Sustainable Innovation: The Critical Pairing of Human Ingenuity and Ethics

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of innovation and its role in addressing the sustainability crisis. It provides a broad narrative, examining the technological, social, and ethical dimensions, as well as the historical unfolding of the crisis, the nature of progress, and the dualistic nature of technology, which can reduce or exacerbate environmental impacts according to how it is used. It proposes a definition of sustainable innovation as I3V, where I is invention and V is value within the three pillars of sustainable development. The paper examines potential pathways for innovation within each pillar, drawing on classical philosophical works like the Divine Comedy to underscore the critical role of ethics, cultural values, and systemic change in guiding humanity toward sustainability.

Keywords: sustainability, innovation, systemic change, progress, responsible technology, biomimicry, planetary boundaries, social transformation, moral renewal, Dante, ethics.