• Energy Research

Not only governmental regulation but also voluntary standards developed within co- or self-regulatory processes can contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper, we analyze this contribution with a focus on formal standard-setting in the European Union. First, we review the limited literature on standards and sustainability and point out examples of specific SDG-related standards along the value chain. We then present results from a survey among >1000 stakeholders involved in standardization, who ranked the relevance of the SDGs and assessed how much different types of standards contribute to these goals. The results show that particularly formal standards are perceived to positively contribute to achieving the SDGs. This positive perception is most strongly pronounced for standards linked to laws, such as harmonized European standards. In light of the stakeholders' positive assessments, we argue that formal standardization could be a tool that further involves economic actors in implementing concrete measures for achieving the SDGs and that formal standards have the potential to complement already existing dedicated sustainability standards.

The circular economy (CE) represents an environmentally and sustainability-focused economic paradigm that has gained momentum in recent years. Innovation ecosystems are the evolving interconnected sets of actors, activities, artefacts, and institutions who are vital to the innovative performances of single actors or actor groups consisting largely of firms in the products and services sector. To develop sustainable CE ecosystems, participating firms need to involve the consumers and users in their innovation processes. The automotive industry is to a large extent an industry in which incorporating customer requirements in product development is critical to success. In addition, growing expectations and growing awareness of environmental issues drive the industry to develop environmentally friendly products. However, CE solutions and, specifically, sustainable tyres have not yet been given due consideration. Likewise, the specific preferences of the end-users of sustainability-focused cars such as electric vehicles (EVs) and users of biofuels are unknown in the CE context so far. Based on the current state of research, this article addresses an important, unexplored topic of product circularity. Being the first article on consumer interests and active contributions to CE automotive products, it also extends the first articles on CE software products. A survey of 168 traditional car owners (no EV/biofuels users), 29 users of biofuels, and 40 EV affine consumers was conducted in Germany to create an empirical foundation for the specification of CE configuration software for sustainable automotive products, particularly sustainable tyres. The results show different preferences among these user groups, but also the importance of other characteristics not captured by the distinction by car ownership. In particular, the perception of climate change and the use of test reports or rating portals were variables that had significant influence on configuration preferences.

Whereas (technical) standards often affect society as a whole, they are mostly developed by men. In the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality), this article motivates research on the gender gap in standardization, focusing in a first step on the under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and leadership positions as one possible cause. A novel data set of more than 8000 organizations that develop formal standards and 28,000 affiliated experts (10.5% female) confirms that women are descriptively under-represented. A logistic regression shows that organizations’ size, industry, and geographical location are significant factors that are associated with representation by female standardizers. Standard-development for construction, mechanical and electrical engineering is especially male-dominated, while the east of Germany shows more female representation than the west. The presented empirical evidence of female under-representation suggests a need for standard-setting organizations to expand their focus from considering gender in standards documents to actively promoting female participation in their committees. It further adds to the debate on stakeholder representation in standardization and its legitimacy as a co-regulative system in the EU.