There is a growing realization that the long-term survival of a sector (or even an individual company) demands a long-term view. Future generations must not be burdened with the adverse effects of today’s economic activity. This view is gaining ground not merely because ‘sustainability’ is now imposed by government legislation, but more specifically because the social and ecological effects of economic activity are more widely recognized. The private sector realizes that it cannot continue to act as it has done in the past.

This is reflected by many trends, which will continue to be evident in the years to come. They include:

• Exhaustion of raw materials and adverse environmental impact render sustainable solutions more attractive, both socially and economically. 
• The effects of the ecosystem on mankind are also becoming more visible, climate change being just one example. It is becoming ever more economically attractive to counter these threats.  
• Trade barriers and export subsidies which have a disruptive influence on the division of wealth in the world can no longer be maintained. Their discontinuation encourages companies in our region to compete on the basis of sustainable quality.
• Critical consumers in the ‘wealthy West’ are, where necessary, willing to pay a higher price for sustainable, high-quality products and services.

The challenge within this theme is to ensure that sustainable development in the field of agriculture and nature management is not a precondition imposed by the government, but an objective which is generated by the market itself. This may, for example, call for the physical characteristics of a product to be made secondary to the values which inform the choice of tomorrow’s consumer.

This in turn implies that innovations must be introduced to encourage consumers to make the sustainable choice. They must be persuaded to opt for products and production processes which do not result in the adverse effects being passed on to future generations, either in the Netherlands or elsewhere in the world. In this perspective, the interests of ‘shareholder value’ and ‘consumer concerns’ coincide.

The Sustainable Enterprise Innovation Circle has proposed an examination of the way in which the apparent conflict of interests between ‘the market’ and ‘the environment’ can be solved. This theme is a component of every project, but is central to the new ‘Sustainable Chains’ project, which will explore whether it is possible to develop new concepts to align market demand with environmental considerations.

The prime mover responsible for the administrative aspects of this theme is ir. ing. H. De Boon.

Within this theme InnovationNetwork works closely together with Courage and SIGN.