Some view Innovation as an abstract, serendipitous event. We have shown through dedicating our lives to research applied in practice that this is not true. There are more efficient ways to succeed with your innovation projects if only you know what to look for! The below resources will help you get a better understanding of that.
Green Innovation with 4R: Beyond zero waste-creating regenerative business models
Now COP26 is here, its high time to raise our voices for the Planet and Green Innovation!
Several years ago, we argued that zero waste is not enough, and the reaction among the sustainability community was that it was both impossible and wired claiming zero is not enough. COP26 still focuses on net-zero. Why? Maybe because green innovation is hard, and you need to use your imagination. However, regenerative business models are on the rise, and not just focusing on less waste or stopping using carbon, but rather aiming to restore and complement the traditional 3Rs: Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.
We invite you to test what is likely the world’s most comprehensive sustainovation test for green innovation, building on 4R regenerative business models. Test it for free and get a report!
The 4Rs of Green Innovation and Business Models
Let’s take an example: Manufacturing steel, it can be made by:
- Recycling (done to 90% in most parts of the developed world).
- Reusing it (this can be encouraged by, for instance, laws that things should be possible to repair, which is the case in, for instance, France).
- Reducing the use of fossil fuels in line with zero-carbon practices (e.g., in the process of refining the iron) for producing steel, where Sweden is at the forefront.
- Restoring carbon, for instance, from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, to use in alloys. In this way, we can put the carbon back!
“In this way, we can put the carbon back in the jar”
Christer Fuglesang and 3 more astronauts on stage
Two weeks ago, Innovation360 was invited to host the EXPO 2020 event in Dubai, setting out the Blue Marble Vision for the Planet. Why? Because the only way to restore Mother Earth is to use unconventional methods and techniques, which Innovation360 works with every day and where solutions can be found in many areas, such as in the space industry. Together with the Space Designer Cecilia Hertz and her initiative Space for Agenda 2030 we formulated a vision for the Planet. The Blue Marble Vision was hosted by Minister H.E. Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, who presided over and kickstarted the space week of Expo 2020. We worked closely with four astronauts and space experts present from NASA, ISA, and ESA, along with various space agencies from across the globe. The result is the Blue Marble Vision that will segway into several of the world sustainability conferences from 2022.
The Blue Marble Vision is “LEADING THE CHANGE TOWARD A REGENERATIVE WORLD”
Regeneration is the missing link to help solve our situation. Together with the 3 other ‘R’s it will be possible to do and is also driven by social and economic motivations though green innovation. This is how we can tie ESG reporting to real change. This is how we can identify what needs to be fixed and what is driving innovation.
How Can We Get Better at Green Innovation for Environmental-Sustainability Benefits?
The urgency and importance of the sustainability imperative faced by all humanity need no introduction. Whole production and consumption systems must be totally transformed within the next decades. To meet this great challenge of our generation, we must harness our collective ingenuity and energy to innovate and find solutions that solve many of our sustainability problems. These crucial endeavors cannot be left to government or nonprofits – the contribution of the private sector is absolutely essential if we are to achieve the transformations that we need, at the scale we need, and in the short time frame we have left to do it.
Sustainability-orientated innovation (SOI) – also called green innovation or eco-innovation – is any innovation undertaken for either the primary or secondary purpose of achieving environmental-sustainability benefits. SOI includes innovations undertaken to lower resource or energy consumption, lower GHG emissions or other forms of pollution, implement circular or regenerative business models, protect biodiversity, etc.
If innovation is to play a big part in finding solutions to our global sustainability challenge, then we all need to get better quickly at this special type of innovation that will yield the real sustainability benefits and improvements that our planet and society so desperately need at this time. And that is why we offer the chance to test what’s likely the most comprehensive Green Innovation assessment on the Planet!