Is there a tension between innovation and sustainability?

The keys to addressing this question naturally emerged from each panelist’s area of expertise during the roundtable “How Sustainable is Innovation?”: long-term planning with sustainability at the core, creating strategic alliances in research and science, involving partners and companies in the process to generate synergies, and working with scalable ideas.

On Monday, January 20, a group of four experts gathered for the international roundtable discussion, moderated by Pamela Valdivia, Executive Director of the Free State of Bavaria's Representation in South America. The panel included Dr. Johanna Schwarz, Transfer Manager at hei_INNOVATION, the transfer and innovation agency of Heidelberg University; Julia Piechotta, co-founder of the start-up Spoontainable; Christian Larsen, Director of Corporate Strategy at Fraunhofer Chile; and Benjamín Astete, CEO of Resolbit, which was born as an internal innovation of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce.

The discussion focused on solving problems through entrepreneurship, recognizing innovation’s potential to drive sustainability. Success would depend on conscious design, a holistic approach, and a willingness to adjust when facing unintended consequences. Innovations prioritizing long-term social and ecological benefits while minimizing negative impacts would therefore be more sustainable. However, this would not happen automatically: it would require continuous efforts, collaboration, and critical assessment throughout the entire innovation process. In this context, innovation is only as sustainable as the principles and systems supporting it and its integration into broader social objectives.

One of the Heidelberg Center for Latin America’s key areas of focus is entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability. In these fields, summer schools and continuing education courses are offered year-round. For more information, visit the HCLA website: hcla.uni-heidelberg.de/en.