The sixth wave of innovation: Green Technology and Sustainability
The 19th MIBAS Debates on CSR discussed the topic of “The sixth wave of innovation: Green Technology and Sustainability” where experts from different fields enlightened guests on the importance of new wave of innovation in our society and on how technological developments can open up a way for a sustainable future. The invited speakers were Janina Schneiker, Senior Consultant Global Incentives Advisory at EY in Berlin, Jan Schubert, Senior Manager Sales & Business Development at Nauticor, Benjamin Fischer, Project Manager for Innovation in the area of innovation and business development of the Investment and Development Bank in Hamburg, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Spaeth, the Chair of Management & Digital Markets at University of Hamburg.
During the debate, one of the key opinions shared was that there is a substantial need for a shift towards more innovative solutions in the field of sustainability. The extensive research that is proceeding on this topic provides knowledge for the enhancement of the implementation process through collaboration between researchers and companies, and open innovation. In addition, the experts talked about the challenges their companies or clients are facing when it comes to incorporating the sustainable technological solutions into practice due to organisational inertias, costs and other possible boundaries. Therefore, some organisations fall behind as it is challenging to catch up with fast-paced technological advancements taking place, especially for the small companies with restricted access to resources encountering fierce competition from large enterprises.
Moreover, the discrepancy between consumer demand for new technologies and input from companies was discussed where participants mentioned the importance of consumers’ adaptability to innovations and companies’ consideration of societal needs. The governments play an essential role here in terms of introducing relevant regulations and enabling funding incentives for accelerating and inducing changes and innovations towards more sustainable operations. This was a concluding point of the discussion. After the debate, guests had a chance to participate in a Q&A session followed by the networking.