How to enable market acceleration? Expand 1. Create catalysing platforms & intermediaries Convene a wide spread of organisations, including unusual players, in order to mobilise capabilities and resources to address barriers to scale and ensure a flow of new solutions.In practice: Nike created LAUNCH, a partnership with NASA, USAID and the US State Department, to accelerate innovation in the materials industry. They found that there wasn’t a pipeline of more sustainable materials, so they brought organisations with a shared challenge together to share knowledge and resources. 2. Advocate an enabling context A policy can be a key barrier, therefore a change in policy can really enable activity. Work with policymakers and other stakeholders to build influence and address regulatory barriers.In practice: Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves aims for universal adoption of clean stoves and fuels. They raise awareness and support from policymakers, donors and private, public and non-profit stakeholders. This range of activity can be prohibitively expensive for one stakeholder to tackle, best undertaken collaboratively.
How to generate new solutions? Expand 3. Drive product and service innovation Find, develop or create new innovations for the current market that better meet consumer needs whilst also addressing sustainable development challenges– have something worth scaling.In practice: Avis, a global car rental provider, found an innovation in ZipCar, a car sharing enterprise. Their reach and reputation helped scale this new service model for car hire and encouraged users to see the benefit in a shift from car ownership to car sharing 4. Create standards and ratings Ensure quality by establishing a ratings scheme or similar to promote continual improvement of standards across the market. Encourage a level playing field and reward high performance through competition.In practice: Unilever and WWF created the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard for sustainably sourced fish, co-developed with the fishing industry, scientists and conservation groups. Numerous case studies highlight beneficial commercial and environmental impact.
How to demonstrate scale and viability of the market? Expand 5. Develop business models for replication Develop a business model that others can adapt or replicate, which matches the consumer need with the social or environmental need and leads to impact as well as market growth.In practice: Unilever reduced the unit cost of its Lifebuoy programme to enable wider roll-out and reach. Lifebuoy offers affordable, accessible soaps to help communities around the world improve hygiene through handwashing. 6. Increase access to solutions Exploit existing infrastructure, or develop new access. Depending on the challenge this might be anything from distribution networks, physical infrastructure or increased availability of data.In practice: Nike created the MAKERS App, originally powered by the Nike Materials Sustainability Index. The app gives designers consistent information about raw materials to enable informed decision making with environmental impact in mind. 7. Reshape supply Analyse your supply chain and identify leverage points for better performance. Build capacity to meet anticipated demand through partnerships with organisations, such as local government, industry bodies or educational institutions.In practice: Cotton Connect creates more sustainable cotton supply chains by examining business models in the global supply chain and providing information, risk capital and training to suppliers in the developing world. 8. Create end-user demand Encourage consumer, customer and competitor demand through promotion or by identifying the behaviour change required and by working with enablers such as brands, marketing and partners.In practice: Levi Strauss created a pilot product, Water<Less Jeans, and stimulated market demand through a marketing campaign which looked at the full product life cycle, including the responsibility of the consumer. More than 13 million products have been sold to date.