Genesis: Sustainability

First things first: What IS the Genesis™ blueprint and why should I care?

Sundberg-Ferar’s Genesis™: Sustainability innovation blueprint is our proprietary set of techniques used to identify trends, discover unmet needs, synthesize conclusions, and realize innovation pathways that lead to tangible solutions. Our Genesis process is the best way clients can dive into future opportunities to establish ideal consumer experiences, confidently develop solutions, and assess high opportunity innovation pathways to set up future tactical plans.

Sundberg-Ferar’s Innovation Strategy techniques ensure that your organization is prepared and tactically poised to create and develop solutions for yourself or your stakeholders. Your resources are too valuable to be spent solving the wrong problems and developing solutions people don’t need. Our Genesis™ strategy experts consider external and internal variables that may impact your organization to uncover unmet needs and define tactical initiatives to fulfill your future objectives.

To learn how Genesis™: Sustainability can solve complex innovation challenges and unlock opportunities for your business growth, keep scrolling! ↓

gen·e·sis /ˈjenəsəs/ noun
1. the origin or mode of formation of something.

Creating truly valuable sustainable solutions is about understanding users’ ideals and delivering completely new experiences that grow brand loyalty and increase market value.
 
This type of innovation requires insights that begin at the genesis of the users’ needs. This is what human-centered and sustainable design is all about. Our Genesis™ team gets to the root of the opportunity to properly grow solutions on a fruitful foundation.

Thought Corner

Article: Designer’s Imperative: How to Approach Sustainable Product Design (10 mins)

Business can no longer afford to ignore the impacts of their products on communities, economies and the environment, and 80% of product impact is determined in the design phase. Therefore it’s incumbent on design & innovation leaders to follow a design framework that considers all stakeholders: users, communities, ecosystems, and economies impacted by a product’s manufacture, transport, use, and end of life.  Read more.

Article: The Future of Food: Why Urban Farming is Taking Root (10 mins)

What should you consider as you lead your company in designing products and experiences for the future of urban farming? Read more.

Article: Sustainability in Product Innovation: State of the Industry (15 mins)

80% of all product-related environmental impacts are determined in the design phase of a product. Discover the business case for sustainable design and where to start. Read more.

Article: A Vision Beyond EVs: Bringing Equity to the Sustainable Mobility Movement (10 mins)

Attaining a deep understanding of actual users and root causes in the context of EV mobility innovation will move us towards socially sustainable outcomes. Read more.

Article: The Power of Design Thinking to Advance Communities  (10 mins)

The process and tools of Design Thinking, when applied with skill and experience to products & offerings, enable deep and sustainable impact on communities. Read more.

Keep scrolling for more insights!

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Or – reach out to us now! We’d love to show you how our proven Genesis™ blueprint can unlock new opportunities for your business growth.

This type of innovation requires insights that begin at the genesis of the users’ needs. This is what sustainable design is all about.

Lauren Burger

Senior Design Researcher & Strategist

Case Studies

Mahindra: GenZe Electric Scooter

Traditionally, scooters have filled a niche in personal transportation by being easy to park and cost effective to run & maintain in urban settings. Today, the needs and lifestyles of young urban riders go beyond this by demanding sustainability as a must-have benefit. As a result of SF’s work, the GenZe Electric Scooter by Mahindra employs a suite of innovative features delivering urban transportation that’s exceptionally convenient and sustainable. Read more.

Urban Multipurpose Community Park

A Detroit-based entrepreneur turned to Sundberg-Ferar for help in developing an ideal multipurpose community park that would provide a safe space for local kids and their parents to engage in activities. The park needed to deliver on the triple bottom line – it needed to provide equitable access to a space where kids could develop their mental and physical talents, while also building their self-confidence. At the same time, it was recognized that a membership program would need to be developed to ensure all who accessed the park valued the space and the interactions it provided. The park also needed be good land use stewards in its selection of where to locate the park within the city.

Our team lead a community engagement research project that invited local leaders, parents, and youth to collaborative workshops, where they shared about their expectations for a safe, and engaging park. SF then translated these insights into an ideal user experience model to help plan the its membership strategy, prioritized desirable activities and events, staffing models, methods to access the park through pick-up and drop-off zones, and potential enabling technologies. While the park is still in its planning and funding stage, this user experience model will help bring voice to the real opinions and needs of the surrounding community as development progresses.

Michigan Virtual Emergency Remote Learning

A great example of our Genesis team making a sustainable impact was in the early days of the pandemic, when schools were shutting down and moving to 100% remote models. Our team was already supporting education efforts in Michigan, and we got on the phone with our friends at Michigan Virtual, who are leaders in remote learning. Our goal was to understand how we could influence actionable plans to make the future of education more impactful and sustainable in the new learning environment.

We developed a broad stakeholder interview strategy and quickly learned from parents, student, teachers, and administrators all over the state. Through this research, we uncovered insights about social, economic, and environmental impacts of new learning models. Socially, we found remote learning had created new sources of stress and uncertainty for the roles and expectations placed on stakeholders, as well as the general strain it put on relationships. Economically, remote learning had shed light on many inequities, and the growing divide that exists between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Environmentally, we found remote learning had helped optimize mobility, greatly reducing travel demands. Our team, with Michigan Virtual, identified opportunities within these insights in order to strategize new tools and services for the near-term, as well as re-envision their long-term roadmap to set a course for improved learning all over the state. Read more.

Uncertain about what’s next?

If you’re unsure of your next strategic step in creating growing your market share with sustainable products and strategy:

We have strategy and design sprints, workshops, and offerings for all appetites that can help you clarify the way forward, get unstuck, and stage your company for long-game success.

Check out our strategy and design services

Stay tuned. More content coming soon.

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