ESG-Driven Innovation

A research project on innovation, strategy, and business model transformation in the ESG era.

Team ESG-Driven Innovation

Image: Privat

ESG-Driven Innovation

The research project “ESG-Driven Innovation” explores how companies adapt their innovation strategies and business models in response to growing environmental and societal demands. It builds on the so-called ESG criteria — Environmental, Social, and Governance — which encompass ecological responsibility, social standards, and principles of good corporate governance. Over the past years, these criteria have evolved into a central framework guiding companies, investors, policymakers, and society at large, increasingly shaping the dynamics of innovation.

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NEWS
June 2026 The empirical work matured into a first research paper draft, “Overcounted and Overlooked: Text-Based Evidence on Noise and Coverage Gaps in Green Patent Classification," which examines how established, classification-code-based approaches to identifying green patents can both overstate and overlook environmental innovation — and how text-based methods can help close these gaps. The paper was presented for the first time on 23 June 2026 at the R&D Management Conference in Manchester, UK, where it received the Best Track Paper Award. This recognition was an encouraging endorsement of the project's methodological direction.
May 2026 In May, the project moved into the empirical work behind its first paper. Building on the questions framed in April, the team put the text-based approach into practice on patent data, developing a pipeline to identify environmentally relevant patents directly from patent text rather than relying on classification codes alone. This made it possible to compare text-based detection against the established code-based systems and to begin quantifying where the two diverge — the noise and coverage gaps at the center of the analysis.
April 2026 The team’s attention increasingly turned towards a specific methodological question that would define the project’s first research paper: how reliably do established, classification-code-based systems actually identify green patents? Preliminary work suggested these conventional approaches can both overstate environmental innovation and overlook it, missing genuinely green technologies that fall outside predefined code categories. Addressing this noise and these coverage gaps through text-based methods became the analytical focus for the months ahead.
March 2026 In March, work centered on refining and streamlining the analytical pipeline. Building on the methods introduced earlier in the year, the team worked to make the workflow cleaner, more robust, and better suited to processing patent data at scale. These improvements were aimed at ensuring the pipeline could reliably support the empirical analyses planned for the months ahead.
Februar 2026 In February, the focus shifted from concept development to implementation. The team tested and began operationalizing the approaches developed in January, applying text analysis methods to patent data to better capture the breadth and variety of environmental contributions across technologies. This step marks the transition from framework development toward practical application and the first stages of empirical analysis.
January 2026 In January, the team advanced the conceptual development of the greenness indicator framework. Building on previous discussions, we strengthened the theoretical foundations and refined the way environmentally relevant technologies are distinguished, moving beyond a simple “green vs. non-green” classification. In parallel, initial methodological work explored how established patent classifications can be combined with more detailed information from patent texts to enable a more nuanced identification of environmental innovations.
December 2025 At the beginning of December, the team held a productive workshop with our industry partner. The discussion focused on assessing the conceptual framework, aligning methodological perspectives, and clarifying data requirements. Based on this shared understanding, the partners agreed on concrete next steps to further refine the indicator framework for evaluating the environmental orientation of firm patents and to advance the project’s empirical research.
November 2025 In November, the project team concentrated on preparing the upcoming workshop with our industry partner, scheduled for early December. Building on prior insights into the role of ESG considerations in corporate innovation, we developed initial ideas for the conceptual and theoretical advancement of a framework designed to differentiate patents according to their contribution to environmentally oriented innovation. This preliminary framework provided a foundation for structuring the methodological agenda of the forthcoming workshop.
October 2025 The project is currently in its initial phase. First analyses indicate that ESG-oriented strategies have a significant impact on firms’ innovation processes and business model decisions. Preliminary findings suggest that companies integrating ESG considerations into their innovation strategies tend to develop more sustainable products and adapt their value creation logics accordingly.

NEWS

June 2026

The empirical work matured into a first research paper draft, “Overcounted and Overlooked: Text-Based Evidence on Noise and Coverage Gaps in Green Patent Classification," which examines how established, classification-code-based approaches to identifying green patents can both overstate and overlook environmental innovation — and how text-based methods can help close these gaps. The paper was presented for the first time on 23 June 2026 at the R&D Management Conference in Manchester, UK, where it received the Best Track Paper Award. This recognition was an encouraging endorsement of the project's methodological direction.

May 2026

In May, the project moved into the empirical work behind its first paper. Building on the questions framed in April, the team put the text-based approach into practice on patent data, developing a pipeline to identify environmentally relevant patents directly from patent text rather than relying on classification codes alone. This made it possible to compare text-based detection against the established code-based systems and to begin quantifying where the two diverge — the noise and coverage gaps at the center of the analysis.

April 2026

The team’s attention increasingly turned towards a specific methodological question that would define the project’s first research paper: how reliably do established, classification-code-based systems actually identify green patents? Preliminary work suggested these conventional approaches can both overstate environmental innovation and overlook it, missing genuinely green technologies that fall outside predefined code categories. Addressing this noise and these coverage gaps through text-based methods became the analytical focus for the months ahead.

March 2026

In March, work centered on refining and streamlining the analytical pipeline. Building on the methods introduced earlier in the year, the team worked to make the workflow cleaner, more robust, and better suited to processing patent data at scale. These improvements were aimed at ensuring the pipeline could reliably support the empirical analyses planned for the months ahead.

Februar 2026

In February, the focus shifted from concept development to implementation. The team tested and began operationalizing the approaches developed in January, applying text analysis methods to patent data to better capture the breadth and variety of environmental contributions across technologies. This step marks the transition from framework development toward practical application and the first stages of empirical analysis.

January 2026

In January, the team advanced the conceptual development of the greenness indicator framework. Building on previous discussions, we strengthened the theoretical foundations and refined the way environmentally relevant technologies are distinguished, moving beyond a simple “green vs. non-green” classification. In parallel, initial methodological work explored how established patent classifications can be combined with more detailed information from patent texts to enable a more nuanced identification of environmental innovations.

December 2025

At the beginning of December, the team held a productive workshop with our industry partner. The discussion focused on assessing the conceptual framework, aligning methodological perspectives, and clarifying data requirements. Based on this shared understanding, the partners agreed on concrete next steps to further refine the indicator framework for evaluating the environmental orientation of firm patents and to advance the project’s empirical research.

November 2025

In November, the project team concentrated on preparing the upcoming workshop with our industry partner, scheduled for early December. Building on prior insights into the role of ESG considerations in corporate innovation, we developed initial ideas for the conceptual and theoretical advancement of a framework designed to differentiate patents according to their contribution to environmentally oriented innovation. This preliminary framework provided a foundation for structuring the methodological agenda of the forthcoming workshop.

October 2025

The project is currently in its initial phase. First analyses indicate that ESG-oriented strategies have a significant impact on firms’ innovation processes and business model decisions. Preliminary findings suggest that companies integrating ESG considerations into their innovation strategies tend to develop more sustainable products and adapt their value creation logics accordingly.