Have you noticed the major shift over the past two years, where companies are now shuffling to meet new public demands for sustainability?  We sure have.  In fact, we see nearly eight out of every ten companies that we deal with now identifying Sustainability as a major component of their overall corporate strategy.  I salute these companies for making a difference (or at least, budgeting to make a difference).  Now that the honeymoon period and excitement of planning for a new green strategy is over, the real work begins.  As the saying goes, “The devil is in the details.”

Most innovative companies have a track record of responding to consumer demand, and finding creative new ways to meet them.  However, we are now seeing something unprecedented – nearly at the magnitude that the Internet revolution caused back in the 90’s.  We see a vast majority of companies struggling with the same issue of reinventing their products, processes, facilities and manufacturing practices in order to reduce energy, waste, toxic materials and overall carbon footprint, while increasing efficiency.  For most companies, this means tapping into a whole new area of expertise that previously did not exist.  While this presents great new market opportunities for some, it also carries with it a great deal of risk for those not prepared to completely restructure their core competencies. 

What most companies struggling with their new green strategies may not realize is that they do not have to reinvent the wheel in order to meet this new demand.  In fact, for nearly every new innovation challenge they face, there is likely already an existing technology that will allow them to quickly bridge their innovation gaps.  Literally hundreds-of-thousands of green entrepreneurs have anticipated this trend, and have been developing new technologies in hopes of fulfilling a new sustainability need.  Open Innovation (i.e., the management practice of going outside of your company’s four walls to find breakthrough innovations) has given these revolutionary shifts in both the supply and demand sides of green technologies new hope.  Companies are realizing that they can make a difference faster, by getting their new green products and processes in place at an accelerated rate.  Feel free to share your insights and experiences.