2020’s insights: Summary

To integrate sustainable design thinking into your business and development plan, you need to:

• Create a long term innovation plan. This will form part of your sustainability index.

• Identify your lowest hanging fruit; products that can be easily designed to be more sustainable. Look to add innovation at that stage.

• Work closely with your manufacturing base and challenge them to work with their suppliers. Ask for contributions in materials and processes.

• Collaborate with wider teams. Make them part of your plan.

• Share learning. Ensure you are resourced to have teams thinking about the long-term plan and strategy full time.

• Have a strong leader. Someone who has a clear vision of the future and can properly manage the integration of innovative sustainable solutions

• Innovation is harder to sell. Look at your sales teams. Typically they spend 32% more time face-to-face selling innovative solutions. (Harvard business Review)

• Have branding and advertising creatives work alongside the product teams at the beginning. Develop sustainable innovation in a way that you can communicate the message to your market.