Sustainability innovations – a case for science to contribute to regenerating agrofood systems and regional development
Sustainability innovations were discussed by Bettina König as important contributions which are needed for a great transformation not only within policies and the economy but for all societal spheres. Their complex nature beyond technology is a challenge to navigate innovation processes across disciplines, sectors, regions, etc. At the start of the pandemic, sustainability scholars discussed whether the COVID-19 pandemic could be a window of opportunity for a ‘deep transformation towards sustainability’ (Schot, 2020). In the light of this, this presentation introduced three strands of thought in Bettina’s current research that could contribute to this discussion: 1) Studying the pandemic from a sustainability perspective and reflecting this, 2) understanding and describing different formats of linking science to society and 3) implications from these two aspects for sustainability innovation research in linking agrofood systems to regional development. Throughout the lecture, Bettina highlighted her different projects including the ginkoo project and the Logbook of Change, as well as her collaboration with the Theatre of the Anthropocene.