ESADE, a leader in sustainable lighting in Europe

Lighting for hospitals, schools, roads and even homes has a major impact on the environment, especially because of the energy it consumes, but also due to its effects on our health and on how we learn and work. In many ways, LED technology offers substantial improvements over traditional lighting, above all in terms of energy consumption; however, its potential benefits in other areas have yet to be fully exploited.

The SSL-erate project, co-funded by the European Commission, pools public and private-sector efforts to promote innovation in the lighting industry and to harness the full potential of LED technology. The work of the 24 centres involved in the project will make it possible to learn more about the benefits of sustainable lighting in areas such as hospitals or schools through collaboration with companies interested in innovating in these areas, thereby helping to promote a sustainable economy.

Open Innovation Toolkit

ESADE professors Wim Vanhaverbeke and Henry Chesbrough have actively participated in the project, bringing to the table their experience with open innovation, one of the cornerstones of the SSL-erate project’s goal of accelerating the uptake of LED technology at companies.

Vanhaverbeke and Chesbrough are the authors of the Open Innovation Toolkit, a guide for companies and institutions interested in applying the open innovation concept. The first version of the guide offers tips for encouraging creativity and innovation, all formulated with an eye to bridging the gap between academic language and the business world. "We try to help the other actors in this SSL-erate project to understand how they can create successfully an innovation equal system. These projects have a green-economic development as well as new applications and new health care and well-being lighting in the streets. You can’t do it alone, you have to do it with a network of partners collaborating in a very coordinating way. Just because of that there is the need of a network management to understand the rules how companies can work together. That’s what we do in our toolkit." points out Vanhaverbeke.

By following a series of tips, guidelines and checklists all of which take an eminently practical approach, the companies and organizations that use the Toolkit can enhance aspects such as communication, teamwork or the adaptation of corporate structures. "You can’t impose your own view to the other members when you manage a network. You have to come to a kind of open communication, a dialogue where each part can share its needs and its objectives to the others. It’s crucial to make this kind of dialogue to achieve objectives. And that creates a climate for innovation" adds Vanhaverbeke.

Ultimately, the project aims to disseminate the results of research on LED lighting among companies, offering proof of its benefits, as well as to foster cooperation between them with a view to guiding the technology industry towards a more sustainable economy in Europe.