{"id":971,"date":"2019-10-25T09:28:31","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T14:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/?p=971"},"modified":"2023-04-22T04:53:31","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T09:53:31","slug":"eco-smart-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/eco-smart-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Eco-Smart Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Articles about the importance of innovation to the growth\u2014or even survival\u2014of a company saturate the internet. I even stress its importance in my monthly posts on the topic<\/a>. However, not all innovation is socially or environmentally compatible. Short-term financial gain may cause long-term environmental pain. Can we do it better? Can we think in terms of Eco-Smart Innovation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Ecosystem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with the social ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the average family size in the United States declined\nover the past seven decades, the average house size increased. A standard single-family\nhouse in 1950<\/a> was 983 square feet. It now\naverages 2631<\/a> square feet. Additional closets and room sizes enabled us to\npack the building with more possessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, advertising bombarded us with messages that\nwe need<\/em><\/strong> the new cell phone, the most up-to-date fashion, or the\nimproved household items. And we bought them. Afterward, we ran out of space in\nour homes. We looked for more places to stash the stuff. Hence the growth of\nthe short-term storage industry, now generating annual\nrevenue of $38 billion<\/a>. This is one side of eco-dumb innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental Ecosystem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Then there is the environmental ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excess stuff keeps growing. Americans toss about 7 pounds of trash per\nperson per day<\/a>. Single-use items, packaging, and low-quality throwaways are\na big part of this. We could compost or recycle some. Yet over half of this\ngarbage ends up in landfills, or worse yet, as litter and pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

These disposal challenges are part of the problem. But there is also pollution in the creation and manufacture of products. Unfortunately, the ability to generate profits often trumps environmental awareness. Plenty view revenue growth as a positive sign of progress at both the company level and the national level. Consumer spending is heralded as a major component of GDP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But does financial progress versus environmental progress\nhave to be an either-or decision? Many companies\nare beginning to realize<\/a> the answer is no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to think in terms of a circular\neconomy<\/a>, a regenerative approach to the design, use, and disposal of\nproducts. It will require a change in business models to switch from eco-dumb\nto eco-smart innovation. Let\u2019s start with what types of products to innovate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design what\u2019s REALLY needed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Designing what\u2019s really needed is easier said than done, I\nknow. Chances are, you work in a specific industry, and innovations will have\nto relate to that industry. But if you have the choice of supporting a new\nstart-up, or creating products that offer more than a new version of your\nwidget, consider it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Margaret Rice-Jones, in Disrupting the Negative Effects of\nInnovation<\/a>, referenced a Stephen Hawking comment that \u201cmore people in Sub-Saharan\nAfrica now have access to a mobile phone network than clean water.\u201d Wow. Talk\nabout mixed priorities. Ask yourself: are you focused on the right innovation\npriorities in your job? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design for sustainable manufacturing and sourcing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since the industrial revolution, businesses have invented\nproducts that provided competitive advantages for which customers would pay. We\nsought the lowest cost materials that fit the specs. The source or renewability\nof the materials was less important. In addition, our manufacturing processes relied\non low-cost energy and\/or labor to ensure acceptable profit margins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That has to change. Sustainable design, also known as eco-design or environmentally friendly design, requires that engineers and product managers build into their designs the impact on the environment. They need to look deep into the supply chain to find sustainably managed resources, including local. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses must look for opportunities to reduce carbon\nemissions in the manufacturing process through the use of green energy. They\nneed to design processes that are more energy-efficient than what they are using\nnow. Zero-emission\nmanufacturing<\/a>, for example, strives to prevent pollution and reuse waste by-products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design with cradle-to-grave realities in mind<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Include life-cycle analysis into the design. Longer-lasting\nproducts will require less-frequent manufacture and replacement. Yes, this\nmeans fewer upgrade sales, but the revenue can be replaced by services and\/or\nquality-based pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build potential reuse, recycling and re-manufacturing into the initial design. What materials can be reused or recycled? How easily? How efficiently can the product be disassembled? Is a reverse channel possible to handle these end-of-life concerns? If not, how can you make it happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Engineers, designers, product managers, and businesses have\nan unprecedented opportunity right now to establish product advantage by\nchampioning eco-smart innovations. They need to create, at minimum, environmentally\nand socially benign<\/em> product designs. It would be even better to have environmentally\nand socially beneficial<\/em> product designs. Are you up to the challenge?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Engineers, designers, product managers, and businesses have an unprecedented opportunity right now to establish product advantage by championing eco-smart innovations. Learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,16,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creativity-and-innovation","category-hodgepodge","category-product-management"],"yoast_head":"\nEco-Smart Innovation - Linda Gorchels blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Innovative products don't need to be eco-dumb. 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