Incentives and hindrances for sustainable materials innovations in Flemish SMEs

1. Incentives and hindrances for sustainable materials innovations in Flemish SMEs CORE Conference IV Berlin, June 15-16, 2009 Dr. Marian Deblonde, Dr. Ann Crabbé, Dr. Anne Bergmans University of Antwerp www.openraam.eu

2. A short introduction… • Open window on innovative materials technology for a sustainable Flemish production landscape • A project in the service of the Flemish production industry… • … to stimulate more sustainable products and production processes via the application of materials technology • December 1, 2008 – November 30, 2010 • Funded by the European Fund for Regional Development www.openraam.eu

3. Project partners • Sirris: knowledge centre of the Belgian technological industry • University of Antwerp: two research groups with expertise in technology assessment, inter- en transdisciplinarity, SD, participatory methods, philosophy and sociology of science • K.U. Leuven – MRC: interfaculty materials research centre, interface between materials technology and technology research groups of the K.U.Leuven • VITO: Flemish Institute for Technological Research www.openraam.eu

4. Project plan: creating a funnel business cases opportunity- scans testimonies Implementation courses interviews workshops diffusion scans implementations www.openraam.eu

5. Four steps • 1/ Creation of testimonies • (Qualitative) interviews • (Quantitative) mini-survey • 2/ Workshops: diffusion + mobilisation • 3/ Opportunity scan: development + application • 4/ Definition of implementation courses www.openraam.eu

6. First results • Interviews • 7 enterprises • Workshop • « Solutions for tomorrow. Towards sustainable product innovations » • Tuesday, May 26 • Co-organised by OVAM, Flanders In Shape, Euregio Platform for Sustainable Design and living (EPSD), ‘OpenWindow’ • 7 tracks • 2 ‘OpenWindow’ tracks • track 5: presentation of business cases • Track 7: incentives and hindrances (10 enterprises, 10 intermediary organisations www.openraam.eu

7. First results • Main reasons for introducing materials innovations • Economic • Cost savings • Using less raw materials • Dumping less waste • Reusing waste as raw material • Elimination of highly skilled labour • Competitive advantages • Products with better functional features • Cheaper products or production processes • Products better adapted to regulatory context of clients • Products or production processes respond better to sustainability expectations www.openraam.eu

8. First results • Secondary reasons for introducing materials innovations • Social • CSR ‘As owner of this enterprise, I think I also can educate my employees. When we introduce a project to collect paper and cardboard, than we do this not only because of considerations of cost savings, but also because we are aware of the impacts this will have on future generations ’. • Image ‘Yes, we have the intention to apply for an ISO 14 000 certificate next year. […]. We want to create a distinct profile of ourselves with this certificate’. • Ecological • … www.openraam.eu

9. First results • SD impacts • Ecological • Clear impacts ‘We provide components for machines that are 20 -30 % more compact, smaller, lighter. […] When you link lighter components with savings in fuels over 20-30 years that this entails—for instance, in aviation—then you will notice how much it contributes to sustainability’. • Ambiguous impacts ‘Suppose that you put 300 suitcases in an aeroplane and that each suitcase is 1 kg lighter… [But] if people load their suitcases with one additional kg…’. • Questionable impacts ‘It induces a bit of automation. In this sense, you can say: it replaces man power, because you do not need that specialized craftsman anymore, to make a milling cutter programme, for example.’ www.openraam.eu

10. First results • SD impacts • Economic • Clear impacts ‘Plus, as I say, if you do not need to get the components of your car from India or China, then you can save all the back and forth transport costs’. • Ambiguous impacts ‘We do not expect something spectacular with respect to cost savings. Cost-benefit analysis will, moreover, depend on market evolutions. Prices of raw materials are decreasing for the moment…’. • Impacts in the long run • Social • Some examples • Employees’ pride • Employment • Working conditions www.openraam.eu

11. First results • Preliminary conclusions • Main reasons for introducing materials innovations Economic > CSR and Image > Ecological • The SD impacts of materials innovations vary • Clear SD impacts occur in case considerable reductions in use of raw materials/energy/waste production occur (ecological benefits // economic benefits) • The SD assessment perspective is a corporate perspective • impacts within the firm, within the immediate surroundings of the firm, or within the business network of the firm • The SD perspective takes actual, Western lifestyles as a starting point <-> globalizing world <-> vision on a sustainable future. www.openraam.eu

12. First results • Main hindrances (1) • No clear insights in SD impacts of materials innovations • No shared interpretation of SD • Sensitizing initiatives are needed • To create a shared and substantiated interpretation of SD both with employees, customers, consumers • to stimulate a switch in customers’ mental frames so that they consider their part in production chains from the perspective of the whole chain and from an SD perspective • to induce a common SD drive within society. • Assessment methods are too expensive • Information from databases and at knowledge centres is not easily obtained www.openraam.eu

13. First results • Main hindrances (2) • No clear insights in opportunities for co-operation between enterprises • Increasing complexity of products • Prevents an adequate management of the recycling system • Induces new and uncertain risks www.openraam.eu

14. Conclusions (1) • Appropriate economic conditions are most important to realize more sustainable materials innovations • To make sure that ecological advantages imply at the same time economic advantages • An important hindrance for the introduction of more sustainable materials innovations relates to lacking knowledge • with regard to the possibilities and SD performance of actual and possible products and production processes • With regard to opportunities for co-operation between enterprises www.openraam.eu

15. Conclusions (2) • Materials innovations can contribute to an increasing complexity of products • Challenge to management of recycling systems • Introduction of new, uncertain risks • The non-existence of a socially shared and mobilizing interpretation of the concept of SD is another important hindrance • In the context of Flemish SMEs, the CSR concept seems to be more relevant in theory than in entrepreneurial practice. www.openraam.eu