Chapter 13
Social Innovation Toward a Low-Carbon
Society
Xuepeng Qian and Weisheng Zhou
Abstract New demands for social innovation are arising from the quest for a
sustainable East Asian Low-Carbon Community (EA-LCC). Innovation refers to
the creation of new things that lead society through great changes and is not
necessarily limited to the invention of technology. The reformation of a social
system can also be counted as an innovation. The social innovation discussed in
this chapter seeks to bring society closer to sustainability by changing societal
aspects such the economic and business system. In recent years, the spread of the
Internet and Internet of Things (IOT) technology has allowed the emergence of a
variety of businesses based around the sharing economy, which is a typical and
innovative economic phenomenon. At present, the sharing economy is promoting
remarkable innovations such as mobility, including travel and movement, as well as
lifestyle changes including the sharing of goods. The sharing economy will contribute greatly to the promotion of low carbon emissions through dematerialization,
improving convenience, and through a transition from owning things to using
services, i.e., shifting from proprietary to sharing, and is expected to develop further
in the future. However, issues in the sharing economy associated with existing
business systems, market economic systems, and policy remain. In many cases,
resources have been wasted due to overinvestment and maintenance. To solve these
problems, the legal system must be organized and supply and consumption adjusted.
X. Qian
College of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Oita, Japan
e-mail: qianxp@apu.ac.jp
W. Zhou (*)
College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
e-mail: zhou@sps.ritsumei.ac.jp
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
W. Zhou et al. (eds.), East Asian Low-Carbon Community,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4339-9_13
243
Social Innovation Toward a Low-Carbon
Society
Xuepeng Qian and Weisheng Zhou
Abstract New demands for social innovation are arising from the quest for a
sustainable East Asian Low-Carbon Community (EA-LCC). Innovation refers to
the creation of new things that lead society through great changes and is not
necessarily limited to the invention of technology. The reformation of a social
system can also be counted as an innovation. The social innovation discussed in
this chapter seeks to bring society closer to sustainability by changing societal
aspects such the economic and business system. In recent years, the spread of the
Internet and Internet of Things (IOT) technology has allowed the emergence of a
variety of businesses based around the sharing economy, which is a typical and
innovative economic phenomenon. At present, the sharing economy is promoting
remarkable innovations such as mobility, including travel and movement, as well as
lifestyle changes including the sharing of goods. The sharing economy will contribute greatly to the promotion of low carbon emissions through dematerialization,
improving convenience, and through a transition from owning things to using
services, i.e., shifting from proprietary to sharing, and is expected to develop further
in the future. However, issues in the sharing economy associated with existing
business systems, market economic systems, and policy remain. In many cases,
resources have been wasted due to overinvestment and maintenance. To solve these
problems, the legal system must be organized and supply and consumption adjusted.
X. Qian
College of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Oita, Japan
e-mail: qianxp@apu.ac.jp
W. Zhou (*)
College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
e-mail: zhou@sps.ritsumei.ac.jp
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
W. Zhou et al. (eds.), East Asian Low-Carbon Community,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4339-9_13
243