Support for Sustainable Business
The Maldives, which recently put out a call to global energy experts to help refine the nation’s renewable energy plan, has many examples to follow when it comes to environmental innovation. The Environmental Defense Fund is one. The EDF is not only a leader in using innovation for its own initiatives but also for encouraging and supporting businesses and nonprofits to capitalize on open innovation to solve sustainability challenges.
Private sector companies are using open innovation to reduce time and costs of the R&D process and the EDF asks “Why can’t companies do the same for sustainability? From reducing GHGs in a worldwide supply chain to creating closed-loop systems for manufactured goods, the environmental problems we face are sufficiently complex that no single company — even with the sharpest in-house sustainability experts — can solve them on their own.” The EDF responded by creating its own eco-challenge series to connect businesses from a variety of industries with sustainability problem solvers. Challenges range from a cost effective analysis of crop fields to development of a nitrate capture system. In working with business, the goal at EDF is to accelerate environmental innovation by challenging companies of all sizes to make green business the new business as usual. They also partner with other organizations such as the SmartWay program from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which aims to reduce transportation-related emissions by creating incentives to improve supply chain fuel efficiency.
Sustainably minded companies can participate in the 2011 Green Biz Innovation Forum to be held next week inSan Francisco. With speakers from companies ranging from Nike to Hewlett Packard to Ideo, the conference focuses on How leading companies manage for innovation, including the internal and external partners needed for success, mapping pathways and overcoming barriers, and utilizing tools and technologies to accelerate implementation.
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