What happens when a company empowers its associates to think creatively and innovate with a social purpose? You find yourself with a potent strategic framework for solving for some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
Innovation for
Good at
Kohler began in 2011 as an
internal incubator for employees eager to find ways to innovate in response to
global challenges. Today, what started as a grassroots effort has been
formalized into an essential company business unit composed of engineers,
marketers and designers working collectively to find new business opportunities
that not only benefit the bottom line, but also leave the world a better place.
The success of Innovation for Good is in the ideas and passions of Kohler
associates. To further empower associates to share and develop ideas, Kohler
established the Innovation for Good
I-Prize
competition, where employees and/or teams develop products, technologies, and
business models that address a social need. Each team pitches ideas to a panel
of judges in a “Shark Tank”-style competition. Winning ideas get incubation
funding to further develop their concepts with the goal of commercialization.
Since 2018, I-Prize teams have tackled issues from safe water and sanitation to
industrial waste recycling and hygiene. Such themes are driven by the UN's
Sustainability Development
Goals to create the
greatest social impact. As the I-Prize celebrates its fourth year, the focus is
on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, given the urgent need to mitigate the
impacts of climate
change.
Innovation for Good has also delivered products and services that are being
deployed around the world. Four notable outcomes include:
-
Kohler
WasteLAB,
which turns landfill-bound waste into beautiful tiles for the home
-
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Kohler Relief
Trailer,
which provides portable showers to people in crisis — such as in New York
City during COVID-19, and Los Angeles for people experiencing
homelessness
-
Intelligent Power System, which powers water filtration sites with a
combination of solar energy and generator power; it has been used by Water
Mission at a water filtration site in Puerto
Rico following Hurricane Maria and in refugee camps in Uganda
-
Kohler pour-flush
toilet,
which provides a safe latrine option for communities lacking plumbing
infrastructure
Innovation for Good serves as a model for what is possible when you align
business goals with the urgent need to protect our environment and humanity.
This is especially true when you consider Kohler’s commitment to Believing in
Better, which is the company’s strategic lens for making decisions and
developing programs that address some of the world’s greatest challenges. To
learn more about this program, visit Innovation for
Good.
Published Dec 6, 2021 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET
Sponsored Content
/ This article is sponsored by
Kohler.
This article, produced in cooperation with the Sustainable Brands editorial team, has been paid for by one of our sponsors.