In making steady steps toward sustainability, it is crucial to implement innovations effectively and efficiently. As successful innovations for sustainability particularly require different types of knowledge, ranging from basic science and technological development to financial resources and societal needs, traditional innovation systems favoring isolated technological development within national borders will not function well in promoting sustainability innovation at the global level. Currently technological progress is developing rapidly with the sources of knowledge widely distributed, and no single individual or organization has all the necessary capacities to stay on top of all the various areas. While collaboration across disciplinary, organizational, and geographical borders has been emphasized, it is not always implemented easily, because of various technical, economic, and organizational challenges. In this session we examine possibilities and challenges in creating, diffusing, and utilizing sustainability innovation in Asia. Leading experts from academia, industry, and the public sector in Japan and Vietnam will share experiences of implementing innovation, referring to various functions of innovation systems, including knowledge creation, guidance of search, market formation, legitimization, and resource mobilization, and discuss implications for public policy, corporate strategy, and institutional design for bringing forth sustainability innovation through collaboration between the two countries.

March 4 (Fri)