Going green is within every firm's reach

Against the backdrop of the CBI’s Achieving net zero conference, innovative businesses came together for the CBI’s first Be More Green workshop to launch the Be More Green toolkit and discuss highlights and challenges of innovating for sustainability.

Discover the four key takeaways from the discussion in the room. 

1. Innovation doesn’t always mean new

We need to create products that last, and then inspire consumers to choose these products. Design Council’s Chief Executive, Minnie Moll underlined that 80% of the environmental impact of a product is determined at the design stage. Innovation is often driven by ‘newer’ and ‘faster’ but the need for sustainability means our focus must shift to making products that last. In the room the argument was made that to do this, we need to adopt a nineteenth-century mindset to twenty-first-century problems. Businesses and consumers will need to rethink the notion of value; something might cost more but last significantly longer.

Businesses have a key role to play, not only in delivering these products but in communicating this value to consumers and helping them to make these greener choices. Businesses in the room agreed that it was not solely up to government role to popularise net zero, businesses can help too through the products and services we create.

2. Partnerships are crucial to the innovation process; shared problems will need shared solutions

Several businesses told us quite simply that green innovation cannot be delivered without partnerships. These partnerships take many forms depending on the problem, and the skills, facilities and/or ideas needed to solve it. They could involve your supply chain, other businesses, innovative SMEs, academic partners, and even those outside your sector.

Two examples we heard:

• One business is using expertise across their supply chain to make their manufacturing as green as possible: working with a larger partner to electrify their operations, wind power providers to supply the electricity required, another partner to provide chips, and even with mining companies to ensure the materials for the chips are sourced as cleanly as possible
• Another business talked about the power of partnerships at their battery facility: powering site transport powered with green hydrogen, trade going entirely through the local port, and establishing onsite education and data centres powered by solar and wind. Innovating in this green way has resulted in a clean cluster for the local community, with thousands of jobs and a community of people, partners, and suppliers around it.

Read more about Be More Green partnerships.

3. We need a systems approach to innovation

The systems businesses operate in are complex and interconnected. No one person or organisation alone can affect change throughout the system, and it is hard to predict the impact of interventions. For example, which is more sustainable? A fillet steak from a local butcher or coconut milk from Fiji? Truly green innovation needs us to look at the whole life cycle of products and processes.

Businesses need to work in partnership and look at their position in the ecosystem, looking beyond individual technologies. The room resolved that two of our biggest challenges – achieving a circular economy and climate resilience – are systems level challenges that cannot be solved in silo.

One technological solution that was discussed was digital twins as they allow businesses to model systems and the impact of interventions on them. But even most digital twins focus on single elements of broader systems, prompting suggestions of connected digital twins or even a federation of digital twins.

4. Businesses are already taking massive steps in their green innovation journeys

Across the session, businesses shared their exciting green innovation stories.

CGI’s Chief Sustainability Officer Mattie Yeta laid out the imperative for innovation in the software sector, as software will be responsible for 14% of global emissions by 2040.  CGI is working to produce sustainable IT and use IT for sustainability: using cloud technology to drive efficiency in their own organisation, and promoting the circular economy and green solutions for their clients.

We also heard from a global innovator reduced their carbon emissions by 58% between 2014 and 2022 – often through the deployment of their own technologies in their business. They also discussed the importance of living labs that have helped start-ups they have partnered with to demonstrate technologies in a real-world environment, including to potential investors.

We heard from a technology company leveraging geothermal energy from local woods to heat their campuses, and using excess heat from data centres to heat local cities, as well as a chemicals business using AI and drones to pre-emptively protect crops from , ultimately reducing the number of chemical treatments needed in the longer term. And finally, a software SME working to kickstart business’ net zero journeys by using site-specific data to identify the best approaches for onsite renewable electricity generation.

Check out the full Be More Green toolkit, and discover the business stories to find more inspiration for your own journey.

Get involved

The CBI will be hosting a series of roundtables in the autumn to explore the themes that came out of this initial discussion, further. Email Charlotte to get your invite.