rethink value chains, and re-centre humanity — and the planet — in development models. This involves technology, of course, but also politics, culture, education, and purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

Our goal here is to contribute to the formation of a critical mass necessary to envision a more connected and sustainable world. I should clarify, however, that I cannot — nor do I wish to — entirely distance myself from ideological viewpoints. Yet, I am committed to avoiding rigid stereotypes that, in fact, prevent us from finding viable solutions for ourselves as human beings and for our shared home — planet Earth.

Why Does Sustainability Still Need Innovation?

The current development model remains unsustainable — and pretending that the problem can be solved with electric cars or paper straws is to downplay the gravity of the crisis. As Sachs (2021) warns, sustainable development demands a balance between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental preservation. And let’s be honest: we are failing on all three fronts. However dire things may be, there are paths being forged — but innovation efforts must discover or reinvent the very concept of progress.

But What Kind of Innovation Can Truly Promote This Reinvention? Take bioeconomy, for instance — particularly the kind rooted in socio-biodiversity. It proposes a paradigm shift: generating economic value from standing forests. It’s not just about swapping soy for copaiba oil in global markets (which, frankly, we’re not even sure is truly sustainable), but about building productive chains that respect traditional knowledge, distribute income locally, and regenerate ecosystems (Nobre et al., 2020). In this sense, the intersection between liberal and social thinking is the path forward — one that few seem willing to acknowledge.

Then there’s the creative economy, which reclaims culture, design, music, crafts, and audiovisual production as legitimate — and sustainable — forms of development. In Amazonian, riverside, or urban periphery communities, creativity has been a driver of resistance and impact-driven enterprises that link identity, inclusion, and innovation. It may be modest, even marginal, but it is inclusive and potentially transformative. There is also social innovation — which arises when technology meets human urgency. It might take the form of an app mapping threatened water springs, a cooperative using drones to monitor wildfires, or a rainwater harvesting system made from plastic bottles. It may appear equally humble, but therein lies its strength: in its territorial scale, its community language, and the autonomy it enables.

The Amazon Is More Than Smoke

As a university professor in the Brazilian Amazon, it is disheartening to witness the international press — rightly — denounce the devastation of the rainforest and the escalation of fires. Between April and September 2023, the smoke levels in northern Brazilian cities reached unprecedented levels — the result of adverse climatic conditions, illegal burning, and the relentless advance of traditional economic logic over the forest. An advance as absurd as the technological sophistication of the fire-monitoring systems which, somehow, seem to have had little effect.

Yet, despite all this, a new narrative is emerging — albeit tentatively: that of the forest as a living laboratory of sustainable solutions. With its biodiversity, genetic wealth, complex socioecological systems, and traditional knowledge, the Amazon is fertile ground for testing models of bioeconomy, low-carbon technologies, and local innovation networks. Carlos Nobre, with his “Amazon 4.0” proposal, argues that it is possible to develop an economy based on standing forests, combining biotechnology, data science, and ancestral wisdom (Nobre et al., 2020). Instead of extracting timber, we can extract molecules; instead of crude commodities, we can produce cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and functional foods — and, in the process, distribute income rooted in climate justice.

Academia: Between Diagnosis and Proposition

The academic world has long been able to describe problems with surgical precision. It diagnoses the climate crisis, warns of ecosystem collapse, quantifies inequalities, and calculates negative externalities with almost forensic skill. But given the urgency of our times, description alone is no longer enough — it is time to propose, collaborate, and experiment. In the context of innovation for sustainability, universities must reposition themselves: from ivory towers to bridges of knowledge connecting science, society, and markets. This requires moving away from merely producing papers for indexing and stepping into the field of territorial transformation — co-creating solutions with entrepreneurs, public managers, and local communities.

After all, science is — or at least should be — deeply rooted. As Leff (2001) argues, critical environmental education presupposes an ethical engagement with both people and their territories. In this process, scientific output must engage with traditional knowledge, recognise plural epistemologies, and embrace complexity. Applied and interdisciplinary research — which has historically held less prestige in academic careers — is now gaining prominence in global agendas. Topics such as bioeconomy, climate justice, social innovation, and urban sustainability demand systemic, collaborative approaches focused on solutions — not just observation.

Within this scenario, the role of university outreach becomes even more strategic. It is through outreach that academic knowledge is transformed into social action, that theory meets practice, and that universities connect with the real demands of society. Well-structured outreach projects not only contribute to local development, but also provide valuable feedback to academia in the form of data, experiences, and concrete challenges. In other words, outreach is the road through which meaningful innovation travels.

Moreover, outreach strengthens the logic of the university helix — a model that links universities, businesses, governments, and civil society as pillars of a sustainable innovation ecosystem. When universities commit to this virtuous cycle, they cease to be mere producers of knowledge and become true catalysts of social and environmental transformation.

Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurs: The Architects of the Possible

Amidst corporate speeches that turn sustainability into a marketing slogan, it is from purpose-driven entrepreneurs that the most concrete — and courageous — responses to today’s challenges have emerged. This new generation, less enchanted by inflated valuations and more committed to real impact, is showing that it is possible to innovate with meaning, scale ethically, and grow without destruction.

As John Elkington (1999), the creator of the triple bottom line concept, points out, truly sustainable companies must balance economic performance, social responsibility, and environmental integrity. And it is precisely these three pillars that many contemporary entrepreneurs place at the heart of their business models from the outset — not as marketing fluff, but as strategic foundations.

These entrepreneurs increasingly operate within the logic of open innovation, collaborating with universities, research centres, communities — and even competitors. As Chesbrough and Bogers (2014) explain, “open innovation is the intentional use of knowledge flows to accelerate internal innovation and expand the markets for external use of innovation.” In other words: those who share, progress.

Furthermore, public policies geared towards bioeconomy, the creative economy, and social innovation are beginning to create a minimally favourable ecosystem in which these ideas can flourish. Incentives for impact businesses, targeted credit lines, and legal frameworks that acknowledge the value of sustainable solutions are all signs that the state — albeit slowly — is beginning to understand the structural role of these entrepreneurs.

To undertake with purpose today is not a trend. It is a strategy for transformation. And those who understand this are already ahead — even if they’re still selling soap made from recycled cooking oil at the local street market.

References

• Elkington, J. (1999). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone.
• Chesbrough, H., & Bogers, M. (2014). Explicating open innovation: Clarifying an emerging paradigm for understanding innovation. In H. Chesbrough, W. Vanhaverbeke & J. West (Eds.), New Frontiers in Open Innovation (pp. 3–28). Oxford University Press.
• Leff, E. (2001). Educação ambiental, cidadania e sustentabilidade. Cadernos de Pesquisa, (113), 197–223.
• Nobre, C. A., Sampaio, G., Borma, L. S., & Silva, J. S. (2020). Amazônia 4.0: Uma nova bioeconomia para a floresta em pé. Instituto de Estudos Avançados da Universidade de São Paulo.
• Sachs, J. D. (2021). The age of sustainable development. Columbia University Press.
• Schot, J., & Steinmueller, W. E. (2018). Three frames for innovation policy: R&D, systems of innovation and transformative change. Research Policy, 47(9), 1554–1567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.011