“Accelerating innovation for ecological transformation”:

After having discussed the resilience strategies of the territories, the “+1, ecology turned into actions” collective met again on 27 September. Objectives of this 2nd session: to explore the issues of governance and cooperation between stakeholders, to accelerate and amplify the capacity for innovation of companies in the service of ecological transformation; to experiment with new ways of thinking and doing, within a wider ecosystem of actors, to promote the emergence of innovative solutions for the benefit of the greatest number.

More innovation through new forms of cooperation

According to Veolia, ecological innovation must be an innovation of solutions serving the real needs of our societies in order to live harmoniously and sustainably on the planet. It aims to be local, co-developed, economic and technological. Introducing the morning session, Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, recalled that to accelerate action and multiply its impact, it is essential to overcome divisions, thanks to collective intelligence, and to develop common solutions: “It is urgent to build new interfaces and new ways of relating to each other”. To achieve this, cooperation is a necessary means. This is what the “+1” collective proposes to experiment with.
“The ecological transformation requires us to cooperate, to pool our expertise and our energies for the benefit of a positive impact on a large scale”, she explained.

Fanny Demulier, coordinator of Veolia's “Purpose” steering committee, added that the ecological transformation must be based on an ecology at the human level, getting all parties involved: shareholders, suppliers, employees... Because everyone has common interests: to protect the planet while living in a prosperous, harmonious and peaceful environment.

Inventing and deploying frugal innovations

Before leaving for the collective intelligence workshop, the members of the “+1” attended an inspirational keynote on the challenges of innovation with three experts on the subject

Navi Radjou, a French-American researcher specialising in frugal innovation, explained how to create more value with fewer resources. For him, the frugal economy makes it possible to produce better, consume better and live better, while remaining resource-efficient. And it can be based, for example, on open innovation platforms and on a triple regeneration, ecological, territorial and social, which goes beyond sustainable development.

At Veolia, innovation explores both frugal technological solutions and how to accelerate their deployment on a large scale. According to Catherine Ricou, Director of Innovation, the Group is working on transforming its business models with the help of its stakeholders to achieve ever greater collective benefit.
For example, at Lapouyade (France), the Group has identified the interdependencies between local stakeholders and created new alliances: the thermal energy generated by the storage of waste on the site is used to heat tomato production greenhouses, thereby creating 120 jobs.
“Internally, we work in an ecosystem across our seven geographical zones to cross-fertilise all our expertise. Our innovation ecosystems also provide start-ups with free access to resources to help them grow. This external contribution benefits Veolia's teams. »

Emmanuelle Aoustin, member of “+1”, mentor and consultant in regenerative leadership, then presented five transformations of leadership for more innovation: the transformation of human behaviours (identifying human factors in order to overcome them); the transformation of collaboration (ensuring meaning in our actions and in our relationships with others); the transformation of emotions (in order to have the courage to act); the transformation of complexity (relying on cooperation); and the transformation of conscious leadership (changing our values and our relationship with the planet)
“We cannot build tomorrow's world, nor tomorrow's company, without a radical change in leadership and skills”, she insisted.

The members of the collective then reflected on the following questions in working groups: What are the levers to encourage actors to accelerate innovation in ecosystems? What leadership is needed to foster innovation in ecosystems? How can a community of innovation be created at the collective “+1” level? Their contributions will be included in a deliverable that will be posted online shortly.