Diffusion of green innovations

The Stockholm conference of the United Nations Environment Programme was hold in 1972. It thrusts environmental issues into the international politic debate for the very first time. From this key year, the diffusion of ideas around sustainable development, renewable energy, recycling, and many other relative fields have steadily increased. Thirty years later, why has the diffusion of green innovations not increased more sharply? Looking the diffusion of green innovations through the prism of communication, could actually give us the start of an answer.

What is an innovation? It is an idea about an object or practice that convey a background of newness to the individual or any other structure that is supposed to adopt it (Rogers, 1995). What is green? Something green carries “the idea of sustainability”, which is defined by the Brundtland Commission as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It has to be environmentally viable, economically equitable and socially responsible. Thus, a green innovation is an eco-friendly object or a sustainable practice that is perceived as being new. Moreover, in order to develop the concept of green innovations, it is important to figure out the process of diffusion and how it applies. It is clearly accepted by scholars that “diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time, among the members of a social system” (Rogers, 1995). This process means that an individual goes through a first knowledge of the innovation, to a real adoption of it and its implementation in the adopter life (Rogers, 1995). Diffusion is intrinsically a part of an innovation and the innovation-decision process completes its acceptation in a social system.

As a social process above all, the green innovation field requires that individuals, communities and international or local authorities get involved. Due to their missions of conveying the newness of an idea, communicators need to interfere at each stage of decision to help the diffusion of green innovations. This process involves many communication channels. At the top of their work, communicators have to inform communities and individuals about authorities’ action, as the government, while dealing with diffusion of green innovations. As it is a social process, communication gives the possibility to change norms, to find solutions and then to accept the changes by creating new debates. For example, during the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009, several channels of communication were used. Internet video of Kevin Rudd’s statement about Australia’s commitment in reducing greenhouse gas is a good illustration. Unfortunately this Summit failed in its purpose to find a global agreement in reducing carbon emissions. This occurred because many countries have not completed the adoption of green innovation in their economic frameworks. In this case, communication has to explain the advantages of green innovation in every country to find out a way in which sustainability would at last meet the “economically equitable” constituent.

In another level of the social structure, communication channels are also involved reaching individuals, as the mass media channels for instance. Television offers the possibility to reach the largest audience and potential adopters. One convincing example of the use of mass media is the television spot of the latest version of the Toyota Prius “harmony” (a green concept based upon a gas-electric hybrid car). Moreover, the video of this commercial available on this blog, shows that it has been seen more than 360.880 times so far on the well-known Internet website YouTube. Communicating through different kinds of communication channels helps to spread new green ideas and innovations all around our world. It gathers individuals around a common interest as well as it awares people that were not previously informed. Toyota which sold the first two thousands of its Prius online is an example of gathering early adopters.

The process of the diffusion of green innovations is just about creating a real change in our mind in order to be environmentally aware. The only way to sharply increase this awareness is to connect people together and facilitate the diffusion of green innovations in powerful networks. “To change the world, we need to connect” (Steffen, 2006).

Bibliography

Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations. New York: The Free Press.

Steffen, A. (2006). Worldchanging :a user's guide for the 21st century. New york: Abrams.

Toyota. (2009, May 11). 2010 Toyota Prius "Harmony" TV Commercial. From YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq4nrmnqY9o

United Nations. (1987, June). Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development . Retrieved 2009 from UN Documents - Gathering a Body of Global Agreements: http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm#I

unitednations. (2009, september 18). Australia: Statement 2009 UN Climate Change Summit. From YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsYUAPbWxno

Toyota prius “Harmony” TV spot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq4nrmnqY9o

Australia: Statement 2009 United Nations Climate Change Summit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsYUAPbWxno