Green Energy as a Driver for Green Economy and Organizations’ Sustainability

Since the last decade, the concepts of green innovation and green economy have become more and more attractive to researchers and policymakers. This research brings some light to the association of those themes with the concept of green energy. Therefore, this paper is a critical review of the green innovations directed explicitly to the green energy challenges faced by organizations and the world economies. The research question is as follows: What are the main dimensions of a model to implement a green innovation process focused on green energy in organizations? The methodology used to answer the research question was qualitative, and the main techniques included a systematic literature search and survey. The main findings of the study were the identification of the most relevant dimensions of a green innovation model to be implemented in organizations. The article structure is based on the different concepts about innovation and green innovation, related to the green economy, and the analysis of two situational cases on green energy. Finally, we present the analysis made on the articles identified by the literature survey and the green innovation model. By making this research on green economy and related concepts of green innovation and green energy, this paper seeks to make a valid contribution to their definitions and for operationalizing the green innovation model in organizations.


INTRODUCTION
Managerial and technological innovation enables enterprises to boost their leverage against competitors and to achieve desirable revenue streams, to acquire and retain market share. The internal development initiatives and capabilities of firms have been found to play a crucial role in green innovation (Zailani et al., 2015) (Huang et al., 2016). To strengthen their brand-positioning capabilities, firms are pursuing a green innovation approach to achieve economic and organizational sustainability with a circular economy business model. This paper begins by stating what is green innovation, what for it can be used, and how organizations can become greener. For this purpose, it includes a systematic literature review of internal and external challenges that enterprises may face while implementing and developing a green innovation culture, their engagement with stakeholders, segmentation as well as social, economic, and ambient externalities.
With the intent to understand theories of innovation, namely the green innovation, two case samples of REN -Redes Energéticas Nacionais, SGPS, S.A. (Euronext: RENE.LS) in Portugal and Carbon Recycling International (CRI) in Iceland are mentioned, to perceive the contrasts and competitive advantages differences between these two significant enterprises: first, in terms of business opportunities that arise from a sustainable use of natural resources, strategically leveraged with credible research and development (R&D) projects and second, the importance that engaging with international business networks have to create valuable intellectual property. • Improving coordination with customers/suppliers • Improving customer satisfaction Source: Gu and Gera (2004).

Review
HATASO merj.scholasticahq.com Saunila, Ukko, and Rantala (2018) analyzed what drives green innovation investment and exploitation with regard to sustainability, and their theoretical contribution is as follows: (i) the more a company relies on economic, institutional, and social sustainability, that is, circular economy, the more likely is willing to invest in R&D or implementation of green innovation in their operations; (ii) higher estimates of an increase in the institution and financial sustainability of the organization, more willing it is to exploit green innovation; (iii) the valuation of environmental sustainability was not correlated to the rate of investment in or to exploit green innovation. Therefore, organizations are most willing to invest in green innovation if it contributes to their enterprise value instead to invest in the same technology for a positive environmental contribution. Another aspect that has been found to be significant in attaining green innovation is the element of social recognition, which according to Doran and Ryan (2012) concluded that firms are willing to pay to brand themselves as eco-friendly. Jacobsen (2006) explained the concept of industrial ecology, which comprehends the tangible benefits of recycling residual wastes from production systems. Aligned to this vision is the core element of the circular economy in which from the usual end point of industrial waste (materials to be disposed and destroyed either with artificial methods or naturally), can be reutilized by enterprises on their production systems, moreover, decreasing the use of virgin raw materials for the economic activity (Andersen, 2007). However, aligning a green innovation approach to a circular economy business model is a challenging mission on a hypercompetitive and globalized economic environment: therefore, the operations and executive decisions of an enterprise must capitalize the investments made on R&D, up to the point that it becomes viable to be commercialized. To understand how a company might incorporate a green innovation culture while pursuing the organizational sustainability, it will be analyzed what is done by REN in Portugal and by CRI in Iceland. Moreover, it analyses the importance of the green innovation enterprises for a circular economy.
The innovation processes are influenced and facilitated by the way an organization is structured, mainly, by the way, the top management perceives its meaning (Sousa and Martins, Innovation Competencies to Potentiate Global Trade, 2018). Considering the top-managerial element defining the operations and compliance with the mission and vision of an enterprise as defined by the shareholders, the following table reflects necessary managerial aspects of green innovation: (i) the top management innovation sponsorship, green corporate culture emphasis, and support in its implementation, (ii) R&D and technology such as intellectual property, (iii) stakeholders (Table 2).

