How can you grow your sustainable innovation in a competitive market?

I disagree with this being the first step as it assumes that other market parties have answers to future uncertainties already or that customers have perfect knowledge of their future needs. I would start with conducting a scenario analysis & planning exercise. Our world will change in ways that are hard to imagine and if companies want to really stay ahead with innovation and not just go for incremental improvements they should: (1) analyse the current situation (society, nature, tech, etc.), (2) map trends, (3) identify uncertainties and major assumptions, and (4) develop scenarios that serve as input for innovation and strategy. Examples: carbon prices mandatory and priced 10-100x compared to now. Water availability reduced etc.

A pitfall to avoid. Before anything else, it's important that an organisation identifies it's core competencies and areas of competitive advantages. Otherwise there is a high possibility, that in the inate desire to be "innovative", the organisation will expand into product lines or extensions, of which it has no core competencies. That sets it up for failures. And then creates a self fulfilling loop of an ideology within the organisation, which might look at any sustainable innovation in a circumspect manner. While, in deeper hindsight, the problem lay more with the planning to expand into segments of which it had very little understanding to begin with.

It will also be important to design products with end of life in mind. We must design for reuse and/or easy disassembly that will allow consumers to properly dispose of components at end of life.

I believe that we just need to change the mindset and avoid talking about innovation vs. sustainable innovation. The core understanding of the consumer is that the majority of them, 85% according to global studies, won't make sustainable choices that come at the expense of efficacy, user experience or charge a premium without bringing new benefits. Yes, there is a 15% that will trade-off in order to make a sustainable choice, but if we want to drive real impact, we need to design for the many and not for the few. The challenge is now on how to make sustainable design features the ones creating functional competitive advantages of the product. We need to design it in a way that we can create superiority for all the different audiences.

Its an "and" - needs to be foresight led [looking at the planetary challenges, emerging technologies, sciences, societal shifts] and the Insights from today's consumers/customers to validate the proof points however not all the answers will found in insights. Scenario planning to anticipate the future will be key

Before you can collaborate with stakeholders, you need to understand your place within the system you are trying to change. Your role as a collaborator will be very different depending on where you sit within the system - are you meeting or creating demand, what is your role in the success of other stakeholders, what agency do you have.

Stop Mktg sales as collaboration or innovation. … I get so many mails saying let’s collaborate ! Collaboration doesn’t usually involve 1 company selling to another, solving innovation challenges means working together and often agreeing IP terms.

Don't feel that you need to build everything in-house! The debate about whether companies should build their own or buy off the shelf has been raging for years. Should you solve a pressing business problem by building a homegrown solution or find a third-party provider with an existing tool that will meet your needs? Consider that some of the world’s most widely known companies have outsourced at various stages of their development, deferring to outside expertise when they lacked the manpower or bandwidth to do the job well by themselves. Here are my five critical elements to consider when making the build versus buy decision: cost, control, resourcing, scalability, improvement.

When it comes to sustainable innovation, teamwork is key. Think of it like building a puzzle. Every stakeholder, whether it's a supplier, investor, or NGO, holds a piece. The real magic happens when we sit down, listen, and fit those pieces together. I've found that casual chats often bring out the best ideas. And remember, it's okay if everyone doesn't always agree. Sometimes, different viewpoints lead to the best solutions. In a crowded market, working together and valuing everyone's input is what makes a difference.

Remember parties come from different stand points and often have different experiences/capacities/capabilities. Understand those as much as you can from the outset.

I'll double-click on the importance of data. I can't stress enough that maintaining a culture of data-driven decision-making will become even more critical. Access and visibility over all facets of a sustainability initiative will make or break its success. Businesses should ensure that adequate infrastructure for data capture and analysis is in place well before an initiative goes live.

Culture and respect amongst the team is very important. There will always be different perspectives/ideas from engineering and prod management, you need an environment where people are not afraid to speak up.

This step is critical as we will be dealing with new technologies which, in the majority of the cases, won't have the same level of consumer historical use as their current incumbents. To bridge that data gap we will need to hack the learning process by capturing fast early adopters' feedback, highlighting the key features and advantages of these innovations and addressing and adjust in the areas that could make them disconnect from the offering. With a prototype that meets or exceeds the functional product needs we can do a similar agile learning process to explore what are the emotional triggers that we can also leverage as part of the innovation, or as one of the models we use says, once the "ME" needs are met, we can focus on the "WE".

Embrace a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. Encourage cross-functional collaboration to generate diverse ideas. Develop a clear experimentation framework, setting goals and metrics. Learn from failures and successes, iterating on strategies. Engage with customers and stakeholders for feedback. Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies. Leverage partnerships and networks to access new insights. Communicate sustainability efforts transparently to build trust. Be agile in responding to changing market dynamics, staying ahead of competitors in sustainable innovation.

We developed a 10-year strategy involving practical projects to mitigate environmental impact. Here are some case studies: We created concise presentations on key environmental issues emphasizing their significance, long-term strategies,and employee involvement. Idea generation sessions with production staff resulted in ~30 potential proposals that we prioritized. We piloted small-scale projects, employing digital twins to test hypotheses, and formed partnerships for cost-effective(of free) collaboration. We demonstrated readiness to reallocate capital and teams promptly, discontinuing inefficient projects. You want to do everything but remember that always have low financing Benchmarking and again benchmarking based on data analysis.

