New innovative activities in renewable energy technologies and environmental policy: evidence from an EU candidate country

Abstract Innovative products, services, and business models can benefit the environment by reducing the pressure on natural resources and/or the emission of pollutants. At the same time, environmentally friendly innovation can foster economic development. It is likely that to solve an environmental problem like climate change, which is caused by emissions from virtually all economic sectors, we need innovations that can be of relevance to multiple sectors or the whole economy as well as systemic innovations requiring complementary changes rather than autonomous ones.Our goal in this article is to answer the following research questions: what are the institutional factors that facilitate the diffusion of an international management standard in the area of the renewable energy? The most desirable task of all the economies perhaps is to strive for environmentally sustainable economic growth. In this context, renewable energy will be the mainstream source of the EU's energy supply by 2050.Turkey has great potential in terms of renewable energy sources. However, public and political support is missing. The other unwanted situation is that although Turkey consumes less energy than EU countries, we have a huge population and high economic development. The management of energy demand should be strictly taken into consideration. Regarding the policy effects, the paper examines renewable energy policies of the EU and Turkey as a candidate country. Finally, the paper argues that Turkey has to make renewable energy the mainstream source of its energy system.