Susformation is a term combined from Sustainability and Transformation. It describes the actions needed for secure biodiversity and systemic challenge we are currently phasing.
Why do you need to care about the susformation?
The change is ongoing in the traditional business areas and new models are in the making. Those who adapt to susformation will be the ones alive in the future as well. This means these companies have recognized new opportunities and players in the value chain. We already have examples of these kinds of industries. Renewable energy and recycling of mobile phones were a decade ago in a totally different phase than today. Biodiversity and green transition require more resilience, courage, new stakeholders, and ways to define and share the business value than we are used to.
For a human, losing the feeling of control and uncertainty are demanding situations. These feelings we meet every day in our working life and how we react to them. Those who can lead their teams in uncertainty and in a rapidly shaping environment will survive. Of course, there are several factors as well, like the lack of data in decision making and modelling.
By joining forces with public and private sector and consumers you will end up to the right path of susformation
Now you might ask, how to proceed? By planning the actions of green transition together with private sector, science, decision makers and citizens across national and regional cooperation will increase the economy and long-term employment and know how in the region by decreasing the use of virgin raw material, energy and water resources. Regulation is needed to set global targets for different aspects of sustainability. However, market should be allowed to operate somewhat self-directionally, and to have space to take needed actions towards the global targets. Multidisciplinary research and data are needed both in companies and for decision makers to understand the triangular interaction between people, technology and nature surrounded by society. This requires both proof of concepts based on research, support for innovation implementation before settlementing the new system and finally, system advancement.
Candidates for the winner category
The ones who build their business and profitability on sustainable raw material resources and are in balance with nature and consumption will be the winners. To support these actions, tools, definitions and standards are needed. EU-project FRACTION covers the whole value chain from both recycled and virgin raw material sources to building blocks like furfural, esters and ketoses, phenolic resins and polyurethanes from high qualified cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
There is a need to study the consumer behavior and/or regulation needs to ensure the markets and boost the availability of novel products and raw materials already in pre-commercial research projects. In FRACTION, the TRL level is low, and development is still needed to achieve industrial scale. However, the developed technology and the whole value chain evaluation are prospecting a solution to several end users with sustainable raw material source. Susformation is here, whether we accept or deny it. FRACTION is one example of the high-quality research and industry collaboration that enables us to address future challenges.
Tiina Witikkala, M. Sc. (Tech) is a sustainability enthusiast working
as a Project Manager at CLIC Innovation, Finland.