Innovation, sustainability and the future of cities
There are many kinds of innovation. Some hit you with a flash of light as you realise that there is a simple, practical and clever solution to a pervasive problem. The kind of innovation that makes you slap your head
Looking back through the history of innovation, the technologies that created the biggest impact are the ones that enabled further innovation. Whether it’s the water wheel, the steam engine, the electric motor or the microchip, each triggered a wave of
In an earlier blog, I warned about thoughtlessly following the practices of successful companies, hoping the magic would rub off on you. Buying in to the latest management fad. What I called “cargo cult management”. But human nature is human
We have all heard variations of the joke “A consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time, and then keeps the watch”. They get a lot of flak; some of it richly deserved. Their methods and
Photo by Bethany Opler on Unsplash The challenge of energy-efficient retrofit In the UK, our homes account for about 30% of total energy consumption and about 20% of total carbon emissions. To have any hope of reaching the 2050 net-zero target, we must
When I first started working in industry, I was lucky to have a great manager. One aphorism he drummed into me was: “don’t let best be the enemy of better”. It is easy to keep looking for the optimum; to
In the current coronavirus epidemic, one recommendation from health authorities is for people to work from home. There are lots of jobs where this is impossible. It is hard to be a taxi driver, or a nurse, or a professional
We need to create buildings that don’t contribute to increasing climate change and can adapt to the climate change that is happening. Buildings that are energy efficient and resilient. Many people point to ‘smart buildings’ as a solution; a technological
Like many people I have watched the TV footage of the wildfires in Australia with shock. So much damage done so quickly, and over such a wide area. I also thought back to last year’s California wildfires and asked myself,
We have all heard the famous Peter Drucker phrase from his 1954 book the Practice of Management – “what gets measured, gets managed”. It is a cliché of management practice, and like all clichés it contains a truth. If you
Using the electricity stored in an Electric Vehicle battery to smooth and manage demand on the electricity grid was a big topic at this year’s Low Carbon Vehicles exhibition and conference in September at the Millbrook proving ground. This Vehicle
Wonderful Lithium-Ion Batteries A few weeks ago, John Goodenough, Akira Yoshino and Stanley Whittingham won the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize for their work on Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion). Lithium-ion batteries have made our portable, cable-free, mobile world. From our mobile phones
Every year I try to get to the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicles show at Millbrook proving ground. It’s a great way to take the pulse of the industry and to learn more about the future of transport. You find out
We have a problem with household waste in the UK. The stuff that gets collected at the kerbside. In 2017 we collected about 27 million tonnes of waste from our homes. We are getting better recycling, and just over 45%
Our homes consume about 30% of the UK’s energy and produce 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. 80% of that energy is used for space and hot water heating, mostly from gas. With a net-zero target for UK carbon emissions, it is
Tackling the Housing Deep Retrofit Challenge Report of a workshop on deep retrofit organised jointly by the Future Cities Catapult, Innovate UK and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. 120 people attended an event titled “Homes fit for the future
Earlier this year, I wrote about industry clusters. What they are, where they come from, and how important they are. So I was surprised to open my newspaper this morning and find an article by Larry Elliott arguing that the
As the world’s population becomes more urban, access to nature becomes more important to our wellbeing. From the pollinators that provide our food to the public parks that are the ‘green lungs’ of many towns and cities. Access to nature
37% of UK carbon emissions come from heating – domestic, public and commercial, and industrial. About 85% of the heating comes from gas. In its Net Zero report, the Committee on Climate Change argues that we must reduce carbon emissions
Everyone wants to be disruptive; to transform a market, sweeping away the big players and bringing exciting new ideas. It is the big win that everyone looks for. There are millions of articles about business disruption on Google with titles
You have created a great new product you are really excited about. You have sorted out the business model, figured out how to deliver it to the user, and fixed any manufacturing and cost problems. This will be great! And
Over the last 12 months, we have seen increasing interest in the climate crisis. We hear explicit warnings on climate risks from respected commentators like David Attenborough. Greta Thunberg is energising younger people to campaign for their future. Activists like
When a new technology appears it is usually accompanied by great excitement, at least from its inventors. What new opportunities does the technology open up? Where can we use it? The early enthusiasm quickly runs into practical barriers. The Gartner
You may have seen the TV advert for Experian in which Marcus Brigstocke meets his ‘data self’. A collection of live information that governs how financial institutions treat him as a customer. This is a variant of the ‘digital twin’
Scaling Up Retrofit 2050 Report published by the IET and Nottingham Trent University on the need for deep retrofit of our existing housing stock. “Domestic energy consumption accounts for about 30% of the UK’s total energy budget, and 20% of
What do Mumbai, Copenhagen, the Spanish town of Castellón de la Plana, and the small US town of Dalton, Georgia, have in common? Each is at the centre of a concentrated industry cluster. Mumbai is famous for being the home
I love reading innovation stories. Where the idea came from, how they overcame problems, and what they make possible. Stories are how we excite people about innovation and why it matters. We need to tell more stories and better stories.
