Making sustainable innovation radical
RADICAL SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION (RSI) is a new “notion” in a world of “sustainable notions” popping up all the time in these years.
RSI is about doing things in:
- sustainable prosperous ways
- technologically appropriate ways
- emotionally enhancing ways
- spiritually respecting ways
- glocally enhancing ways
- eco-economically rewarding ways
- eternally understanding ways
RSI TANKS - THE INTERACTIVE EVENTS
RSIA tanks are events where RSIA present members and guests for inspirational matters, new ideas and insights. Participants will be part of an interactive forum designed as a fusion between a conventional conference, a seminar and a think-tank - a format that is open for things to happen!
In this way, the RSIA tank works as a cross disciplinary lab where people, opinions and ideas are merged into new combinations - all with the goal of making us wiser about how to develop, design and promote RADICAL SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION.
The individuals who will be part of the official “RSIA tank” program will not always deliver a speech, but might be interviewed or take part in a debate. Some will be there live and others will be on-line via Internet. Video and other inspirational materials will also be used in the RSIA tanks.
BURNING POINT STRUCTURE
RSI as a theme in itself is a huge topic. RSI is fundamentally about making a sustainable world for the benefit of everyone living on the planet – and naturally also for the benefit of the planet and its systems.
Being an enormous topic we have simplified things by making a structure with five main categories of “burning points” that RSIA activities evolve around.
RSI BURNING POINTS
- BUSINESS
- DESIGN
- COMMUNICATION & CONSUMERISM
- TECHNOLOGY
- POLITICS
BUSINESS
Business as unusual. Business in totally new ways – we will see the business world changing from being entirely money profit orientated to becoming more concerned about general wellbeing, humans being healthy and living in sustainable ways. Business might very well change to become small again – or operate in smaller entities, just as decentralization is likely to become a hot topic.
In order for organizations to get employees to be part of the needed change it is important that we all understand what it is all about. Making changes and implementing radical sustainable innovation requires creative thinking and doing, such as IBM’s shift from production of material goods to services. Business of tomorrow will look very different.
DESIGN
Design, architecture, art and all other creative disciplines. The so-called “creative class” or “the creatives” has been called the coming upper class of the world. There is no doubt that “the creatives” have enormous influence on what way the wind blows in terms of trends, fashion etc. However radical artists might be, though, everything in today’s world seems to get commercialized – for good and for bad.
Radical and sustainable innovation can’t come from just from the “the creatives”. It has to happen in collaboration with other disciplines as proposed here. RSI is the biggest challenge for the creative industry but it is also where it can really show its creative and original strength in thinking and doing.
“The creatives” need to “mindshift” as well in order to being able to develop the right circumstances for the further development of the creative industry in general.
TECHNOLOGY
In tomorrow’s world we will be dealing with even more technology than we are today. Products and buildings are on their way to become “intelligent” and we will experience marvels we won’t even be able to dream of today.
This is, however, only if technology is used appropriately since disasters can also very well happen. Just imagine nano machines going uncontrolled amok.
New technology is not an end in itself, it is a tool that can improve life on the planet when designed and used right. In this line of thinking RSIA will explore the potentials and relevance of new technology as a basis for sustainable innovation and for re-establishing a constructive and balanced relationship between man, nature AND technology.
COMMUNICATION & CONSUMERISM
As one of the major groups in today’s world the marketers and communicators has made it clear that we can all be inspired, communicated to or maybe manipulated to do literally anything desired. It is therefore of great interest when we today can see the first shifts in how communication is happening that can drive responsible changes in the behaviour of humans on the planet.
It is clear though that the marketing and communication industry with its immense power overall needs to reinvents its way of doing things and develop new RSI concepts.
This can’t happen without collaborating with the rest of the world involved in production, branding, design, business etc. And maybe most importantly consumers should be involved in this process to ground changes within and together with the user reality.
POLITICS
Politics will have to change too – politicians need to “mindshift” or rather reinvent what modern politics is all about.
Radical Sustainable Innovation is needed also in politics or maybe politicians just need more access to knowledge about where it could all go. No one can really predict about the future, but the politicians if anyone really have to – and with a world changing as fast as it does it is extremely important that politics are developed in critical, yet liberal but somehow also “open-minded” controlled ways. There needs to be room for the innovative experimentation, but a responsible and sustainable innovation.