Authors:
Rubio Nicolas Gonzalez.
Junior consultant in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Braulio Berrocal Hoyos.
Junior consultant in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Daniel Peinado Muñoz.
Junior consultant in innovation and entrepreneurship.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-peinado-a62561209/
Coautor: Arturo Jiménez Dávila.
CEO Pivvot Consulting.
In the last decades, we have been talking and deepening in some new environmental concepts, such as recycling, the use of renewable energies, new forms of transportation, among others. These new ideas are knocking on the door to enter a greener, more sustainable world, with more hope and quality of life for future generations, which, if we continue with a consumerist and careless mentality, will end up eliminating its habitat.
Many consider that we must live only with our feet in the present, however, futurism teaches us that it is very possible to experience scenarios, feel and feel them, without the need to live them in the present, therefore changing the habits of mass consumption will allow us to enjoy better futures that will not affect our basic human needs.
World leaders are developing policies for environmental protection and sustainability and this is driving new trends. But not only governments, many companies have changed their purpose towards innovations in products and services in line with the new global perspectives, the main actors of the economies are doing their part to contribute to the development of a new world.
However, there are many who do not reach the desired level of awareness, and are still thinking and acting with harmful habits, it is clear that it is a free world to decide our own future, but it is also logical to think that we will not have a future if we destroy our planet with so much pollution, waste, soil exploitation, among others. That is why today we begin a series of articles related to Sustainability focusing on the following trends:
What technology is being most adopted to transform our productive apparatus?
What are the innovations in sustainability to change the interaction of humans with the environment?
Can micro-mobility work to lessen the impact of climate change?
What are we doing to improve our industries?
Can business models impact the environment?
How are carbon emissions doing and what solutions are on the horizon?
1. The Circular Economy, Innovations that will enable sustainable development of cities.
Which trend is being most adopted to transform our productive apparatus?
The circular economy proposes new ways of developing products and services, an option to protect the environment from so many harmful residues or wastes that generate pollution. The linear method of resource extraction and waste generation is alarming and unsustainable. With the circular economy, using different innovations we can make changes in manufacturing processes, developing circular flows, where waste is considered as a resource again and can be reused in something different or in the same process.
Innovation is a creative way of responding to change, it is about creating new value along the different characteristics of a business, such as its target market, its value offer, its distribution channels, its technologies or its business models. Innovation can be part of your company's mindset, if a company has this mindset you need a team that is always willing to improve and has a growth mindset.
It is essential to start developing products and services from a circular perspective and innovation brings us closer every day to this new reality, where we can help save the planet with small or big changes such as making products that can be recycled, reused, reduced, repaired for example.
The circular economy and innovation challenges the current ecological challenges and aims to provide solutions that contribute to change, however, it is necessary that people understand these changes and put them in place to generate a global change of mentality in society that allows sustainable development of companies and cities.
2. Innovations in the Environment.
What are the innovations in sustainability that will change the interaction of humans with the environment?
We call environment the space where living beings, non-living beings and those artificially created by people interact. In this environment a set of social, natural and cultural values are developed, influencing in a significant way the surrounding elements. A very important aspect is the care and preservation of this environment, many make alterations or modifications to it and believe that there will be no consequences, the truth is that we must be aware of what we have and that if we continue to affect it so abruptly, we are polluting all the elements of the planet. For example, the air is affected by so many emissions of polluting gases, emitted by industries and automobiles; the water, by waste thrown into the seas and oceans; the soil, by the different exploitations of natural resources and so there are many more cases of contamination that sometimes we do not even know about.
Currently, the concern for these practices has intensified and many have changed the perspective with which they develop their products and services, seeking to change the mentality of all and make less polluting practices. There are many people and companies that are changing the mentality and that is why they are opting for more renewable energy, for recycling, they are also building more sustainable products, as in the case of Tesla, a company that makes electric cars, today many companies in the sector want to follow these initiatives.
We believe that the environment can be helped through these new practices, it is necessary that we all make a contribution, something like putting the garbage according to color, use elements that can be reused, use new technologies, more friendly transport, among others, we are sure that the planet will take a breath and will thank us. Many companies and industries are making their contributions, the so-called circular economy intervenes, which allows linking technologies (Internet of Things, IoT, etc.), in the creation of new products that are more environmentally friendly.
Innovations range from reducing waste to completely changing a product so that it has a positive impact on the environment, products such as those manufactured to use electric energy, the shift from cars to motorized vehicles that allow a reduction of CO2 and traffic in cities. We want a more sustainable world and that is why circular economy flows allow a new way to remanufacture, reuse, recycle products, so that they can be put to a new use.
