Innovations can help to provide the tools and solutions required to transition to a carbon-neutral future, addressing the urgency of the climate crisis and promoting a more sustainable and resilient world. The best innovations are often the result of collaboration where diverse expertise, sharing resources, accelerating progress, and mitigating risks are leveraged.
A future innovation can come from anywhere
“Innovations that change the future aren’t created only in startups. Nor do age and job title have anything to do with the creation of something new. Innovation happens best when different actors come together, because it’s from these encounters that growth of ingenuity and courage are created,” says Timo Tiainen, Head of Ideation and Incubation at Fortum.
Fortum’s culture of Open Innovation is at the foundation of what Fortum does. It starts with the premise that a good idea can come from anywhere. Sharing ideas and thoughts generates new ways of seeing and doing things, and that’s why it’s worth doing.
“I believe it’s worth involving everyone, both within the company and more broadly between companies. Inclusive working and diversity are powerful ways of generating new innovations and thereby creating the future,” says Tiainen.
Fortum Boot Camp, for example, is an annual event that gives all employees the opportunity to create something new. Participants receive support from top experts to refine their own ideas. This autumn, four teams at Fortum have been working on their ideas, which will eventually be presented at the innovation event. One of the teams will win the grand prize, enabling them to further develop their idea into a business concept.
Another example of the power of inclusion and collaboration is the Fortum x Microsoft Impact Challenge. Organised in partnership with Microsoft, the Impact Challenge is looking for ideas to accelerate the Nordic energy transition. The competition has already produced numerous ideas, including BioDiver, which won the competition this summer. The innovation uses artificial intelligence and deep learning to help explore underwater biodiversity, which aligns with Fortum’s and Microsoft’s environmental targets.
Research collaboration between international and Nordic universities and research institutes is boosted by Science networks, which includes both bilateral collaboration and activities that benefit the wider innovation ecosystem. The network functions as a conduit for seeking new innovations, combining technologies and businesses, and facilitating student projects and the Force idea competition.
Creating the future together
The transition to carbon neutrality requires swift action, but it is not some remote vision. Innovations based on customer insights are at the heart of this development, as companies look for ways to decarbonise. This is why Fortum too is constantly seeking new partnerships.
So what kind of partnerships is Fortum looking for?
“It all starts with common values. First, we work together to think about where the world is going, what the future looks like, and what our common role is in it. Defining a common future is key because it gives the activity a purpose and a goal. Then even failures can be turned into wins, and collaboration doesn’t depend on the solution being developed at that given time. A shared future is not a project; it’s a goal with countless ways to achieve it,” says Tiainen.
Fortum firmly believes that a better world for all is a world made together, not alone. What’s more, collaboration is, to a large extent, a renewable energy source.