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Innovation has lost most of its potency through rampant misuse and overuse. Now is the time for innovation to return to its roots — ideas with real impact. The world needs sustainable innovation that considers the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit – products services, processes, or business models that create long-term value by balancing economic, social, and environmental considerations.
The 2024 3M State of Science Insights survey, emphasizes the crucial role of science in tackling contemporary challenges like climate change, redefining future of work, and the expansion of green jobs. These roles are fertile grounds for problem-solving and innovation. The survey’s findings reveal a global momentum and a positive outlook towards science and sustainability, offering businesses a unique opportunity for innovation. It can be a key driver of long-term competitiveness and of resilience in an increasingly resource-constrained and more environmentally conscious world.
Seeing innovation for what it is
The essence of real innovation in corporate settings can be defined by three pivotal elements: constraints, context, and commitment. The successful realization of any innovation is contingent upon these foundational elements being effectively understood, adapted and communicated. Sustainable innovation embodies an extremely dynamic relationship between these evolving elements demanding a unique leadership approach and organizational mindset.
Take for example 3M Scotch™ Cushion Lock™ Protective Wrap that delivers efficient packing protection without the use of plastic. It eliminates the need for plastic bubble wrap that has been the go-to solution for shipping for many decades.
It was technically challenging to create a sustainable solution – eliminating plastic but still offering the necessary protection. The idea of providing a sustainable solution led to the initiative to better understand the context of its use. A mere replacement given the constraint may not always offer the more innovative solution – innovative concepts often come from a deeper contextual knowledge and a diverse set of perspectives.
Revisiting norms and conditions facilitated richer questions, discussions, and ideation. If the product is being redesigned given the constraint of plastic-free what else could be a feature or benefit that a user would value? The use of plastic wrap requires space for storage of this bulky material, and it often needs scissors to cut, tapes to secure and extra packing material as a filler. The constraints and the context inspired ideation to create additional features and benefits.
Under the auspices of the “15% culture,” where employees can work on ideas they think can lead to innovation, a researcher had been experimenting for several years with kirigami, the Japanese art of paper-cutting and folding. With knowledge and information gained, a multitude of patterns and formats had been generated for potential applications, including packaging. A team started work on the idea and then that work accelerated during the pandemic – shipping became a way of life and increasing packaging waste a spotlight issue.
During the pandemic, with complete commitment from leadership across several functions throughout the organization, modeling and simulations were conducted, the basic science researched further, various manufacturing paths scouted and working prototypes generated and tested extensively.
Through diligent efforts, in 2022 the new sustainable innovation was officially launched: a paper based, curbside recyclable packaging material that stores flat, and through kirigami patterns expands to create a 3-dimensional structure that can withstand tremendous forces.
Moreover, it tears by hand and readily fastens to itself, thereby eliminating the need for scissors and tape.
Sea change needed in innovation leadership and management
Bringing any innovation to life often requires stepping outside neat little boxes, demanding empowerment across the organization. For successful commercialization of sustainable innovations, commitment needs to be visible at the top, socialized throughout the organization and palpable at grassroots level.
The Cushion Lock™ innovation story highlights the importance of constraints, context and commitment in driving sustainable innovation through the following modes:
- Use constraints to provide freedom to innovate
Constraints, often perceived as barriers, can actually serve as a framework for innovation and provide clarity and direction. A closer examination of boundary conditions around the constraints can further catalyze ideation for sustainable innovation.
The Sustainability Value Commitment within 3M’s corporate framework, a formal requirement that every product drives impact for the greater good, is an exemplar of how constraints can drive creativity, promote the exploration of alternatives, and foster internal as well as external partnerships.
- Enrich context to ground boundless curiosity
The appropriate context is crucial for fostering heightened curiosity and facilitate critical thinking. To drive sustainable innovation, the context needs to be more actively enriched and consistently extended by a multiplicity of views, vantage points and diverse perspectives.
Through diverse membership of collaborative and inclusive communities like Technical Forum, across multiple technology platforms, and business sectors such as transportation, electronics, consumer, safety and industrial, globally, 3M cultivates an environment where ideas can flow freely, fostering innovative concepts in existing, as well as emerging fields, such as climate mitigation technologies.
- Demonstrate commitment to drive boundaryless behavior
Commitment to a culture of curiosity and continuous learning is paramount for driving innovation. It helps to nurture entrepreneurial mindset and empower employees to use their skills, talent and expertise to explore beyond conventional boundaries, coalesce around problems-to-solve and catalyze the innovation process through a collective commitment to knowledge, understanding, and creative exploration.
3M’s “15% culture” is a testament to facilitating employee empowerment, with an emphasis on collaboration that is further emphasized by a communal context of improving lives through company vision and purpose.
Sustainable innovation requires a step-change in leadership styles and management models given the need for flexible approach to constraints, an expanded context for curiosity, and an unwavering commitment across all organizational functions and levels.
Leaders must create an environment that balances structure and freedom, emphasizing learning and encouraging exploration within and beyond existing norms. It entails demonstrating and demanding behaviors across the various functions where effective management, metrics and measures incentivize risk-taking and promote collaboration.
Innovation calling
The essence of innovation underscores the vital interplay between constraints through evolving boundary conditions, rich context for boundless curiosity, and commitment to boundaryless behavior. By understanding and applying these principles, organizations can leverage sustainable innovation as a tool for positive change.
The call to renew the commitment to innovation is a call to restore the true meaning of “innovation”—innovare, meaning to renew or restore. This renewal process is not just about embracing sustainability but embedding it into the fabric of innovation strategies across sectors. By doing so, the pursuit of progress and impact remains aligned with the ecological and social imperatives of our times, ensuring that innovation lies not just in the creation of new ideas but in the thoughtful application of those ideas towards creating a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for all.
About the author:
Jayshree Seth is a Corporate Scientist at 3M and holds 80 patents for a variety of innovations over her 30-year career. She was appointed 3M’s first ever Chief Science Advocate in 2018. She is a recipient of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) highest Achievement Award and author of two books published by SWE.