Stimulating innovation
to create more
sustainable cities
By André Veneman, Corporate Director for Sustainability & HSE, AkzoNobel
November 2014
How will we cope? Can our cities accommodate so many people?
Yes it can, but we have to do things differently. We have to use our ambition and
imagination to deal more efficiently with the
world’s limited resources.
Ultimately the future health of our cities –
and the people who live there – will hinge
on our ability to do radically more with less.
We need more innovation, less traditional
solutions; more collaboration, less introverted thinking.
The very widespread idea that innovation is
driven by a lonely genius, a specific department, or a very special group of innovation
champions is not the case. Instead success
hinges on organizing and driving innovation
through a team effort and a strong sense of a
shared mission.
For many businesses this should start
with building strong relationships between
different departments. A strong alignment
between sourcing, research & development
and marketing is vitally important to deliver
sustainable solutions that work commercially and could bring a practical benefit to
urban environments.
The problem is that in large corporations
there is often a strong inward orientation.
And there are structures, rules and regulations in place that hamper the ability to set
up open relationships – both within an organization and externally. Perhaps the biggest
challenge that companies face is creating a
more open and forward-looking mindset –
thinking beyond current business issues and
immediate future horizons.
To engage in sustainable innovation
successfully, companies need to be
prepared to work in a much more collaborative way. This means working effectively
across procurement, operations, marketing
and sales functions, and by partnering with
suppliers and customers.
Through this collaborative approach not only
is it possible to uncover exciting new ideas
but it is more likely that those ideas will get
to market faster than would be possible
through traditional models.
Of course linking up departments is not
enough on its own. They need to be all
aligned and focused on identifying sustainable solutions that customers actually need.
At AkzoNobel we have a strong track record
of developing such innovations that bring a
benefit to our customers and for urban environments across the world.
reduces traffic congestion, and reduces
damage to cars and windscreens. Fewer
traffic jams mean lower CO2 emissions and
fewer repairs mean less raw material and
energy consumption.
There are many opportunities for businesses
to develop commercially viable sustainable
product offerings that could make our cities
more sustainable, enjoyable and liveable.
The key to success lies in the business
model and in making the right connections –
engaging effectively across the whole value
chain and working in an open way open way
with external stakeholders such as city councils, urban planners, NGOs, and universities.
Companies such as AkzoNobel can play an
important role in in safeguarding the future
health of our cities and we have a long
history of providing innovative products that
make the world a better place.
But we know that the world is changing and
that our business has to change with it.
So we have adopted a strategy of radical
efficiency which involves us working with our
customers and suppliers to open up infinite
possibilities in a finite world. Something we
call Planet Possible.
A good example is
Ecosel®AsphaltProtection which is an
additive to de-icing brine which can
reduce frost damage in roads by 50%.
This product contributes to road safety,
AN_201562_170415
It won’t be long before the world’s population
reaches nine billion and by 2050, 70 percent
of the world’s population will live in cities.
All around the globe, population explosions
are putting city infrastructure under severe
strain. And at the same time climate change
is posing serious challenges.