Learn more about innovation
3. Sustainability and micro-mobility
Can micro-mobility work to reduce the impact of climate change?
In recent years, consumers across industries have shown that they prefer products that are sustainable. They want companies to use recyclable materials, move away from fossil fuels and evaluate their process as stewards of the resources they use in their daily lives. More and more companies are committing to reducing their environmental footprint. One example is Microsoft, which has committed to becoming one of the world's carbon-negative companies in 10 years.
Micromobility is a technology with great transformative potential in our society, a trend that will continue to be heard much more in the future. The innovations of projects and businesses in the market is relatively new in terms of micromobility, an innovative step in which it seeks to solve the use of private vehicles such as traditional cars and personal use with different means of transport such as electric scooters that serve to move easily without worrying about the problems that occur with the car and its use is very practical that in minutes the user will feel comfortable with its use.
Also the micro mobility is in a sustainable way, a sustainable micro mobility allows to dissociate from the daily use of the traditional automobile for short journeys of less than a mile, by means of scooters. Micromobility is an alternative to traditional means of transportation, more and more cities are growing so it is even more convenient to develop these types of projects for the future of our cities.
Cities such as Bogota lead the micro-mobility panorama in Colombian cities, competing with Bucaramanga and Medellin, since these cities also have an important factor in micro-mobility, which is the road systems where these means of personal transportation can be used, Other cities such as Barranquilla are developing micromobility and with the passage of time the city will require this type of transportation because otherwise the time will come when mobility will be very difficult as in Bogota.
Learn more about sustainability and micromobility
4. Circular economy supporting business development.
What are we doing to improve our industries?
The circular economy is an economic system based on eliminating waste and the continuous use of resources. It employs reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to minimize resource use and create the least amount of waste and pollution. The idea is to keep products, infrastructure and equipment in use as long as possible, convert waste into new inputs, give it a second chance to generate another process or products, there are new ideas to reuse many products, for example, compost, clothing made from recycled plastic, others take the plastic to make crafts, among other examples. It is clear that this model is quite the opposite of the traditional one, which was only based on taking the raw material, manufacturing a product and disposing of it.
This economy aims at the autonomy and sustainability of societies, in tune with environmental resources. It should be noted that it is not only an economy that seeks to curb the ecological impact and waste of resources. It also aims to develop new products and services, seeking sustainable management of raw materials and energy sources to optimize resources and waste. It is designed on the basis of economic, social and environmental issues and seeks to defend 7 fundamental aspects or principles: eco-design, responsible consumption, industrial and territorial ecology, sustainable procurement, extension of useful life, economy of functionality, improvement of waste prevention, management and recycling.
5. Sustainable business models.
Can business models impact the environment?
In the innovative business model for sustainability there are changes in social and environmental impacts. To create a more sustainable world that can thrive over time, sustainable business models that are environmentally sensitive are needed.
For sustainable businesses to generate great impact we must develop them in a way that is scalable, they must be reproduced and expanded to other markets or territories in order to grow and be able to have a relevant impact.
These business models that have chosen to achieve these sustainability objectives have decided to take this alternative concept of sustainable business model because it has provided a competitive advantage to organizations by empowering traditional business models that meet sustainable development challenges while maintaining profitability and productivity.
Some of the sustainable business models:
Mobility as a service.
Smart delivery
Micromobility
Shared mobility
Electric mobility
Learn more about sustainable business models
6. Automobile emissions in some Colombian cities.
How are carbon emissions going and what solutions are foreseen?
It is common for people to wonder how polluting cars are in our cities. Emissions in cars are given by the exhaust pipe which is the product of burning fuel, these include gasoline, gas and diesel among others. They produce pollutants such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.
A point to clarify is that it should be noted that depending on the type of car and the engine varies depending on the horsepower, the components with which they were built and the brand in how to manufacture the car influence CO2 emissions and the types of emissions they expel into the environment.
In the case of automobiles, "private cars emit a little more than 90% of CO, 78% of hydrocarbons, 41% of NOx and 52% of CO2 of all automobiles (OECD, 1996)".
Semana magazine tells us that there were a total of 3.5 million vehicles in 2020.
Best-selling cars in 2020
Renault. sales 39,864.
Chevrolet. sales 33,790.
Mazda. sales 16,092.
Kia. sales 12,493.
Toyota. sales 12,471.
Volkswagen. sales 9,600.
Suzuki. sales 7,696.
For a more sustainable environment we must begin to question all the aspects discussed above and reflect on a future in our city that we find so green. Encourage, support and develop innovative ways today to generate change and have a better city where we feel good about the environment in a sustainable way. Currently innovative projects that are already being developed in a sustainable way, preserving the environment, complying with biosafety measures and people like us help to improve the current situation in which we find ourselves generating a change in the future that is beneficial for everyone.