The Example of REN in Portugal
REN supplies and delivers natural gas and electricity to Portugal. The company is responsible for the transportation of high-pressure natural gas and the technical management for the Natural Gas System in Portugal, in regards to its reception, storage, and regasification of liquefied national gas and its underground storage. Simultaneously, concerning electricity, it maintains the technical needs of the National Electricity System of Portugal. Moreover, while maintaining its core portfolio, REN has total ownership over Enondas, S.A., a company that received a concession given by the Portuguese government to operate a pilot area with the goal to generate green electricity from the sea waves. With the green sustainability as a long-term strategy for the energetic system of Portugal, REN produces wind energy with its turbines spread over the Portuguese territory.
To pursue the strategic innovation business model of REN, the necessity for credible R&D projects with tangible results and by the inevitable need to secure financial assets for such investments, a significant consortium was made between the Portuguese company and the Chinese to build R&D Nester, based in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, "Centro de Investigação em Energia REN-State Grid, S.A., " with 50% of its shares owned by REN and the remaining by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) via the China Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI; Table 3; R&D Nester, 2018). Moreover, the goal was to synergize intellectual capital to promote and implement applied research in an international innovation context for smart and green energy systems.
As a result of strong R&D investments and green innovation corporate aspects (see Table 1), REN renewables production supplied over 60% of the electricity consumption in Portugal for the first quarter of 2018. REN published its net profit for the first quarter of 2018, resulting in €13.1M, an EBITDA of €128.4M, and a year-over-year increase of 3.8%, reflecting the integration of Portgás in its consolidated portfolio: Portgás per se contributed positively to the EBITDA with €10.9M (REN Press Release, 2018). This acquisition among others provides the means for REN to continuing pursuing R&D for a greener technology and business model, which can only be made through (i) top management innovation sponsorship, (ii) technology, research & development (R&D), and (iii) stakeholder engagement.

The Example of CRI in Iceland
CRI aims to recycle CO 2 from other businesses so that it can be transformed into liquefied fuel for vehicles specially designed for this type of energy. CRI named its first plant as George Olah, in honors to this author's publication entitled "Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy. " Presenting this enterprise example rather than exploring technological procedures will showcase the importance of stakeholders for the CRI R&D as well as some of the accomplishments of these consortiums. According to , "the creation of a business environment conducive to innovation necessarily involves the creation of a culturally open environment to receive new initiatives, the formation of new skills for innovation and technological development in companies and the business environment. This is a scenario that has to be built by all actors involved in the economic and social processes of the country. " The aforementioned George Olah plant is located in the proximities of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, which is a thermal silica-infused water spa, for its emissions of carbon dioxide. Moreover, through the recycled geothermal energy from the same infrastructures that supply for the city of Reykjavik, the capital area, CRI can acquire its raw materials at a low cost compared to other European companies. The executives of this enterprise certainly understand that to contribute for a circular economy as a green innovation company, taking advantage of the low-cost prices that a circular economy can afford, would be the astute approach to partially financially leverage CRI in its continuous operations.
Nonetheless, this strategy per se does not deliver economic viability for their operations, nor sustainability: CRI did not have an IPO, at least yet, and its R&D is of such complexity that it requires financial, productive, and commercial partnerships. The company's expansion plans included an increase from its current 5 million liters of fuel a year to 10 times larger in China, through CRI Ji Xin, a joint venture that CRI Iceland incorporated, other than the existent shareholders Geely Holdings and Zixin Industrial Co. Notwithstanding the importance that the foreign capital brought into CRI to maintain its operational costs (the equity acquired by the Chinese investors) there is a contrast in the relationship of CRI with its stakeholders: the European Union partially co-funded R&D projects of CRI without taking part of it as a shareholder (acquiring equity) or receiving any annuities from an European Research. In the end, the intellectual property and revenues, resulted of CRI R&D will belong to the Chinese group, in proportion to its shares. Table 4 lists three of many EU projects in which CRI was an active member. MefCO2 is the project with the most available data about CRI R&D for public access, published in Cordis, the official website of the EU that publishes the mandatory reports for funded projects.

SCOPE OF THE REVIEW
A systematic search of online scientific databases using b-on, a scientific information research tool, was conducted in the middle of July 2018. The search was made using several queries, containing the keyword "green innovation. " The first results showed 617,641 articles, and if the keyword "energy" was included, 156 articles were listed. Finally, when the publication date criteria was set between "2015-2018" and "Scientific Reviews" included, 95 articles were listed. Only the articles reporting clear empirical data and a scientific methodology were considered for a more in-depth review (55) (Figure 1). The summary of the articles organized by the research attribute is shown in Table 5. The green energy attribute is the one with the most articles (34 or 62%), followed by the attribute green economy (12 or 22% of the articles) and, finally, green innovation (9 or 16% of the articles) as presented in Table 2 and Graph 1: Article excluded on the basis of information contained in the abstract (n. 38): do not focus on green innovation, economy, energy.
Articles identi ed on the basis of information contained in the abstract (n.55).
Articles for the literature review on the basis of information contained in the full text (n. 55).

Graph 1. Percentage of Articles by Research Attributes.
Review HATASO merj.scholasticahq.com Table 5. Number of Articles.

