Understanding Eco-Innovation Evolution: A patent Analysis in the field of Low-Carbon Technologies

Purpose - We aim at offering a deeper and more complete perspective on eco-innovations' development in the field of low-carbon technologies, across different types of technological classes, geographical areas, industries, and considering a large time period. Accordingly, we aim at providing a comprehensive and unique overview of the evolution, and related policy initiatives, of a wide category of eco-innovations, namely low-carbon technologies. These are playing a crucial role in the current socio-economic agenda, given their capability of improving energy security, emission reduction, environmental protection, and economic growth.Design/methodology/approach - We employed patent data to investigate the main dynamics characterizing the evolution and development of eco-innovation. Specifically, we searched for patents granted at the U.S.PTO. and belonging green energy technological classes, as identified by the IPC Green Inventory. Thus, we identified 131,809 patents filed from 1946 to 2010. For each patent, we then collected most relevant bibliographic information. By using this unique database, we depicted eco-innovations' development trends and identified countries and organizations more involved into these innovative activities. Furthermore, we related these descriptive statistics to low-carbon technologies evolution with relevant national and international environmental policies and programs, hence building a comprehensive picture of the main environmental actions undertaken over time.Originality/value - To our knowledge, this study is the first one that depicts a comprehensive scenario of eco-innovation evolution. Furthermore, it is based on a wide dataset allowing us to address this issue in such a complete and deep manner. Indeed, it covers all the main technological categories and their subclasses in the energy field. Thus, compared to previous studies, we have more deeply analyzed the differences among various types of eco-innovation. In addition, we collected patents filed from 1946 to 2010, hence tracing the entire history of energy eco-innovation's development starting from its origins. Furthermore, the considered patents are granted to organizations localized all over the world. Thus, not being referred to a bounded geographic region, this study captured the differences among countries' innovative capabilities.Practical implications - This study allows both policy makers and companies to better understand the complexity characterizing the eco-innovation evolution in the field of low-carbon technologies, hence highlighting political and commercial determinants of their development, as well as how and to what extent countries and organizations have addressed their innovative efforts towards sustainability objectives. Accordingly, it provides new insights to set out future directions for eco-innovations' development. Particularly, it is suggested to plan adequate investments in research and development activities and technology transfer programs, as well as to establish new energy polices in order to set a political and economic environment by which technical, economic, and political knowledge could be better integrated in order to follow both environmental, business, and social needs.