Innovate or Die: The Next Big Trend in Sustainability

Innovative approaches to sustainability are rapidly becoming the next frontier of corporate differentiation. Being more innovative is not only essential to improve the bottom line, it is also a pathway to growth.

The combination of rapid technological change and slow economic growth are driving innovation. At the macroeconomic level innovation is essential to profitability and economic growth, at the level of the individual organization, innovation is increasingly a key success factor.

Examples of Renewable Energy Innovations in 2013

Renewable energy is one of the fastest growing and most interesting areas of innovation. The number of patents issued for renewable-energy technologies has risen sharply over the last decade. The number and size of investments in research and development, as well as in the growth of markets for these products is driving innovation. Here are some examples of renewable energy innovation from 2013.

Pyroelectricity

A new type of electronic circuit was developed in 2013 that may help to improve the performance of solar panels. Typically cooler, slower, mellower electrons don't have enough energy to produce a usable electric current. Ultrasolar has developed an electronic circuit (ideally built into an inverter) that passes a very high frequency signal backwards through the DC wires into the solar module and cells. The slower electrons catch these waves and are turned into hot and fast electrons for long enough to escape the crystal matrix and generate a useful current. This could lead to inverter efficiencies of over 100 percent.

Event - INNOVA-CON 2014 Conference

INNOVA-CON 2014 will take place on January 14-15, 2014 in Brooklyn, New York. The first conference by the International Association of Innovation Professionals (IAOIP) featuring world-class innovation experts. The INNOVA-CON is a great opportunity to meet in person and connect with luminaries in the innovation profession. Content will focus on how to use strategies and methods of innovation to create value.

IAOIP is a professional membership organization that is the world's only independent innovation certification body, providing members with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to deliver real change in their industry or field.

Event - Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Celebration

This event will take place on Friday, November 15, 2013 at
IAC HQ, 555 West 18th Street, NYC. Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Celebration in New York City will honor C2C leaders and present the winners of the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the Schmidt Family Foundation and the Dutch Postcode Lottery, with a shared cash prize of $250,000.
Aveda, Method, PUMA, Shaw, Steelcase among Innovators to be Honored.

Across the globe more than 200 companies are transforming product design and leading a new, green industrial revolution. Come see their product innovations first hand.

Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2C) is celebrating manufacturers of everything from clothing and furniture to carpets and cleaning products who have committed to “remake the way they make things” - transforming product design and leading a new industrial revolution. Following the lead of the green building industry, manufacturers from fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle brands are striving to make every product that touches our lives adhere to the highest standards of environmental and human safety.

Innovation is Key for Sustainability: Best Companies are Getting Better According to Tomorrow’s Value Rating 2013

Sustainability strategy company Two Tomorrows', tenth Tomorrow’s Value Rating 2013 (TVR), shows that the best companies are getting better. The rankings recognize companies that increasingly demonstrate “clarity of vision and innovation in their pursuit of a sustainable business model,” that is likely to likely to drive sustainable value in the future. This rating assesses the performance of the 50 companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).

In order of their performance here are the top ten.

Event - Nexus Conference: Innovative and Sustainable Solutions

The Nexus Conference, will take place March 4-7, 2014, in Chapel Hill, NC, USA. This event will bring together leaders in business, government, NGOs and research to discuss innovative and sustainable solutions that address the intersection of the world’s water, food, and energy needs and uses in a changing climate. The Nexus approach requires systemic thinking and a quest for integrated solutions to guide our decision-making about resource use and development and move to a more sustainable planet.

Event - Innovations in Technical Education to Advance Sustainability: Student Leadership

Innovations in Technical Education to Advance Sustainability: Student Leadership will take place on June 6-8, 2013 at Alfred State SUNY College of Technology, NY. The conference, with its unique focus on technical education, is an excellent opportunity to connect and build working relationships with a diverse range of education and sustainability professionals. This year's conference will feature keynote presentations from Leith Sharp, a campus sustainability pioneer who was the founding director of Harvard’s Office for Sustainability and who served as Executive Director of the Illinois Green Economy Network, and Roger Ebbage,Executive Director of the Association of Community College Energy and Water Educators and Energy Management Program Coordinator at Lane Community College.