Sustainable cities and Brazilian inventors: Environmental technologies on life cycle assessment in patent databases

Isabel Grunevald, Liane Mahlmann Kipper, Jorge Andre Ribas Moraes

Article ID: 2190
Vol 8, Issue 2, 2024

VIEWS - 378 (Abstract) 258 (PDF)

Abstract


According to the United Nations, by 2050, about 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. This population increase requires environmental resilience and planning ability to reduce the negative environmental impacts associated with growth. In this scenario, life cycle analysis, whose standards were introduced by ISO 14000 series, is an essential tool. From this perspective, smart cities whose concern about environmental sustainability is paramount corroborating SDG 11. This study aims to provide a holistic view of environmental technologies developed by Brazilian inventors, focused on life cycle analysis, which promotes innovation by helping cities build greener, more efficient, resilient, and sustainable environments. The methodology of this article was an exploratory study and investigated the scenario of patents in the life cycle. 209 patent processes with Brazilian inventors were found in the Espacenet database. Analyzing each of the results individually revealed processes related to air quality, solid waste, and environmental sanitation. The review of patent processes allowed mapping of the technological advances linked to life cycle analysis, finding that the system is still little explored and can present competitive advantages for cities.


Keywords


smart cities; life cycle analysis; environmental technologies; development; patents; sustainable development goals; SDG

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i2.2190

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