Green Energy 34
Green Economy 12

Green Innovation 9
Total 55

Continued
The analysis of the articles selected can be found in Table 6, which summarizes the research attributes and the major research topics of each selected article for this analysis.
For the analysis, it is essential to state what are (a) green innovation, (b) green economy, and (c) green energy: (a) Green Innovation- Chen et al. (2006) defined green innovation as "hardware or software innovation in technology that is related to green products or process, consists of the innovation in   From the various definition of green innovation existing in the previous literature, this paper then concludes it as a new environmental approach, idea, product, process or services that concern on minimizing negative environmental impact and also create differentiation of developed product among competitors. Green innovation is categorized into four types of innovations including (i) product innovation, (ii) process innovation, (iii) managerial innovation, and (iv) marketing innovation. " (b) Green Economy-has been defined by UNEP (2011) as one that results in improved "well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities" and it is "low-carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive" focus on the "preservation of natural capital, which includes ecosystems and natural resources. " (c) Green Energy-"is clean sources of energy that have a lower environmental impact compared to conventional energy technology. It plays a significant role in the strategic energy planning process for any country" (Bhowmik et al., 2017).

GREEN INNOVATION MODEL PROPOSAL FOR ORGANIZATIONS
Innovation is crucial to organizations particularly in encouraging the creation of new products and services, and in the implementation of new practices and processes. In this context, two elements need to be managed together: people and knowledge. Assuming that people are the source of knowledge, practices such as communication, skills development, and recognition are core to promote innovation in organizations. Consequently, it is essential to implement mechanisms for a systematic involvement of employees, either through meetings, technological platforms allowing discussion forums or specific systems of innovation. Besides those as mentioned earlier, it is necessary to highlight the importance of such mechanisms as personal support for solving problems, identifying solutions, and creating new ideas in the workplace. Knowledge sharing practices have a profound effect on the creation of an innovation culture, and in developing conditions to implement new management practices and organizational changes. The model in Figure 2 proposes a set of dimensions that should be nuclear to any green organization: The most critical questions (see Table 2) that organizations should answer and reflect when adopting and implementing a model of green innovation should be the following: Review HATASO merj.scholasticahq.com 5. Do we have created a separate department/unit specializing in environmental issues for our organization? 6. Do we participate in environmental business networks? 7. Do we engage in dialogue with our stakeholders about the environmental aspect of our organization? 8. Do we implement research to detect green innovation needs in the market? 9. Do we target environmentally conscious consumers? 10. Do we use recycled or reusable materials in our products/services? 11. Do we absorb the extra cost of an environmental product/service? When answering those questions, the organizations can define a strategy based on the dimensions of green innovation, green energy and green economy.

CONCLUSION
The political and economic environment plays a vital role in entrepreneurship development  and most of the enterprises that dedicate a significant part of their resources in R&D for green energy, regardless of their contribution for a circular economy as part of the business model, shall be considered entrepreneurs if they pursue the commercialization of that same technology. This paper included two brief situation analysis of REN and CRI, both enterprises highly engaged with their stakeholders, national and international business networks, and intending to raise capitals and to acquire specialized human capital. Notwithstanding, Portugal does not have as many natural resources regarding green energy as Iceland does; however, REN holds the management of most of electric and gas distribution while CRI is a medium enterprise without a significant commercial and industrial market share. Moreover, CRI has been financially resilient to continue its pursuit of a greener energy within a circular economy business model while REN continues to expand its R&D projects and will comply with its vision for 2018-2021, defining three objectives as: (i) to consolidate the core business and maintain  operational excellence that characterizes REN operations, (ii) maintain a discipline of growth, and (iii) ensure a solid financial performance. Green energy is the predominant research topic found in the literature review; however, green economy and green innovation present potential from the social science subjects, that is, management and business administration. Finally, it appears to be correct to infer that successful businesses that promote green innovation have common traces of (i) top management innovation sponsorship, (ii) technology, research & development (R&D), and (iii) stakeholder engagement.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
New expectations of technological innovation are emerging as this research field is becoming strategically crucial for organizations. In this context, a consistent framework needs to be developed. Directly related to the findings from this research, other aspects could be developed: • A model for facilitating the creation of an innovation culture in large and small organizations. • A case study of an implementation of the model and its implications on the organization. • The creation and applicability of an instrument to diagnose innovation profiles in organizations is also a potential for people involvement and development. The results could be used in the training plans to develop organizational actors' potential for innovation.
Further research could also be undertaken: • Studies on innovation processes integration across organizational functions and in several types of organizations. • Studies that develop and test a theoretical framework that relates innovation and organizational outcomes. • Studies that analyze the capabilities of employees' informal networks to achieve efficient integration of innovations into their work practices.
Furthermore, future studies are required to determine the importance of different types of innovation for different organizational activities.