Sustainable Brands 2015: Three Key Takeaways

Last April, the premier global community of brand innovators, Sustainable Brands, organized its first live event in Spain, Barcelona. During a two-day conference international and national brands came together to share their challenges and successes in the journey towards delivering deeper customer value through sustainability. In case you were not able to attend the conference, here are our three key takeaways.

24 Ways to X-ray Your Customers in a Sustainable Fashion

Many companies around the globe are gradually evolving from CSR centered around communication and philanthropy towards a form of business integrated sustainability. As a result, more and more companies are making an effort to capture the hidden market opportunities in this new vicinity. Unfortunately, the opportunities do not present themselves that readily. Moreover, many organizations are using old maps to find new land by applying traditional market research methods that fail to focus on uncovering the correct sustainability drivers. But how can companies better research and unlock the innovation potential from material issues?

Sustainable Brands Live Event 2015 Barcelona, Spain

On 27 and 28 April Sustainable Brands organizes its live event in Europe's most innovative city, Barcelona. Successful brands are expected to deliver deeper customer value. Through better business models, smarter product design and the engagement of stakeholders in partnership, businesses will build on the better world of tomorrow. During the two-day congres, participants will collaborate on the theme of redesigning business success from sustainability. Leading brand innovators from all over the world are presented to share their knowledge and experiences.

3 Solutions to Tackle the Plastic Soup

Over the years the global community has spent more time admiring and talking about the great plastic waste problem than finding a solution. Luckily, a number of organizations has started to take matters in their own hands. They engage the right stakeholders, create a solution to address the problem and make a profit along the way, by re-engineering their business model and sustainable innovation.

How Leading Chemicals Companies Surpass Their Competition

For the case studies we wrote for IMD business school on Royal DSM, and the forthcoming case on Novozymes for INSEAD, Finch & Beak did a deep dive in the sustainability performance within of the chemicals sector. This has taught us that at least a few chemical companies are among the global community of corporate sustainability front runners, which sparked the question: what is the status of sustainability in the rest of the industry?

Umicore: the World’s Most Sustainable Company

The Canadian research institute Corporate Knights has named Umicore as the world’s most sustainable company. This is quite a feat, as Umicore used to have a rather unpopular image of a polluting company. With revenues of about €12.5 billion (2012), 14,600 employees, 77 industrial sites and 15 R&D centres in 34 countries, there is no doubt that Umicore is doing well. But what is the key to Umicore’s success and how did sustainable change led to value creation?

How to Build Strategic Partnerships in the Value Chain

Responsible purchasing is an increasingly important part of supply chain management. Suppliers are analyzed on different environmental and social aspects, for example on labor conditions or the prevention of hazardous waste. By acting upon the results and making strategic partnerships within the value chain, companies can realize social, environmental, and even monetary benefits.

Van Gansewinkel Group Adopts Cradle to Cradle

Van Gansewinkel group has decided to join forces with the German EPEA from Michael Braungart, co-author of the book Cradle to Cradle. The purpose of the agreement is to spread the Cradle to Cradle principle in the Benelux, to use each other’s specific knowledge and to share this with third parties. The core of Cradle to Cradle lies in the concept ‘Waste = food’: all used materials should after their lives in one product become useful in another product. In the vision of Braungart materials should not contain ingredient that harm either the health of people or the environment.