In the previous Green game-changers report (November 2011) the WWF published a collection of case studies of small-scale sustainability innovators contributing to a greener global economy. This latest report investigates how ‘large corporates’ (those with revenues of over US $1 billion per year) are responding to the challenge of those new green businesses innovators.

“Disrupt or be disrupted”

Dax Lovegrove, head of business and industry relations at WWF-UK, in the introduction describes “disrupt or be disrupted” as the rallying cry of those who have analysed the failure of major corporations. An important theme of the report is that failure to innovate into sustainability may expose corporations to future resource shock:

“Driving this movement are the smaller, disruptive business models that are emerging – using sustainability to create new markets and alter existing ones”

The report analyses the level at which large corporates have introduced innovations, identifying three key levels of adoption; firstly core business transformation (a fundamental realignment of direction to incorporate sustainable realities), secondly innovative business units (new or transformed components within a large corporation) and lastly new scalable models which provide templates for future developments.

Keeping ahead of the sustainability curve

The report presents ten case studies and makes a series of recommendations for corporations seeking to stay ahead of the sustainability curve, across some key themes:

Dematerialisation – dramatically reducing natural resource use

The report looks at how large corporates are now exploring non-ownership models of leasing and ‘collaborative consumption’ for example, companies like B&Q are moving into the tool-lending business, a move that the report identifies as being currently at the ‘scalable solution’ level.

“The drivers for leasing are numerous. Emerging social trends mean people are less keen on owning things now. In addition, leasing can be financially attractive for B&Q. If you keep materials in the loop then in 10 years’ time they are costed on resource costs 10 years ago and we insulate against increasing prices”
Matthew Sexton, director CSR, B&Q

Open Loop – using waste from other processes as a resource.

To extract 1kg of gold from the ground requires the mining of 200 tonnes of rock, compared to processing just 3-4 tonnes of scrap to reclaim the same kilogram. This problem provided the logic for Belgium-based mining and refining conglomerate, Umicore, to undergo a core business realignment from traditional mining to ‘urban mining’ where end-of-life materials are harvested bringing substantial resource and CO2 emissions savings.

Renewable energy and low carbon

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk have reduced their global energy consumption by 21% between 2007 and 2011 while growing sales by 59% over the same period. This impressive decoupling has been achieved as a result of a collaborative interaction with DONG Energy, an established energy utility. DONG offered energy efficiency expertise to cut Novo Nordisk’s energy use in exchange for the pharmaceutical company’s commitment to long term contracts for renewable energy which allowed DONG to invest in the – initially more expensive – renewables sector.

“we now get the energy reductions we want, we have access to more green electricity than we use, and we save approximately 40 million Danish kroner annually in operational energy costs”
Anne Gadegaard, director corporate sustainability NovoNordisk

Restorative

PepsiCo India has had ‘Positive Water Balance’ status since 2009. In 2010 its manufacturing facilities consumed 5.8 billion litres of water but replenished 10.1 billion litres, a net gain of 4.3 billion litres. This was achieved by investing in water conservation in its own agricultural processes, but also by making similar investment in neighbouring agricultural communities – a pressing need given the critical nature of water stress in India. By achieving positive water balance status, PepsiCo India is insuring future sustainability as the water stress question threatens to become a major political issue.

Key recommendations

1. Monitor emerging models – The report notes that B&Q’s board were shocked by the degree of traction that peer-to-peer tool sharing websites like Zilok had already attained in the market.

   It also notes that it is not just sustainable product innovation but new business models – for example the DONG / Novo Nordisk initiative, where an existing expertise of one partner was leveraged to encourage its customers commit to buying renewable energy at a premium price. Thus a new business model was born that serves both companies.

2. Get buy-in from the top – The report stresses the need for a consistent vision from the top.

3. Reassess the chain value – PepsiCo India looked outside the ‘four walls’ of the company to find restorative models that would impact positively on the long term viability of the company. Although some water savings were made internally, much was made in neighbouring communities.

4. Collaborate externally – Many of the most successful projects have come about as a result of collaboration with other companies, NGOs or governments.

