ESCP EUROPE
INNOVATION + SUSTAINABILITY
= NEW BUSINESS MODELS
Key Findings of a Survey on Sustainable Innovation by Profs
Aurélien ACQUIER, Valentina CARBONE & Olivier DELBARD
Sustainability, Competitiveness & Innovation
Demographic trends
Energy transition
World energy consumption
?
Source: UN predictions and US
census bureau
Supply of Raw
materials
Source: J.M Jancovici 2012 sur UNEP
Innovation
How do companies respond?
The questions asked
• Innovation, sustainability, competitiveness… : what is
the current level of awareness?
• What are the mechanisms enabling sustainability issues
to be integrated into innovation strategies? What are
the key success factors?
The sample
36 top managers of big companies and
start ups in Europe
• Interviews with top managers
• On-line Questionnaire
Functions: innovation Management, Marketing,
sustainability…
Sectors of activity: transportation, building, energy,
luxury, mass retail…
312 international respondents on the
importance and the management of sustainable
innovation within their organizations.
The Results:
7 KEY
FINDINGS
Key Finding n°1
The need to integrate sustainability into
innovation strategies:
A key issue, but a very
destabilizing one!
« if I gather 10 people in the same room
and ask them to define sustainable
innovation, I’ll get 30 different definitions! »
Trevor Davis, Global Expert, IBM
Innovation
Product
process
Business Models
&
Sustainability
Which actors?
Environmental
Which focus?
Social Economic
Key finding n°2
Large organizations tend to deal with
sustainable innovation
innovation process…
as an
incremental
... Before re-designing
business
models
Sustainability and business model
innovations
Production
Circular economy
From product to
service
Consumption
Environmental scope
sharing
economy
(Collaborative
production and
consumption)
Not for Profit,
Social Business
and Bottom of
the Pyramid
Social scope
The ingredients of the sharing
economy
« Wired to share »
Intensifying the use
of material capital
Key finding n°3
Disruptive innovations in the field of
sustainability …
… involve to rethink the relationship
between the company and its
ecosystem
Thinking at a broader scale
Natural eco-systems
Business eco-systems
Standardization agencies
NGOs
Suppliers
competitors
Companies Distributors
Research & Educational institutions
Public actors
Other stakeholders
Clients
How to favor the emergence of sustainable
business ecosystems ?
1. Capitalizing on distributed
2. Sharing & Structuring informations,
intelligence within the ecosystem
agreeing on shared objectives
Intra-firm
Open innovation
Big data
3. Create platforms and rules
for interconnecting actors
Key Finding n°4
Implementing sustainable innovation
...
... Involves a total revamping of
organizational strategies
Which organizational models?
Simplifiying
innovation by
desystemizing
it
Monitoring a
series of
innovative
projects
Creating new
brands or
divisions
Conducting a
policy of
partnerships,
acquisitions,
financing
Key Finding n°5
The need to mobilize new skills and new
evaluation criteria
« I don’t think many people could claim to have all the skills
required for sustainability. It is multidisciplinary by nature. We
need scientists, technicians, public affairs specialists, lawyers… »
Catherine Tissot-Colle,
Communication and Sustainability Director, Eramet
« Our sustainability approach has to be long term, but
today’s societies all think short term, which is the crucial
point. »
Sandrine Sommer,
Sustainability Director, Guerlain
Key finding n°6
Government & the Consumer:
2 key players, whose role
remains ambiguous!
Key Finding n°7
For sustainable innovation to be
successful,
It is necessary to learn from
failures and develop an
iterative approach!
• Successful failures as sources of learning and
opportunities
The authors
Pilar Acosta
Aurélien Acquier
Valentina Carbone
Olivier Delbard
Julie Fabbri
Florent Gitiaux
Delphine Manceau
Catherine Ronge