Next-generation strategy consultancy, Re_Set, a leader in disruption, innovation and sustainability, has outlined five core areas for business innovation and growth for 2022, citing evidence from its global innovation intelligence platform, Springwise, that disruption will not only accelerate in the year ahead but will be key in motivating businesses to innovate at pace.
“While accelerated disruption in an era of rising inflation can create high risk for companies, it also creates new opportunities for innovation to drive growth for the benefit for all” says James Bidwell, co-founder of B Corps, Re_Set and Springwise and author of Disrupt: 100 Lessons in Business Innovation. “The most forward-thinking businesses have avoided pandemic paralysis by embracing change and new thinking, while other less agile and more reactive operations have suffered the polar opposite”.
The success of many of these businesses is founded in workplaces being reimagined, the simplification of supply chains and leadership teams seeing the need to go beyond just “do no harm” thinking and instead make a positive impact by harnessing regenerative business models that will make up the emerging transition economy. In this new world, targets, such as the now near-ubiquitous “net zero”, are replaced by action.
“All of this reflects the growth ahead of conscious consumption,” maintains Bidwell. “Successful businesses will be the ones with an approach that reflects the narrowing gap between consumers’ past intentions and selective decision making; a future where the most successful organisations will take a more holistic approach across the business model to deliver both value and positive change to their stakeholders – from investors to staff and customers alike.”
Bidwell adds: “Critical to the future will be to leverage innovation and covid-learned agility in navigating disruption to address the existential threats of Climate Change and build a more sustainable and long-term path. The most enlightened leadership teams are already working towards these goals as we enter 2022.”
As business takes its first steps into the new year, Re_Set, powered by Springwise intelligence, shares five core areas of innovation and growth to help companies thrive in disrupted times, spotlighting start-ups and entrepreneurs from across the globe who are already seizing the opportunities.
Five core areas for innovation and growth for business in 2022
- The workplace reimagined
Companies must work even harder to attract and retain talent, by rethinking everything from employee health and wellness, the physical workplace, to what your business actually means by ‘work-life balance’.
The innovations:
- Israeli start-up Retrain.ai helps business predict future skills gaps. An artificial intelligence-powered platform, retrain.ai identifies the skills a business needs to meet future industry demands. By analysing the skill set of current employees, the platform can map the knowledge, personal attributes, and qualifications currently available to the company. With that data, a business can better understand where gaps in expertise may lie as well as indicate employees who could be good matches for lateral, as well as vertical, promotions internally.
- In the US, an adjustable smart desk monitors air quality and sitting time. Smart One designs by Aitdesks monitors how long a worker has spent in one place and indicates when it’s time to get up and stretch their legs. It also has a carbon monoxide alarm and provides data about the room’s air quality – letting users know when it’s time to let in some fresh air.
- Conscious consumption
The days of consumers being motivated only by price could be ending. At Re_Set, we are increasingly hearing about the narrowing gap between consumer actions and intentions – it’s clear that consumers care about sustainability issues more than ever. As consumers become more willing to put their money where their mouth is, leaders in 2022 will need to better understand consumer needs and expectations, involving them in shaping products and services to meet these needs and demonstrate their ‘ESG’ credentials with measurable action.
The innovations:
- A UK activist investment platform gives consumers a voice to push major companies for positive change. Users can buy shares in Coca-Cola, Apple, and Amazon from Tulipshare, which the platform will then combine until it reaches the level required to gain voting rights as company shareholder (the equivalent of around €21,000 of equity in the US). The platform hopes it can use the collective voice of its investors to push on ESG topics.
- In France, a tool enables companies to obtain a score measuring their environmental impact to help consumers become fully aware of the role of their lifestyle and purchases. Zei’s scoring considers environmental, social and governance criteria. The platform offers consumers eco-responsible alternatives in many areas, including food, lifestyle and wellbeing, fashion, energy, transport, and housing. Meanwhile businesses are offered a catalogue of more than 800 innovations and alternatives, from green electricity suppliers to waste recycling providers, all to boost their score.
- Simplified supply chains
Post-pandemic and with increased global economic instability, can businesses continue to absorb lost revenue that comes from a supply chain stuck in the past? Smart leaders are already looking at ways that technology will help simplify supply chains in 2022.
