Tapping-into-Nature-2015p

ACCELERATING INNOVATIONA flurry of innovation occurred in the twentieth century that had apositive, transformative effect on economies and societies. 4 Today,however, many companies and private investors develop and invest in“widgets [and] irrelevances” that neither produce healthy returns noraddress pressing societal needs. 5 To develop the world-changing andprofitable innovations of tomorrow, companies and investors need newsources of ideas.Harvard Business School’s Dr. Rosabeth Moss Kanter recently said thatbefore innovation proves successful, it is merely “somebody’s wildidea that competes with every other wild idea.” 6 Indeed, technologicalinnovation is an exercise in risk. Many businesses attempt to innovateby reformulating their existing products or emulating a competitor’sproduct. However, these avenues often only provide incremental valueto both businesses and society, not transformative breakthroughs.The sequestration of carbon bycorals inspired Blue Planet’s cementadditives made from waste CO 2streams (see Carbon).Creating an entirely new product category that alters or creates markets(so-called “disruptive innovation”) requires insightful strategy, serendipity,or both. Bioinspired innovation offers a real opportunity for companiesto create products and processes inspired by proven designs: theattributes of organisms that perpetuate in nature because they solveparticular challenges. Companies that leverage bioinspired innovationcan increase revenues, reduce costs, and meet global needs. They canalso increase their environmental, social, and corporate governance(ESG) rating, attracting investments from the $45 trillion managed byfirms supporting this trend in financial markets. 7,8 By looking outside thebounds of their traditional disciplines, companies are able to transformmarkets and increase returns.6Tapping into Nature