Sustainable Innovation

The idea of sustainability is based on the certitude that we have planetary boundaries. the wwF vividly illustrates this with “earth overshoot day.” It describes the day of the year on which human demands on natural resources exceed the capacity of the earth to reproduce these resources. Presently, earth overshoot day is at the beginning of august. From then onward, we are looting our resources.

What does this mean for corporate sustainability? Business must fit into planetary boundaries. this probably will not work with traditional business models. that is why we need new, fresh ideas. we need change, even when it happens in a rough, disruptive way. and the earlier the better. when you talk about the Sustainable development Goals, you have to talk about sustainable innovation. the SGds are the agenda, innovation is the pathway.

How to Be an Intrapreneur

By Perry Yeatman

Every great innovation begins with an idea. Every great achievement requires a champion. Scientists. Explorers. Adventurers. Entrepreneurs. more[...]

Corporate Social Innovation is the New Corporate Social Responsibility

By Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen

A new trend in international development has paired some unlikely business partners: development finance institutions and impact investors are working with large multinational corporations to fund projects that advance both development and business agendas. more[...]

Too Big to Fail? Introduction to the Concept of Disruptive Innovation

By Dr. Elmer Lenzen

Every CEO generation has its own management buzz words. In the 1990s “re-engineering” was in fashion, then came “offshoring”, and today it is probably “disruptive innovation.” The concept was coined by Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor who introduced the wording in his 1995 article “Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave.” Two years later in his book The Innovator’s Dilemma, Christensen replaced the term disruptive technology with disruptive innovation. That was groundbreaking because he recognized that few technologies are intrinsically disruptive; rather, it is the business model behind it that disrupts and reinvents markets. more[...]

Capitalism Is Chaos

Economics wunderkind Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) rought us concepts such as “innovation,” “venture capital,” and “corporate strategy.” But above all he is the father of the concept of“creative destruction”. He enriched the three classic factors of production – land, labor, and capital – with an essential fourth dimension: entrepreneurship. more[...]

How Does Industry 4.0 Affect Growth and Employment?

With the digitilization and global linking of production – the “fourth Industrial Revolution” – the specter of unemployment in the technology sector has entered central stage again. more[...]

Is the Meaning of Work about to Change?

By Rick Goings

Our world is facing a crisis cubed: Jobs are disappearing faster than they are being created; companies are struggling to attract people with the right skills; and people rightly worry how new technology will threaten their livelihoods. more[...]

Ten Lessons from Innovation Studies for a Sustainable Paradigm

By Prof. Dr. Paul Dewick

Sustainability goals, such as those associated with the the post-2015 development agenda of the United Nations, have to be translated into new commercial products and services as well as different ways of making and delivering them that replace less-sustainable alternatives. This is the role for firms intending to profit from innovation while meeting sustainable goals. Sometimes these innovators are small entrepreneurial firms that see sustainable products as an ideal niche in which to start a new business venture. Sometimes these innovators are large firms that have identified opportunities where customers and/or technologies are new. Successful innovation at the firm level contributes cumulatively to industrial structural change in a process known as “creative destruction.” Through this process, a new paradigm can emerge, within which sustainable economic growth flourishes in an inclusive manner consistent with the goals of the United Nations post-2015 agenda. more[...] login_required

Sustainability-Oriented Innovation: A Bridge to Breakthroughs

By Prof. Dr. Jason Jay

“Innovate or die” has become almost a mantra for companies in this era of rapid technological change and globalization. When we consider such conditions as extreme air pollution in Beijing, factory collapses in Bangladesh, drought in California, and deadly heat waves in India, the darker side of this foundational belief stands out in high relief. Yet we continue to settle for and cling to consumption-based business models that add to these global threats. Many large companies have survived and thrived for decades by selling high-calorie, sugary drinks or distributing apparel made by people working in extreme poverty for unfair wages in unsafe conditions. more[...]

Corporate Foresight

By Editorial Team

Business as usual is no longer an option! There is a growing realization among more and more politicians, businesses, and members of society that things cannot continue as they are. The number of challenges and issues that must be tackled and dealt with at a global level is enormous, viz.: human-induced climate change and the search for ways to develop a low-carbon economy; rapid population growth in developing and newly-industrialized countries; questions surrounding which fuels can be used in the energy mix to meet growing demand; and the distribution of food and raw materials. more[...]