Sustainable Future: Exploring Green Tech Innovations in Social Economy
Keywords:
Social economy Green technology Just transition Circular economy Decentralized energyAbstract
This structured narrative review examines how green technology innovations can support inclusive and resilient social-economy models, with particular attention to decentralized renewable energy, frugal innovation, blockchain-enabled community energy, artificial intelligence (AI) for building energy efficiency, and the regulatory conditions of a just transition. Literature and policy evidence on green technology, social economy, sustainability, renewable energy, circular economy, digitalization, and innovation were thematically synthesized. The review finds that technology contributes most effectively to social-economy outcomes when communities participate in ownership, governance, skills development, and knowledge transfer rather than simply receiving technological solutions. Decentralized energy and cooperative models can strengthen local energy autonomy; frugal innovation can lower resource and affordability barriers; blockchain can improve transaction traceability but does not by itself guarantee fairness; and AI can improve building energy management while creating new requirements for data, skills, transparency, and accountability. Evidence remains uneven, particularly for AI-enabled social housing and measurable reductions in energy poverty. The main conclusion is that green technology should be embedded in community governance, capacity-building, inclusive finance, and supportive regulation to contribute to a genuinely just and sustainable transition
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