However the report also sounds a note of caution about the current state of play in the greening of large global corporations. It notes that most of the examples profiled demonstrate ‘geographic pockets of scalable solutions or have been ramped up to comprise a separate business unit’/ Relatively few businesses had brought sustainability innovation into their core business model.

Further reading

• Green game-changers: full report available to download

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• Business news: sustainability for success, green landlords, investing in mitigation, sustainable CFOs, the Crystal
• Circular economy business toolkit
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The Soil Association’s annual conference 2012 will celebrate innovation in food and farming today. How governments invest in agricultural research and innovation plays a pivotal part in shaping what types of food we produce and consume, and their consequences for people, the planet and animal welfare. Given the challenges our global food system is likely to face in the coming century, it is crucial that we ensure organic and other agroecological approaches are at the heart of innovative and progressive farming. They offer a radically different model from the top-heavy system where problems are defined and tackled by lab scientists, research funders and marketers, then sold to farmers. Our vision starts with the real needs of farmers and the public, and fully involves them in finding humane and workable solutions. As Churchill said, the science should be ‘on tap, not on top’.

Organic farmers have always been creative, willing to experiment and to learn from each other and from nature. Instead of relying on the next short-lived wonder product, organic producers have been among those championing innovation and resilience in farming, building a viable market against heavy odds. Yet this independence, coupled with a commitment to ecological thinking that has until recently been unfashionable among scientists, has seen organic producers typecast as ‘anti-science’. Dispelling the myth that we’re stick-in-the-muds – validating and helping others to learn from the best examples of organic farming, land use and food systems – is crucial but only part of the task.

We must also be clear that we have much to learn in our own systems. We need to improve the total productivity of organic systems, making the most of their potential and ensuring that we can bank on them to feed the world fairly, humanely and sustainably. Organic standards need to act as rungs of a ladder, not as a ceiling, and we need to be certain that meeting them guarantees better outcomes for the planet, people and animals. And we need to find common ground with non-organic farmers and scientists so we can learn from their experience, share ours and answer our critics. Ultimately we want to see all agricultural research begin with farmers’ needs and knowhow, and take an ecological approach to farming, food and health. The challenge of diet-related ill-health, in the UK and internationally, means that we need to understand the relationship between food production and its consumption, bringing public health and nutritional expertise to the farming and food production table.

Soil Association conference

The Soil Association one-day conference, which takes place on 2 March at the Royal Agricultural halls in London, will explore the innovative change we need in food, farming, public health and nutrition. Tickets are still available – £90 for Soil Association members or £120 for the general public – find out more and purchase tickets…

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• Environmental Stewardship and food security
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As it celebrates its 50th anninversary, WWF has published Green game-changers, a collection of case studies from around the world demonstrating how businesses and entrepreneurs are responding to environmental challenges with innovation and transformation.

In his foreword Dax Lovegrove, head of business and industry relations at WWF-UK, explains how “the business community offers one of the most effective routes to finding sustainable solutions to the world’s pressing environmental challenges”:

“A tough financial climate remains for every business, and all eyes are on world leaders’ efforts to restore economic stability. However, many CEOs also recognise that long-term commercial success requires ecological stability too. And that economic growth which further depletes natural capital is ultimately not good for business. [...]

“Business and environmental risk management are increasingly converging, as companies recognise the need for radical change in the way business is done.”

The 50 case studies have been selected for their potential to be genuinely game changing as scaleable, lasting and different practice with scope for high commercial impact. Each example demonstrates practice that can provide environmental benefits in one of four critical areas:

1. Dematerialisation – business products, services or processes that dramatically cut the use of natural resources.
2. Restorative – innovations that relate to net positive environmental impacts and the restoration of biodiversity, forests, fresh water systems and marine environments.
3. Open loop – where one company’s waste is turned into another’s resource.
4. Renewable energy and low carbon – innovations are supportive of a move towards WWF’s call for 100% renewable energy future by 2050.

