THE FUTURE, - Solvay

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GROUP > Panorama
The innovation network: The players and their mis
INTERVIEW WITH BRIGITTE LAURENT, GROUP INNOVATION CHAMPION.
Solvay live – How widespread is
innovation at Solvay?
Brigitte Laurent – Realizing the
strategic role of innovation for growth
and competitiveness, Solvay boosted
its innovation thrust in the early 2000s.
Today Innovation encompasses all our
activities without exception. Let me
quote certain Group-level initiatives:
the three challenges set out in 2006
(30% of income from projects under
fi ve years old, 50% of projects in
partnership, 100% of ideas, that is an
average of one innovative idea per
employee per year), the Innovation
scorecard (which measures the
progress of innovation), electronic
ideas boxes and their ‘challenge’
function (focusing creativity on solving
a specifi c problem), the annual
innovation objective for all executive
staff, the dissemination of good
practices, and of course the Solvay
Innovation Trophy!
“The Innovation Champions
play a catalyst role in their
organizations, amplifying
the dynamism of the Group
Trophy through local
initiatives.”
SL – What is the role of Innovation
Champions (IC)?
B. L. – The IC network was set up in 2004.
It refl ects the organization of the Group,
with one representative from each SBU,
CC and BSC, appointed by the manager
of the entity. We are about 35 in number,
but in reality the innovation network is
much more tightly meshed because most
ICs have developed their own networks.
The ICs’ role is fi rst and foremost to
create and encourage a spirit of
innovation, to share information and key
initiatives, to play a catalyst role in their >