Posted on October 27, 2008 - by Vic Desotelle

Vic on Sustainable Innovation

I have long awaited the day when business and technology begin to use principles of sustainability as the foundation for creating and using products and services. Well, the future has arrived and I’m all over it.

Under concepts like ‘triple bottom line’ and ’social responsibility’ the idea of innovation is showing up in new ways. Thus, I will be spending ample time discussing these kinds of concepts and looking at how their use in day-to-day development within your company will dramatically improve not only your production but also your companies attractiveness to potential clients and investors.

All of us carry underlying beliefs that drive the creative process, and today’s view of innovation carries many assumptions. Unfortunately, these assumption lead to dangerous results because the correct “checks and balances” have not been implemented. Because of this, it is now essential that we use a broader perspective when creating and assessing various forms of innovation.

One idea is to blend three different concepts of innovation into one; Social innovation, organizational innovation, and technical innovation. Each of these carry their own individual ability to create cool stuff. Yet, when actively used together during an innovation process as a sort of “3-lens perspective” your outcomes are kept in check and actually pushes you beyond your present level. Furthermore, it will help you to make better decisions for your company and for the planet. Using this 3-lens perspective, you will be able to track and monitor improved efficiency of the solutions or outcome you create.

So stick with me on this one. Let’s dive in with both feet and talk about this thing called ’sustainable innovation’. I want you to ask questions and address some of your greatest fears, concerns … and, yes, potential opportunities that you think can arise by jumping into this new form of innovative process. Are you in?