Determinantes da ecoinovação: uma análise comparativa entre a Europa e o Brasil

Abstract

Eco-innovations are innovations with a positive environmental impact that have been gaining prominence in discussions on sustainable development. Improvements in production processes, such as input substitution, the adoption of new techniques, among others, are alternatives increasingly sought by firms aiming to meet the environmental demands imposed by governments, regulatory bodies, and even the consumer market. Thus, understanding the behavior of these environmental innovations becomes essential in order to maximize the adequacy of each measure adopted to the context in which it will be implemented. Accordingly, this paper aims to explore, through a descriptive analysis, the behavior of firms and economic sectors with respect to environmental innovation, as well as the main determining, facilitating, and restraining factors involved in this process, both in the European and the Brazilian contexts. To this end, data from the 2022 Community Innovation Survey (CIS) and the 2023 semester edition of the Brazilian Survey of Innovation (PINTEC), considering the thematic indicators for the last one, were analyzed. The results reveal significant behavioral differences between European and Brazilian sectors regarding how they engage with environmental innovations. In addition, it was possible to identify specific characteristics of the sectors in each context, such as the main determinants of eco-innovation and the effects of measures such as regulations and incentives. The findings may serve as guidance for the development of more in-depth studies on this topic.