Patent labels for sustainability

Patents that involve green technology are named 'green labels' by the European Patent Office since 2012. In what way have these labels influenced green innovation in terms of quantity and quality? And has the green label policy had any measurable impact on the production and quality of green innovation?

The interdisciplinairy research team of Geo and Social Science, together with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), will explore the relationship between green labels and sustainable innovation. 

This project seeks to underscore the significance of clearly defining and labelling issues of social relevance. The use of green labels to categorize technological innovation, as evidenced through patent data, has the potential to foster sustainable innovation dynamics. This aligns with existing literature on branding, which suggests that societies benefit from issues having distinct names rather than vague or abstract concepts. Importantly, this project aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and practical policy recommendations. Given that the changes in patent labelling originated within patent offices like WIPO, the project will organize a workshop at WIPO's headquarters in Geneva. This workshop will serve as a platform for academic-policy discussions, bringing together academics and policymakers in the field of innovation economics for sustainable development.

Contact: PhD-candidates Benjamín Cornejo-Costa, Eduardo Hernández Rodríguez and Sebastian Mildiner Moraga