From zero packaging to plant-inspired solar energy

Examples of transformative innovation are taken from across the world and cover a wide range of business areas, including:

• Zero packaging and waste store: In.gredients in Austin, Texas is a food and drink where all produce is sold by weight, without packaging;
• Fungal building insulation: solid board insulation made from agricultural waste, bonded together by filamentous fungi;
• Biorock coral reef restoration: enhancing reef growth with a pioneering technique involving electrodeposition of calcium carbonate, the building-block of coral skeletons;
• Evergreen agriculture: using ‘fertiliser trees’ in food crop production – trees like the acacia Faidherbia albida shed nitrogen-rich leaves during the early rainy season;
• Using waste heat to grow tomatoes: the UK’s largest single glasshouse uses recovered carbon dioxide and heat from the neighbouring Wissington Sugar factory;
• Mining old consumer goods: collecting plastics and valuable electronic components from discarded consumer goods to resell or recycle;
• Ad-funded solar street lights: solar-powered streetlights in India, entirely funded by revenues from attached advertising;
• Plant-inspired solar energy: dye-sensitised solar cells which can be used to replace existing glass windows, or be integrated into a variety of areas from building facades, roofing, backpacks to tents.

Business leaders commit to sustainability

The report quotes business leaders explaining their commitment to sustainability as central to their business strategies.

Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive Officer of Sky says:

“If you simply chase growth for the sake of it, without thinking of the broader impacts that brings, then ultimately, that is not going to be sustainable.”

Similarly Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, explains:

“We need to grow responsibly, we need to grow differently. The exciting thing about our Sustainable Living Plan is that we aim to double our turnover in such a way that we reduce our overall environmental footprint.”

Building the green game-changers bank

WWF are inviting contributions to a growing online bank of revolutionary business stories, which can be browsed by sector or by area of benefit.

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• Green game-changers: insights for mainstreaming business innovation
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Alex Steffen, editor of the best selling book Worldchanging and leading futurist, will be giving an evening lecture around positive 21st century perspectives, in London on October the 20th, presented by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the University of Bradford. Alex will be met on stage by Ellen MacArthur for a thought-provoking chat following his talk.

About Alex Steffen

One of the world’s leading voices on social innovation and planetary futurism, Alex Steffen is a writer, public speaker and strategy consultant. Alex was co-founder and executive editor of Worldchanging.com, an award-winning online magazine on social innovation, from its creation in 2003 until it closed in 2010.

‘Clarity of thought, unrivalled ability to always think “big picture”, relentless pursuit of positive solutions and case studies: Alex Steffen’s voice has been crucial when it came to articulating a coherent vision during a decade awash with contradictory and guilt-inducing messages. Challenging the status quo and striving to look beyond misleading “quick fixes”, Steffen’s ideas manage to float above the contingencies of partisanship and give the word “future” its true meaning back.’

The New York Times has reported that “Alex Steffen, a designing optimist, lays out the blueprint for a successful century.”

Alex on systemic challenges and misconceptions attached to individual responsibility

“We have inherited a whole set of solutions by conventional wisdom, many of them surrounding lifestyle choices. Almost all of us believe that someone who buys local food, who drives a hybrid, who lives in a well-insulated house, who wears organic clothing and who religiously recycles and composts and avoids unnecessary purchases is living sustainably.

“They are not. As we’ve explored a bunch of times in different ways here on Worldchanging, the parts of our lives that actually fall within our direct control are the tips of systemic icebergs, and often changing them does nothing to alter those systems: not individually, not in small groups, not even in larger lifestyle movements. If we’re going to avoid catastrophe, we need to change those larger systems, and change them for everyone, and change them quickly.

“It’s quite clear that some of the “solutions” we embrace don’t actually motivate people to change at all. There’s hard evidence suggesting that most of the time, small steps do not actually motivate people to later take larger steps (most people adopt a small change or two and then feel they’ve done their part and stop). Other times, we ask people to pay attention to the wrong things.”

(From the Worldchanging.com archives)

A new West Midlands-based project aims to ensure Britain’s place at the heart of the low carbon vehicle revolution. Launched at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire in February, the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Project (LCVTP) will help shape the future of passenger transport.

Harnessing regional expertise

The project seeks to harness the automotive innovation, research and technological expertise of the Midlands to establish a market lead in the global development and production of low carbon vehicles, accelerating their development through advances in key technology platforms in areas such as batteries, motors and aerodynamics. Earlier in February, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson declared the Midlands a Low Carbon Economic Area for Advanced Automotive Engineering.