While scaling, always use community marketing. All these customers using your product are early-adopters, and mostly very proud that they are already using it. Use that, and create a community for them. In this community you can learn from their feedback, make them ambassadors, and make them spread the word.

When scaling your sustainable innovation, it is essential to review your supply chain. You can aim to achieve various green certifications or sustainability standards to promote your sustainable innovation and enhance your credibility. Additionally, create educational and awareness programs to ensure that your customers, employees, and business partners understand the benefits and significance of your sustainable innovation

From pilot to full scale: oldies but goldies! It works even with sustainability projects: start with small scale and then...go to the moon!

Replication and scaling should be the last step, once the innovation has proven to be successful. Replication and scaling can be used to obtain economies of scale and efficiencies, which will make the original solution more effective.

This is much easier said than done. What does it mean, practically, to create a culture of innovation? It means knowing when, how often, and how much to fail. It also means proving a idea wrong by believe in its opposite.

As my vice president said, “I want my teams not to be afraid to make mistakes because there is no other option to achieve high goals without this”. Innovation and transformation can be technically challenging, but creating a culture of continuous improvement and preparing staff to implement and support it is equally challenging. Therefore, against the backdrop of the race for technology, do not forget who will develop or maintain these technologies in the future - so invest in the development of teams too.

Innovation is important and an objective, it requires constant investment when we talk about products with eco-design, as well as market studies and its evolution, as well as a culture of creating interest in these products. If we talk about projects, innovation can focus on new technologies that can achieve efficiency and savings in the long term, contributing to the economic flow of the project. The important thing is to have financial support both from the organization and from other sources such as the promotion of green projects in each country.

Never forget that most humans are risk-adverse. External support is a critical component when it comes to either validate an idea or secure the decision to green-light an innovation. Tapping into the vast knowledge of cross-industry peers / consultants will provide the adequate soundbites & examples that will help lower the perceived risk of innovation.

I believe this step should be prioritized alongside stakeholders in the innovation journey. We should start our trip with as much knowledge and support as possible to promote its success.

Listening and analyzing both success and failure stories is essential. Incubation centers typically operate as part of an innovation ecosystem, collaborating with universities, companies, and other institutions. This implies further analysis of ideas and resources.With the support of incubation centers, collaboration can be rapidly developed and brought to market. Innovative financing models should be considered; for instance, crowdfunding, government grants etc

To save costs and secure external support, consider these recommendations: - Maximize the involvement of scientists, NGOs that are ready to test their solutions for free if you provide access to data. -Partnerships with companies that are solving similar problems (share the risks) or have already solved the issue and you can use their knowledge - collaborate with accelerators, so you can get dozens of proven hypotheses from different external companies for a minimal prize budget. Try to ensure that most of the projects are self-sufficient, so you can convince management that ESG is not a black hole requiring constant financing, but a clear business-oriented approach. Be transparent and communicate - people are always afraid of new things.

I agree, external support is a complement to achieve a new vision of the organization, evaluate operations and the role of the company as a third party. Can contribute by seeing blind spots that the company sometimes does not see, supporting with experience in various companies and providing new technology and methodology to achieve better results in the company's sustainability objectives and goals. Furthermore, it is not binding on the company.

Involve a diverse team. To boost your innovative power, you need different perspectives. Not just in your outside world. But as PART of your organization. Consider hiring scientists from MINT backgrounds, people from NGOs, or academia to extend the breadth and depth of sustainability topics you can cover. At Salesforce, we have a team of people from scientific backgrounds that run our decarbonization program. Our head of climate action is ex-UNEP. Our head of ocean health comes from a related field in academia. The magnetism such personalities create is immense. You can feel the organizational system changing form within.

Stay updated with sustainability trends and insights. Keep adapting your strategies to align with global standards and emerging knowledge. Ecovadis and Mckinsey have some good resources. Provide a checklist of quick wins and sustainable practices that different departments can adopt in operational processes. These could build momentum for sustainability in the organization

I will come back to the core principle I have for this, leverage sustainability as a better way to do things, as a way to deliver enhanced benefits and more desirable products and stop positioning Sustainable Innovation as a compromise consumers need to make. We need to stop making them feel guilty and allow them to find ways to fulfil their needs and desires while helping to build a better future. I always like to put the Tesla example as a proof point for this. The way electric engines work allows them to accelerate faster than combustion ones. So instead of talking about a sustainable car, they created a sports car. Sexy enough to attract speed and luxury seekers and sustainable enough to appeal to an environmentally driven audience.

Establish cross-functional and cross-regional teams to facilitate knowledge exchange and deliberation in project development. Engage internal innovation and venture teams, if available, or seek external expertise for assessing intricate and knowledge-intensive technological solutions. This collaboration led us to scientific papers from the 1980s, which the innovation team found and we began testing carbon dioxide mineralization technology. Or, through collaboration with a local institute, we learned and launched micro bacteria testing to improve the quality of the technology water treatment process. Consider the human factor and engage local teams when implementing changes because any changes are primarily internal stress.

In a competitive market, differentiation through sustainability can be a powerful strategy. By staying true to your values, continuously improving your innovation, and effectively communicating your sustainability story, you can carve out a niche and grow your presence in the market.