I have long thought the only way we can create cities that are economically successful, great places to live, sustainable and resilient, is to treat them as an integrated system of systems. The problem is that cities are so complicated
150 years ago, Dimitri Mendeleev developed the Periodic Table of the Elements. A way of organising all the information about the behaviour of the 63 elements known at the time. It has become an iconic image of science, and in
To innovate, we need to try things out; to experiment. But how do we select the right experiment? How do we choose? Whenever we conduct an experiment, we want the maximum information at the minimum cost. Experiments should be as
Last Friday I attended the annual Business Green Technology Awards. I always enjoy these events as they provide a great snapshot of innovation activity in the cleantech sector in the UK. This year I was a member of the judging
We know that business needs to innovate. Whether a startup, established SME or major industry player, new customer offers are critical for survival. We also know that most innovations fail in the market; despite our enthusiasm, creativity and persistence. We
In 1955 C. Northcote Parkinson wrote an article in The Economist that introduced the world to Parkinson’s Law – “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. An observation so universal in application that it is instantly recognisable
One of the fascinating things about innovation projects is the way that they evolve and change as the project progresses, and how they leave echoes long after the project has finished. In 2012 I was involved in setting up the
Since the IET published our report “Scaling Up Retrofit 2050” several people have asked me why the emphasis on ‘deep retrofit’? Taking today’s properties and upgrading them to 2050 energy efficiency standards in one step. Wouldn’t it be better to
The challenge of retrofitting 26 million homes In the UK we face a stiff challenge. The Climate Change Act of 2008 sets a legal target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. Every part of the UK economy
Every year I try to get to the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicles show at Millbrook. Now ten years old, this exhibition gives me a chance to see where we are up to on our journey to zero-carbon transportation. You
Correctly pricing a new product or service is vital. Too high and you get no customers, too low and you leave money on the table. Either way you burn through cash so your innovation, and possibly your company, fails. Pricing
A large part of the world’s population has experienced a dramatic heatwave in the summer of 2018. We have felt the impact of high temperatures and low rainfall, and we have seen dry rivers, empty reservoirs, and wildfires from all over
When you are only working on one innovation project at a time, you can give it all the care and attention it needs. There are no competing resource demands; at least for creating new products and services. Life gets more
For many years I have been fascinated by the idea of disruptive innovation and technologies. Whilst disruption certainly happens, there are plenty of historical examples of that, I don’t think you can identify which innovations will be disruptive and how
[This article was co-authored by Darren Ragheb of CPI and Richard Miller] At the end of 2017 the natural history programme, Blue Planet II, dramatically pushed the impact of waste plastics on the oceans into public eye. Since then, the topic
Last week I visited the Rushlight Summer Showcase in London. This brings together clean technology companies looking for investment and potential investors. The companies give a series of five-minute pitches to an investor panel, and there is also an exhibition
Business is all about knowledge and understanding; of the market, your customers, competitors, technologies and systems. Thomas Stewart used to say that “the history of business is the history of managing knowledge”. That has been true for thousands of years
A while ago I wrote about why innovations fail, and I wondered about start-ups. Do they have the same problems, or are they completely different? How often start-ups fail is a matter of debate. A commonly quoted figure is that
Getting the right people doing the right jobs is one of the major challenges in a small, growing business. We each have our particular strengths and our favoured working styles. Teams need to evolve as the business develops, and getting
Sometimes in conversation you suddenly run straight into a conceptual brick wall. You seem to be discussing the same topic, but somehow you are approaching it from such different positions that there seems to be ‘your topic’ and ‘their topic’
We all recognise that it is hard to make change happen. This is nothing new. In the early 16th C Machiavelli commented in The Prince “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain
There is a real challenge right at the heart of climate change policy in the UK. The Climate Change Act requires us to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, compared to a 1990 baseline. All parts of our economy
“Prediction is difficult, especially of the future.”; a quote so useful that it has been linked to everyone from Yogi Berra to Niels Bohr. Yes, prediction is difficult, but when we innovate it is essential. We should be thinking not only about the