The management and governance of new service models in the environmental and energy sectors

Energy and environmental services are affected by a particularly significant dynamism correlated to green-oriented innovations. Although the so-called “green economy” cannot yet be considered as a new techno-economic paradigm, it constitutes a complement that can enrich and stimulate the innovative trajectories in green services beyond the contribution of the evolution of ICTs. The green economy does not entail only contributions from renewable energy as alternatives to fossil fuels but also a thrust towards sustainability and efficiency that is not limited to industrial sectors (e.g., consider the significant advances in energy-environmental innovations in relation to the construction industry). Greening the economy is possible through an approach oriented to the integration of cycles of those natural resources whose value increasingly affects overall systemic performances. This integration is fundamental both at the policy level (i.e., regulation and control at national but also regional level), at the service provision level (e.g., integrated waste management, water management, etc.) and at the corporate level (e.g., resource productivity). In this context, business models based on process and service innovation are strengthening from the perspective of interrelated production chains where the role played by users is increasingly central (in saving energy or water, in waste collection, etc.). Accordingly, enterprises are consolidating approaches based on Life Cycle Assessments, on integrated management systems (where specific energy management standards are designed to complement environmental management standards) and on eco- and energy efficiency.