Eivind Stø

System Innovation for Sustainability 1. Perspectives on Radical Changes to Sustainable Consumption and Production

Central to the sustainable production and consumption (SCP) agenda is the need for radical changes not only in the ways we produce but also in the ways we consume. The SCP agenda emerged within the understanding that it is not possible to reach the necessary reductions in environmental impact and resource consumption purely by technical solutions directed at improving the efficiency of production processes and ‘greening’ products. Research demonstrates that aggregate environmental impact continues to rise because of an increasing population and increasing levels of affluence. It was hoped that technological improvements could compensate for increases in these factors. However, to keep within the limits of environmental impact of the year 1990, some commentators argue that a Factor 10, 20 or higher improvement in material and energy efficiency is needed by 2025 (Jensen 1993; Schmidt-Bleek 1995). (Less)

Who should be precautionary? Governance of nanotechnology in the risk society

This article focuses on one important ethical and political element in the development of nanotechnologies: the relevance and importance of the precautionary principle. The principle recommends political actions based upon experiences and early scientific warnings, even when there is no clear scientific evidence to prove causal links. Our chief contribution to the discussion about the precautionary principle in nanotechnologies is the development of the stakeholder approach in a governance perspective. We link our article to the theoretical and empirical discussions on risk society. In at least two ways the risk society of Ulrich Beck seems highly relevant for the precautionary principle within nanotechnologies: Precautionary actions represent one model for the society to deal with modern risks; and Beck redefined the relation between science and society. This article is based upon qualitative interviews with four groups of stakeholders in Norway: (1) non-governmental organizations—consumer, environment, health; (2) political authorities and politicians; (3) industry and businesses; and (4) the scientific community. In the present phase of the development of nanotechnologies, the responsibility for taking precautionary actions are, to a large extent, placed on the individual researcher and the scientific community. We have identified seven issues in the interviews that are pertinent for the scientific and political discourse about nanotechnologies.