Abstract

The contemporary sustainability crisis demands innovative approaches that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. While technological solutions have dominated sustainable development discourse, the humanities offer critical insights into cultural values, social narratives, and human behavior that are essential for effective sustainability transitions. This article examines how humanities disciplines—including literature, philosophy, anthropology, and history—contribute to sustainable innovation through cultural bridge-building, narrative construction, and value-based decision-making. Through analysis of case studies and theoretical frameworks, we demonstrate that humanities-informed approaches to sustainability create more culturally sensitive, socially inclusive, and ultimately more effective solutions. The integration of humanistic perspectives with scientific and technological approaches represents a paradigm shift toward holistic sustainability that addresses both environmental challenges and human dignity. Our findings suggest that successful sustainable innovations require not only technical feasibility but also cultural resonance, ethical grounding, and narrative coherence that can only be achieved through interdisciplinary collaboration with humanities scholars.