Sustainable Development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainable development is a grand paradigm based on three pillars: economic development, social development and environmental conservation. Meeting the needs of the future depends on how well we balance social, economic and environmental objectives when making decisions today (The Brundtland Commission report of 1987 ‘Our Common Future’)

Green Growth aims to shift the pattern of economic growth towards an environmentally-friendly one. The concept was pioneered by Korea, which embraced a vision of a Low Carbon, Green Growth Model for future economic growth. Currently, the concept has been adopted by many other countries and is being promoted by the OECD and the World Bank. The latter promotes the extended concept of ‘Green and Inclusive Growth’ that addresses the opportunities, which are available to developing countries to take part in the greening of their economies (www.oecd.org/greengrowth, http://go.worldbank.org/).

The Green Economy is the concept developed by UNEP - the Green Economy Initiative. and is defined as an economy that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In its simplest expression, a Green Economy can be thought of as one that is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. Its growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments, which reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency and prevent the loss of bio-diversity and ecosystem services (www.unep.org/greeneconomy).

The Sustainable Growth concept is applied in the EU context as one of three priority areas in the Europe 2020 strategy. It has a clearly defined focus on the promotion of the competitiveness of the EU economy, including capitalisation on its leadership in green technologies, promoting smart grids, improving the business environment, especially for SMEs, and influencing consumer choice. Sustainable Growth is also about attaining environmental objectives such as decreasing the carbon intensity of the economy, promoting the efficient and sustainable use of resources, protecting the environment, reducing emissions and preventing loss of bio-diversity.

Smart Growth means improving the EU’s performance in education, research/innovation and the digital society. This is to be done by: encouraging people to learn, study and update their skills; improving academic excellence and the performance of universities; creating new products/services that generate growth and jobs and help to address social challenges; and diffusing information and communication technologies.

Inclusive Growth contributes to growth in Europe’s employment rate. This entails more and better jobs, especially for women, young people and older workers, and helping people of all ages anticipate and manage change through investment in skills and training. It also involves modernising labour markets and welfare systems and ensuring that the benefits of growth reach all parts of the EU.

The Bio-economy concept in the EU focuses on maintaining and creating economic growth and jobs in rural, coastal and industrial areas, reducing fossil fuel dependence and improving the economic and environmental sustainability of primary production and processing industries. The Europe 2020 Strategy calls for a bio-economy to become a key element in achieving smart and green growth in Europe. The EU Bio-economy Strategy and its Action Plan aim to pave the way to a more innovative, resource efficient and competitive society that reconciles food security with the sustainable use of renewable resources for industrial purposes, whilst ensuring environmental protection ( http://ec.europa.eu/ research).

Eco-innovation is any innovation that reduces the use of natural resources and decreases the release of harmful substances across the whole lifecycle. Eco-innovation can be found in all forms of new, or significantly improved, products, goods, services, processes, marketing methods, organisational structures, institutional arrangements and lifestyle and social behaviours, which lead to environmental improvements compared to relevant alternatives.