Sustainability-Driven Innovation Flashcards
7 cards from real CPI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Sustainability-Driven Innovation flashcards as text
What distinguishes 'strong sustainability' from 'weak sustainability' in innovation decision-making?
Answer: Strong sustainability holds that natural capital cannot be substituted by man-made capital
Strong sustainability maintains that natural capital (ecosystems, biodiversity) has unique functions that manufactured or financial capital cannot replace.
A city uses sensor networks and AI to optimize energy, water, and waste flows in real time. This is best described as an example of:
Answer: Smart city / urban metabolism optimization
Urban metabolism optimization uses digital technologies to monitor and actively manage resource flows across a city's interconnected infrastructure systems.
Which factor most commonly explains why sustainable innovations face a 'valley of death' between proof-of-concept and market adoption?
Answer: High upfront capital costs and long payback periods compared to incumbent technologies
Sustainable technologies often require significant capital investment with returns that materialize slowly, making them unattractive to conventional investors who prefer quick payback.
A footwear company partners with a fishing community to collect discarded ocean nets and converts them into shoe soles. This is an example of:
Answer: Upcycling with social co-benefits
Upcycling converts waste materials into products of equal or higher value while also creating economic opportunity for marginalized communities.
In life cycle assessment (LCA), what does the 'system boundary' define?
Answer: The scope of processes and flows included in the assessment
The system boundary determines which upstream, downstream, and ancillary processes are included in the LCA, directly affecting the completeness of results.
Which innovation approach involves embedding sustainability metrics directly into product development KPIs from the earliest design stage?
Answer: Sustainability by design
Sustainability by design integrates environmental and social performance targets into the innovation process from ideation, rather than addressing them after the fact.
What is the primary purpose of an 'Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)'?
Answer: To provide transparent, third-party-verified life cycle environmental data for a product
An EPD communicates quantified, verified environmental information about a product's life cycle impacts, enabling informed comparisons between products.