Many countries are driving innovation in everything related to sustainable economic growth and development. That is why the scientific community has generated an impact on the industrial activity of these processes called "New Technologies". New technologies are a preventive business strategy, applied to products and services to help reduce the negative effects caused by industry on the environment.
It has long been said that new technologies are bringing with them opportunities to create the foundations for a new world. Today we can find electric cars, houses and buildings supported by renewable energies such as solar panels, mass transportation, people are recycling and reusing, to make their contribution to society and the environment. There are also initiatives to use bicycles or scooters to reduce the carbon footprint, among others. All are very good advances in society, however, there are still many thinking in the same strategies of the last century. For example, Colombia is a country deeply rooted in oil, it should be noted that it depends heavily on it, however, we are a developing country, which at this time we can decide which way to go, and at this point we realize that there are very good innovations and technological advances that solve our lives, but there is still much to learn and develop and much more in a country that is just taking its first steps towards a circular economy. We can believe that we are making good efforts but we should not stop there, there is much more to do in our country and the world, the question is where you want to start, and what to do to put an additional grain of sand to the various global initiatives to protect the environment and our planet in general.
It is very important to believe that we can achieve great things, a lifetime of seeing destruction and now the world is asking us to act in its favor, we must understand that we do not live on the planet, no. The reality is that we are part of this planet. The reality is that we are part of it and therefore whatever happens on it, good or bad will be returned to us in the same way, but with much more force, a tsunami, earthquakes, avalanches, a virus, perhaps, the idea is to reflect that we have to face this challenge and link us to the solution, any change you make to improve yourself and your environment, will have its benefits.
Learn more about car emissions in Colombian cities
Bibliography:
Business Development Company. (n.d.). What is innovation? Building a more creative business. Business Development Company. https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/business-strategy-planning/innovate/what-is-innovation
Responsabilidad Social Empresarial y Sustentabilidad. (n.d.). Medio ambiente: qué es, definición, características, cuidado y carteles. responsabilidadsocial. https://www.responsabilidadsocial.net/medio-ambiente-que-es-definicion-caracteristicas-cuidado-y-carteles/#:~:text=El%20medio%20ambiente%20es%20un,un%20lugar%20y%20momento%20determinado
Stenberg, A. (n.d.). What does Innovation mean - a term without a clear definition. Diva Portal. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1064843/FULLTEXT01.pdf
"Medio ambiente". Autor: María Estela Raffino. De: Argentina. Para: Concepto.de. Disponible en: https://concepto.de/medio-ambiente/. Última edición: 4 de noviembre de 2020. Consultado: 24 de mayo de 2021.
Wikipedia. (2021, Mayo 20). Tesla, Inc. wikipedia. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.
Scheel, Rebecca. “Council Post: Sustainability In 2021: Everything Companies Should Know.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 3 Feb. 2021, ww.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/02/04/sustainability-in-2021-everything-companies-should-know/?sh=7cb38f03208c.
“Sustainability.” Sustainability | February-2 2021 - Browse Articles, www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4.
“Sustainability Article Round-up: February 2021.” IPIECA, 25 Feb. 2021, www.ipieca.org/news/sustainability-article-round-up-february-2021/.
Parsons, Sarah. “The Great Reset: 7 Environment and Sustainability Stories to Watch in 2021.” World Resources Institute, 15 Jan. 2021, www.wri.org/insights/great-reset-7-environment-and-sustainability-stories-watch-2021.
“Sustainability Trends That Will Change 2021.” Pebble Magazine, pebblemag.com/magazine/doing/sustainability-trends-that-will-change-2021-and-beyond.
Wikipedia. (2021, Mayo 24). Circular economy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_economy
-, Por Marc Fernández, et al. “Modelos De Negocio Sostenibles: Creando Valor Social y Ambiental Por @Marcferni.” Todostartups, 30 July 2014, www.todostartups.com/bloggers/modelos-de-negocio-sostenibles-creando-valor-social-y-ambiental-por-marcferni.
Agora. “20 Modelos De Negocio Innovadores Para La Sostenibilidad: Agora: Inteligencia Colectiva Para La Sostenibilidad.” Agora, 20 Jan. 2015, www.agorarsc.org/20-modelos-de-negocio-innovadores-para-la-sostenibilidad/.
Molero, Pilar Alcázar. “Más De 30 Oportunidades Para Emprender En Negocios Sostenibles.” Emprendedores.es, 1 Dec. 2020, www.emprendedores.es/ideas-de-negocio/emprender-negocios-sostenibles/.