The £29 million project has been made possible through £19 million investment funding (£9.5 million from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and £9.5 million from the ERDF) and a further £10 million from industry partners.

Partnership and collaboration

Partners in the LCVTP include Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, Zytek, Ricardo, MIRA, WMG (formerly Warwick Manufacturing Group) at the University of Warwick and Coventry University. Like-minded potential suppliers are invited to work with them in close collaboration. Companies from across the UK with relevant expertise and the desire to get involved are invited to register their interest by e-mailing lowcarbon@warwick.ac.uk

Developing market-ready technologies

At the recent launch of the project, Project Director John O’Connor from WMG (leading three of the project’s workstreams) said:

“Today we have announced details of the LCVTP’s 15 workstreams and the project partners have shared their low carbon vehicle technology plans, the aim being to secure active participation from forward-thinking businesses across the UK.”

“All of the businesses present are expert in their chosen fields and have been invited to register their interest in working alongside these globally recognised organisations over the next five years to develop tangible, market-ready technologies that will revolutionise how vehicles are powered and manufactured in the future.”

Reassessing our approach to vehicle engineering

Also speaking at the event, Dr Geoff Davis, MIRA’s Business Development Director, said:

“There’s no one technology that will deliver a low carbon future. It requires a fundamental reassessment of how we approach vehicle engineering; from advanced battery and motor technology for efficient propulsion, light weight materials and aerodynamics to minimize lost energy, through to intelligent control systems for efficient operation in urban environments.”

“MIRA is naturally at the heart of all these areas and we are delighted to work alongside those here today to ensure we continue to deliver the technological solutions to the pressing issues facing our society. What’s more, the low carbon agenda has for the first time in decades changed the rules of engagement in the auto industry. The need for completely new components, sourced from new partners and assembled into new modules is forging new alliances. If we are adept in this time of change, this region will emerge stronger than ever as the primary source of low carbon technology for the global marketplace.”

LCVTP workstreams

The Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Project comprises 15 separate technical R&D workstreams, each of which is led by a partner who will work closely with selected SMEs to develop solutions spanning:

• Battery Cells & Packs
• Drive Motors
• Power Electronics
• High Voltage Electrical Distribution
• Auxiliary Power Units
• Vehicle Supervisory Control
• Lightweight Structures
• Vehicle Dynamics & Traction Control
• High Efficiency Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) and System Cooling
• Reduction of Parasitic Losses
• Waste Energy & Energy Storage
• Aerodynamic Performance
• Human Machine Interface (HMI) Engineering
• Large Saloon Vehicle
• Optimised Electric Vehicle Package

Professor Neville Jackson, chief innovation and technology officer of Ricardo plc (Lead partner on the Waste Energy & Energy Storage workstream) and chair of the UK Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, said:

“Ricardo is extremely pleased to be an active participant in the LCVTP both as a member of the project and lead partner in a number of work streams. The programme is heavily focused on vehicle electrification technologies where we have a real opportunity to capitalise on some key UK innovations and capabilities. We look forward to working with our partners to help catalyse the development of low carbon technology and innovation.”

Dr Clive Hickman from Tata (Battery & Battery Packs and High Voltage Electrical Distribution Lead Partner) added:

“Our first generation electric vehicle, the Indica Vista, will be on Britain’s roads later this year, but this is just the start. We are already planning next generation Electric Vehicles and the LCVTP programme is integral to our plans. Our intention is to provide radical innovations in system technologies, which we will deploy across deducted Electric Vehicle programs.”

Creating jobs and wealth

The project will create between 3,000 and 11,500 jobs in the UK by 2020, the majority of those being in the West Midlands and will also safeguard jobs in the supply chain as businesses switch to low carbon opportunities. In addition, research estimates wealth creation resulting from the project at between £690m and £2.8bn.

The LCVTP brings Advantage West Midlands’ investment in low carbon vehicle initiatives £41.2 million. The Agency has already invested more than £22 million in a range of low carbon vehicle projects, including:

• innovITS ADVANCE, a pioneering intelligent transport systems test facility
• CABLED, the national ultra low carbon vehicle trial