It is too early to say

By Jens Martin Skibsted, Founding Partner, Skibsted Ideation, Denmark

I admire America’s relentless pursuit of the Next Big Thing. Other countries should learn to embrace change the way America does and replicate its innovation capability.

But in the area of sustainability, there isn’t much to admire about the U.S. Despite major initiatives by such companies as Walmart and General Electric, the general picture is bleak. The U.S. is by far the biggest environmental sinner, no matter how environmental impact is measured. And many are concerned that China might become such a sinner too.  

However I believe sustainability requires values such as standardization, slowness and centralization – values closer to Chinese roots. 

Exactly because American companies are so innovative, and intensely competitive they can’t find ways to deal with global challenges. Finding sustainable solutions isn’t about discovering ever-more disruptive ideas. It requires standardization, slowness, and centralization. Many think ‘the more ideas the merrier’. But in this case, the more green solutions we have, the less efficient they each are.

There will be no sustainable consumerism without standardization. Countries and companies need to agree to certain modes of production that allow for recycling and sharing.

Take the beer industry, for example. In many countries, most glass bottles are reused over and over again, this is possible because the big brands have agreed to, or been regulated to stick to a certain size and type of bottle.

Just as America has the worst train and cell-phone systems in the developed world, because such technologies require one shared system, American brands will lose the sustainability battle unless they learn to give up individuality for standards. Chinese governance systems are well designed to create and enforce standards which give Chinese the upper hand in creating a sustainable future.

American consumer brands are notoriously good at spotting a trend and then following it up with a blockbuster product. The time it takes to get most products to market has been significantly reduced over the last decades. But to become sustainable, companies need to take their time and extend their products’ life cycle.

Well-designed products simply last longer! There is a lot to be gained by developing a product line that’s less R&D intensive and that can be optimized, reused, and even shared. The Volkswagen Beetle is an excellent example of a product that has endured because it was well made to start with. An entire customization and repair industry grew up around that car, and Zipcar now uses the new Beetle as part of its fleet. Such sharing models could be promoted in countries with collectivist values like China.

"It is too early to say" said Zhou Enlai, when asked for his assessment of the French Revolution. Such slowness might be what China has in its favor to tackle the daunting task of sustaining consumption by making it sustainable.

*Jens Martin Skibsted is Founding Partner, Skibsted Ideation, Denmark and is attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions held in Dalian, China 14-16 September 2011.