The supply of resources is shrinking whilst the world population is increasing. To build a sustainable society, the scales need to be rebalanced and resource-guzzling business models reinvented.
In this video, Howard Brown, founder of dMass.net, argues that resource efficiency is the best possible indicator of how sustainable a product is. He explains that innovation should be directed at "doing better with less", therefore aligning business and environmental goals and offering greater sustainability for both the company and its products.
Brown gives the example of a battery manufacturer. Rather than aiming to become the number one battery manufacturer, he says, that there should be a focus on delivering the function of the product - in this case portable energy - in the most sustainable way.
The manufacturing trial for a battery is long, resource heavy and taxing on both the environment and business. Therefore, considering how portable energy can be delivered profitably, using the least resources and with the lowest environmental impact is crucial.
To do this, it is important to think outside the box and to innovate. What does the consumer want and how can this be given to them in the most resource efficient, sustainable way? When a company has cracked how to deliver what consumers want, it will have a growing competitive advantage, reduce costs and risks and enhance its brand image.
"What I tell companies is this: no one wants your products; they want the benefits from those products," says Brown.
"Every business needs to be thinking about resources and benefits, not waste and products. There's unlimited opportunity here for those who understand what their customers actually want and who figure out how to deliver it with as few resources as possible."
Shifting a product's selling point also poses the question of how to communicate this new, positive vision to the consumer in a compelling way. Futerra's Sell the Sizzle report argues that when communicating climate change, the focus should be on the benefits of sustainable living rather than the hellish future vision of climate change. These same principles can be applied to communicating the shift in selling point from battery to portable energy.
There are plenty of examples of businesses creating innovative products based on increasing resource performance. Advancements in areas such as biomimicry, cradle-to-cradle design, green building, nanotechnology and 3D printing are emerging, and the number of companies investing in new ways to tackle resource scarcity is increasing.
Innovation is happening around the world in many sectors, from big businesses to small start-ups. A well-known example is B&Q's propsed shift from selling items such as power drills to selling the use of them. Through focusing on what it is that the consumer needs - an occassional hole in the wall - rather than on selling more power drills - B&Q can provide the same service while reducing resource intensity.
Another example of innovation is a plaster-shaped MP3 player. Designed by Chinese engineers Chih-Wei Wang and Shou-His Fu, Skinny Playeris powered by human body heat and has resource efficiency at its core.
Carpet tile maunfacturer, InterfaceFLOR, has designed a tile collection made from 100% recycled yarn. The products are an example of closed-loop manufacturing as they are made from pre and post consumer raw material and include less yarn than previous ranges, reducing its environmental impact.
Share your thoughts
We'd like to spark some debate on this topic. What examples are there of businesses "doing better with less"? How can companies deliver more of what their customers want whilst using fewer resources and how can this be communicated? What are the challenges facing companies?
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