Implications of Frugal Innovations on Sustainable Development: Evaluating Water and Energy Innovations

Jarkko Levänen, Mokter Hossain, Tatu Lyytinen, Anne Hyvärinen, Sini Numminen, Minna Halme · 2015 · Sustainability

Summary. This paper evaluates four frugal innovations in water and energy sectors against sustainability criteria covering ecological, social, and economic dimensions. The innovations outperformed existing low-income solutions in energy production and water purification capacity. However, social sustainability varied significantly: energy solutions emphasized capacity building and inclusion, while water solutions relied on traditional corporate responsibility. The authors identify three major challenges: integrating material efficiency into systems, promoting inclusive employment, and supporting local industrialization. They conclude that frugality and sustainability, though related, should not be treated as equivalent concepts.

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@article{lev-nen-2015-implications-frugal-innovations-sustainable-development,
  title   = {Implications of Frugal Innovations on Sustainable Development: Evaluating Water and Energy Innovations},
  author  = {Jarkko Levänen and Mokter Hossain and Tatu Lyytinen and Anne Hyvärinen and Sini Numminen and Minna Halme},
  journal = {Sustainability},
  year    = {2015},
  doi     = {10.3390/su8010004},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010004}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Implications of Frugal Innovations on Sustainable Development: Evaluating Water and Energy Innovations
AU  - Jarkko Levänen
AU  - Mokter Hossain
AU  - Tatu Lyytinen
AU  - Anne Hyvärinen
AU  - Sini Numminen
AU  - Minna Halme
JO  - Sustainability
PY  - 2015
DO  - 10.3390/su8010004
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010004
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.3390/su8010004

Countries

Finland

Regions

Europe

Categories

energy, climate-and-environment, innovation-theory, general-innovation

Added

2026-04-28