Search Results (5)

The built environment contributes approximately 25% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, positioning it as a critical sector in the national net-zero strategy. This review investigates the enabling role of the domestic smart metering infrastructure combined with other IoT systems in accelerating the decarbonisation of residential buildings. Drawing from experience gained from governmental and commercially funded R&D projects, the article demonstrates how smart metering data can be leveraged to assess building energy performance, underpin cost-effective carbon reduction solutions, and enable energy flexibility services for maintaining grid stability. Unlike controlled laboratory studies, this review article focuses on real-world applications where data from publicly available infrastructure is accessed and utilised, enhancing scalability and policy relevance. The integration of smart meter data with complementary IoT data—such as indoor temperature, weather conditions, and occupancy—substantially improves built environment digital energy analytics. This capability was previously unattainable due to the absence of a nationwide digital energy infrastructure. The insights presented in this work highlight the untapped potential of the UK’s multibillion-pound investment in smart metering, offering a scalable pathway for low-carbon innovation for the built environment, thus supporting the broader transition to a net-zero future. Full article

The development and implementation of microbial consortium-based biofertilizers represent a promising direction in sustainable agriculture, particularly in the context of the ongoing global ecological and agricultural crisis. This article examines the agroecological and economic impacts of applying microbial consortiums and explores the mechanisms of technology transfer using the example of two countries with differing levels of scientific and technological advancement–China and Kazakhstan. The analysis of the Chinese experience reveals that the successful integration of microbial biofertilizers into agricultural practice is made possible by a well-established institutional framework that includes strong governmental support for R&D, a robust scientific infrastructure, and effective coordination with the private sector. In contrast, Kazakhstan, despite its favorable agroecological conditions and growing interest among farmers in environmentally friendly technologies, faces several challenges from limited funding to a fragmented technology transfer system. The comparative study demonstrates that adapting Chinese models requires consideration of local specificities and the strengthening of intergovernmental cooperation. The article concludes by emphasizing the need to establish a multi-level innovation ecosystem encompassing the entire cycle of development and deployment of microbial biofertilizers, as a prerequisite for improving agricultural productivity and ensuring food security in countries at different stages of economic development. Full article

Information technologies possess the significant potential to improve the efficiency of resources and optimize energy usage, as well as make a significant contribution to the sustainable circular economy (CE). The concept of digital sufficiency provides a framework for understanding how information technology can be part of significant achievements in the circular economy, especially when embraced by business companies. Moreover, the possibility of the implementation of closed-loop resources has become possible with the development of digital manufacturing technologies. However, the research of establishing the CE in SMEs, especially in fossil-energy-abundant countries, such as the Russian Federation, is quite limited. Our paper fills in this gap by studying the adoption of CE practices as well as the investments for promoting CE in Russian SMEs through such factors as the existence of R&D, bank loans, and access to grants at the national and international level. It achieves this based on the data sample of 314 managers of Russian SMEs. Our results demonstrate that the investment or existence of R&D in SMEs and knowledge of CE as well the governmental funding and access to wider markets all together tend to have a significant and positive effect on implementing and investing into CE in SMEs, while the administrative barriers yield a small but negative effect. These results might be helpful for the relevant stakeholders in order to identify factors catalyzing attention from both the SMEs engaged in CE transitions, as well as help the decision makers wishing to foster the transformation of the SMEs to a circular economy. We can conclude that supporting SMEs (both financially and via increasing their public awareness) to make their own transitions towards CE has a societal effect that can speed up a greener transition and significantly contribute to increasing energy efficiency. Full article

Large-scale, publicly funded research and development (R&D) programs are implemented to accelerate state-of-the-art science, technology, and innovation applications that are expected to solve various societal problems. The present study aims to build on the body of theory on the mechanisms that promote or impede the creation of intellectual property in such programs. Using a mixed methods approach and combining quantitative network analysis and qualitative semistructured interviews, we conducted a case study to investigate best practices in terms of intellectual property creation in a Japanese governmental research and development program. The results of the network analysis showed that the core/periphery structure in the co-inventor network of patents and joint application by a university and a startup promoted intellectual property creation. The results of the interview confirmed the significance of a reciprocal mindset, which the researchers in academia could acquire through collaboration with a startup. These results suggest that a knowledge logistics system for agile intellectual property management can be established by learning to acquire tacit knowledge on social implementation. Furthermore, we focus on the principal–agent relationship between knowledge producers and knowledge consumers as a factor that impedes the creation of intellectual property. We also discuss adverse selection and moral hazards caused by information asymmetry between knowledge producers and knowledge consumers and how to deal with them. Full article

The “environmental pollution–economic development” circle is a problem in the process of national sustainable development. As a complex concept of environmental protection and technology innovation, green technology innovation is the key to cracking this strange circle. This paper divides green technology innovation into green product innovation and green process innovation and measures green technology innovation based on the perspective of energy saving and emission reduction. Furthermore, we examine the effects of environmental regulation and government R&D funding on green technology innovation. The empirical findings are as follows: (1) from the dynamic point of view, we test whether there is a significant ”U-shaped” relationship between environmental regulation and green technological innovation, and we find there exists an “inflection point” in the role of environmental regulation in green technology innovation, and China is at the stage of inhibition before the “inflection point”; (2) direct government funding and tax incentives can promote green technology innovation, but the promotion of government tax incentives to green technology innovation is not significant; (3) the interaction between environmental regulation and government R&D will promote green product innovation and inhibit green process innovation, which is closely related to the imbalance of environmental regulation intensity in energy saving and emission reduction. In addition, this paper also gives out three kinds of control variables (the level of regional development, the proportion of the regional manufacturing industry, and the development level of regional export-oriented economy) and presents their effects on green technology innovation. Full article