Government, Public Policy, and Sustainable Business

Technological Change

Technology advancements - often motivated by market and business opportunities - also affect public policy. Technology is constantly changing and this affects the business environment directly and also indirectly as public policies change with technological inventions. New, lower-cost, and easier-to-use technologies can increase public support for policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency and that reduce environmental damage. Examples of these include new designs and materials for packaging that reduce environmental costs, new technology that achieves mass production of full-spectrum solar cells that reduces the cost of solar energy, and programmable thermostats integrated with mobile communication that make energy efficiency actions by households easier to do.