The green movement focuses attention on numerous resources going to waste that could be turned into cost savings, revenue streams, and profitable businesses while saving the earth — wind power, solar energy, fuels from burning biomass. That sensibility signals an important new value proposition: From dust to dollars! Build innovation around existing but underutilized assets.
Waste was an industrial age motif. To have more of something than one could possibly use signified affluence and high status. That was the point of the impractical extra space at Donald Trump's palace, Mar a Lago, or the hundreds of pairs of shoes owned by former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos. In that context, growth came from selling bigger portions, larger cars, and more of everything, guaranteeing waste. Of course, one person's waste was another person's waste management company; I know many immigrants who attained the American dream through scrap metal.
In today's less-forgiving times, it's not enough to hide conspicuous consumption behind gated communities, cloth coats, or vans instead of limousines, and to give up corporate jets and lavish parties. It is imperative (and good business) to better use underutilized assets, not simply to reduce waste.
Munch on some food examples. In Boston, order Peking duck, and get the skin and some meat. In Hong Kong, Peking duck includes the skin, meat, and broth in separate courses. In Beijing, Peking duck uses all of the above plus adds the bones — no waste. A Taiwanese executive friend who summers on Cape Cod visits the docks most mornings to ask fishing crews for the fish heads they discard. Creative cooks invent wonderful dishes out of leftovers, tossing the rest in the compost pile to enrich the soil.
Don't take me literally. The idea is unlock the hidden value of something that would otherwise be wasted. Used tires — a major pollution problem — are being used by Cemex in road beds in Mexico and by Brazilian artists in Sao Paulo to create attractive, comfortable furniture.
Companies recycle cans and bottles but rarely create innovations out of them. An entrepreneur friend made watch faces out of discarded soda bottle caps, selling them as fashion watches (at high margins considering the zero cost of the bottle caps). Students in a high school chemistry class in New Hampshire collected used cooking oil from local restaurants to convert into fuel that they hoped would run school buses, while extracting the glycerin to make soap that they sold to fund their experiment. Talk about synergies.
What byproducts have hidden value? Companies are experimenting with carbon capture that can reduce carbon footprints while being used for carbonated beverages. Zoos have been particularly creative with the kind of waste-we-don't-talk-about-in-polite-company (and I don't mean composting toilets, although that might be a good idea too). Toronto and Singapore zoos took the lead in creating a profitable line of fertilizers for home gardens by processing and packaging animal waste under the brand name 'Zoo Doo.'
Space often goes to waste. Companies can turn unused conference rooms into training centers for other organizations. Airports recognize that the areas between gates are retail sales opportunities; the Pittsburgh airport was among the first to be a destination shopping mall, not just a transportation platform. WPP grew to a global advertising giant from a company making wire shopping carts when managers realized the carts could hold advertising placards. Minute Clinics in CVS pharmacies offer routine health services in underutilized areas near aspirins and greeting cards. I've urged branch banks to give floor space to neighborhood merchants for displays and demonstration, building community value and bringing traffic to the branch.
Human energy can also be put to better use. Years ago I joked that communities could generate electricity by from runners on a giant treadmill. Then I discovered that this idea is the basis of actual experiments. Bicycles power computers for children in remote villages that lack electricity. So why not go further? What if every office had a health center connected to a generator? Employees could get exercise while displays show them how much power they are producing. Get fit and keep the lights on at the same time.
Of course, it's also essential to better utilize the most underutilized asset of all in many companies: brainpower. Employee imagination could be used to search for trash, literal or figurative, with innovation value.
Mount a campaign for the best ideas about using underutilized or discarded assets. There's nothing to lose — it's wasted anyway — and a great deal to gain. Besides, chairs made out of used tires are great for the beach, and compost plus Zoo Doo grow wonderful gardens.
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