Product, Business and System level innovation Flashcards
What makes a product more sustainable?
- Uses fewer resources in manufacture
- Uses fewer resources in use
- Uses renewable resources
- Lasts longer, so can be recycled or repaired
- Causes less damage to the environment
What tools and methods are companies using to shuffle more towards sustainability or sustainable products
- Environmental Management System (EMS)
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
- Design for Recycling (DFX)
What is life cycle thinking
a production and consumption strategy that aims at taking into account all of the impacts (environmental, economic and social) that a product or service will have through its life cycle
What steps make up the product lifecycle
1) Material extraction
2) Manufacture of good
3) Use
4) Disposal
What is Life Cycle Assessment?
An objective process that evaluates the environmental burdens associated with a product or process by quantifying materials and energy wasted or used and implementing change to effect environmental improvement basically: look at a system see how its not sustainable implement change
Outline an ISO LCA methodology
1) Definition of goal or scope
2) Life-cycle inventory analysis
3) Life-cycle impact assessment
4) Life-cycle interpretation
- This process is iterative so always looking again to find other ways to improve from the last improvement
What does the LCA not account for?
it accounts for the entire product life-cycle however not if it isnt disposed for properly as thats not what teh product was intended for, eg waste plastic bags
When can you conduct LCA?
It can only be done retrospectively to improve a system, therefore cant be used to make initial process designing
What are the attributes of a sustainable business model
- Focus of life-cycle resource minimsation
- They are a closed loop, products at the end of their life can be recycled
- meets needs not wants
- reusable and upgradable products
- avoids split incentives like built in redundancy
Are the highest growing companies currently service or product providers?
- service companies
- This has shifted the model so now most companies are trying to twist what they do into a service
- this creates brand loyalty
What is a product service system
- this is basically a transition from a offering a product to a service
- an innovation strategy, shifting the business focus from designing physical products only to designing a system of products and services which are jointly capable of fulfilling client demands
What are the advantages of product service systems
PSS allows: The fulfilment of client needs in an integrated and customised way
- The construction of unique relationships with clients (Customer loyalty)
- Allows the ability to innovate faster since the clients needs are followed better
What are the 3 categories of business types in the PSS spectrum:
1) Product oriented - Business modeled around product sales
2) Use oriented - Product plays a key role but it remains property of the company and is rented, eg car lease
3) Results oriented - Client and provider agree on a result and no product is involved (entirely service, like dry cleaning)
What is a value added enabler
- Its a system that collects information about the consumer to tailor a service for them
- It extends the existing capacity to manage and forecast energy spent
- eg, a management service that automatically reduces heating in the summer for consumers
What is the sharing economy?
An economic model often defined as a peer-to-peer based activity of acquiring, providing or sharing access to goods and services that are facilitated by a community based online platform
give an example of a sharing economy
Airbnb, which is a platform enabling people to share their spaces
what is a major downfall of sharing economy
- It relies on trust and so is open to abuse
Give some other examples of a sharing economy
- peer-to-peer lending on sites like the lending club
- crowd funding like go fund me
- ridesharing like uber
- coworking so sharing utility costs and rent etc by sharing a work space
what are the advantages of a sharing economy
- cheaper goods and services
- extra income for providers
- new and better opportunities
- stronger communities
what are the disadvantages of a sharing economy
- privacy/safety concerns
- no or few guarantees
- relies on cooperation from others
- distorts the market
What is system level innovation?
- A set of actions that shift a system (city, sector or economy) onto a more sustainable path
Why do we need system level innovation?
- We need global solutions to global problems
- Many major systems are under stress due to lack of food, water and housing
- The whole system has to be sustainable to succeed
Give an example of a system level change
- Malcolm McLean created a standard shipping container to make loading and unloading safer and easier for workers
- This is called disruptive innovation, resetting the whole system
what are the 6 steps to significant change
1) experience the need for change
2) diagnose the system problem
3) create a pioneering practise or solution
4) enable the adoption of the practise
5) sustain the transition to this new practise
6) set new rules to mainstream the practise with ISOs
