Thanks to all who came today to Sustainability 2012 in Bonn. Here is a longer version of the introductory speech I made today about the futire of open innovation - open, social and mobile.
I want to share with you my point of view on how innovation can become greener. The way we design, make and use services and products has change to make better use of this planet’s resources. High end predictions suggest 16 billion people by 2100 – that world requires a re-think of development processes to ensure that products and services encourage and enable sustainable lifestyles. Concentrated washing detergents are a recent example of where design choices lead to more sustainable behaviour during use.
Many companies have already moved from a “closed” model of innovation – using only own resources and intellectual property – to embrace “open” innovation. I’m sure everyone knows the story of P&G and Connect and Develop. But is open innovation a sustainable model? In my view it is not as it does not fully address other macro-forces that are re-shaping our world as a result of technological innovation and social change.
IBM has a vision for the future which we call “Smarter Planet”. It is the idea that our world will become increasingly instrumented, interconnected and intelligent. A Smarter Planet is one where information - “Big Data” to use the latest IT buzzwords - is turned into productive insights through connecting and empowering people. So for me, sustainable innovation for a Smarter – and more crowded – Planet has to be open and “social”. For example, IBM have already solved complex environmental challenges in traffic congestion and water management by involving citizens, engineers and scientists in co-creation through social media – open and social innovation.
But I think more is required. Modern lifestyles are inherently mobile. And so is our technology. 87% of the world’s population already have a mobile subscription – by 2016 Africa will have more subscribers than Europe. So in the future sustainable innovation needs to accommodate the explosion of mobile devices (not just phones) – sustainable innovation will be open, social and mobile. Mobile introduces the idea of engaging with people as individuals when and where they are or want to be. Mobile devices make new and sustainable business models possible. For example, in Pharmaceuticals companies are eliminating waste medicines and improving efficacy by providing patients with mobile tools to monitor adherence to their medical regime. Through predictive analytics tied to actual human behaviour, data from mobile devices bring the promise of more frugal use of resources such as transport – “just in time at point of need” – and the ability to shape consumption behaviour and lifestyle. The Nike+ Fuelband is an excellent recent example of this in practice.
So to conclude, IBM see that a Smarter Planet can also be one where innovation is sustainable but this requires a new paradigm to replace the current notion of open innovation – open, social and mobile innovation.
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