The innovations:
- In Singapore, a logistics start-up is using AI-powered predictive analysis to save retailers money by shortening trips and reducing emissions. Portcast gathers shipping data from numerous sources to track cargo movements, disruptive wind and weather elements and pandemic-related issues to predict where shipments might encounter difficulties. The company claims it can track more than 90 per cent of the world’s ocean trade, 35 per cent of air cargo and can forecast demand for 30,000 global trade routes.
- Berlin-based software company Choco, aims to reduce food waste by digitising the food supply chain. Used by restaurants and their suppliers, orders and chats with suppliers are compiled in one single app. Orders are then converted into the supplier’s format of choice – email, WhatsApp, text, fax, and direct ERP integration. The system enables operators to adapt to changing market conditions with greater efficiency around procurement processes, as well as reducing expenses.
- The transition economy
Now that 90 per cent of GDP is covered by net zero targets, leaders’ focus must shift to building great net-zero businesses. As the technology becomes increasingly available to support a net zero transition, leaders in 2022 will be judged by their actions to turn targets into outcomes.
The innovations:
- India’s Cochin International Airport now produces more energy than it uses. Thanks to the installation of two additional solar plants, the airport complex produces 40 megawatts per day. Completely run by sustainable energy, the airport complex includes a golf course and exhibition centre. The golf course contains 12 lakes and uses treated sewage from the airport for irrigation water. Two of the lakes are now home to 1300 photovoltaic panels that cover an area equivalent to one acre. The installation of the floating solar farms adds a further 452 kilowatt-hours to the airport’s energy production capacity. Both sets of floating panels are connected to the Kerala State Electricity Board power grid.
- Denmark is building the world’s first ‘energy island’, an artificial landmass designed to hold wind turbines that will produce enough energy to power three million European households. The result, due to be ready in 2033, will be a 30-acre artificial island in the North Sea that will accommodate a huge expansion in wind production.
- Regenerative business
No longer just an add on, the business case for sustainability is clear. However, for 2022, leaders will need to go beyond ‘do no harm’, to thinking about how to have a positive impact and create regenerative business models. Forward-looking businesses will need to embed sustainability into every part of their business – and quickly.
The innovations:
- A new platform helps all types of food businesses, including manufacturers and restaurants, accurately track and improve their carbon usage. Foodsteps is designed to help food manufacturers and restaurants understand the environmental impact of food products, set recommendations for improvements, and generate progress reports. Businesses can also download carbon labels directly from the Foodsteps platform to use on product packaging, menus, and apps.
- A wooden cargo ship that uses both solar-generated electric power and traditional sails displays a more sustainable future for shipping. Today, just 15 traditional cargo ships emit sulphur dioxide emissions equivalent to every car in the world combined. Currently a proof of concept, Sailcargo’s Ceiba is powered by renewable energy sources, including sun, electricity, and wind. And while the ship is built of wood, Sailcargo plants more trees than it chops down, making the project carbon-negative overall. www.thisisreset.com
Notes to Editors
James Bidwell is author of Disrupt! 100 Lessons in Business Innovation and is co-founder of two B Corps, strategic consultancy, Re_Set, specialising in Disruption, Sustainability and Innovation and Springwise, the global innovation intelligence platform. James is also a UK B Corp ambassador. He can be contacted at James@thisisreset.com.
About Re_Set
Re_Set is a leading next generation strategy consultancy for disruption, innovation and sustainability, whose mission is to ensure its clients thrive in a disrupted world. The consultancy specialises in understanding what’s next and how to make change happen at pace with a positive, sustainable impact. Re_Set is a certified B Corporation, part of a growing community of businesses committed to redefining the role of business in society as a force for good. Re_Set is also a member of 1% for the Planet, connecting it with some of the most environmentally concerned organisations in the world. www.thisisreset.com
About Springwise
Spingwise is the global innovation intelligence platform for positive and sustainable change, providing foresight into the most innovative thinking and ideas on the planet since 2022. Access to its daily innovations and extensive database of more than 11,000 solutions, is free via the website, app, daily and weekly email newsletters. Springwise is also a Certified B Corporation and member of 1% For the Planet. www.springwise.com
For further media information contact Emily Owen: emily@thisisreset.com or 07753 911 377.
