___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sustainability

However , these are not isolated factors . They ’ re codependent . Innovation drives sustainability ; sustainability necessitates innovation .

To unpick their convergence , we spent ten minutes with Marjolein Lem , Group Innovation Program Director , and Magnus Renman , Group R & D Director , from global packaging and paper mill juggernaut , DS Smith .

Tell us a little bit about your respective roles at DS Smith . ML : I initially joined the strategy team here at DS Smith , which offered me quite a good overview of company goings on across paper , packaging , and recycling divisions . It also meant that I could see and therefore better understand the interplay between packaging and recycling . Now I lead the radical innovation program at DS Smith . We work with the packaging division , responding to customer requests and developing what we call incremental innovation – building on our existing capabilities to reach and serve the needs of our customers . Both today and tomorrow . My team and I are responsible for building new platforms for growth through radical innovation across five areas : ecommerce , circular packaging , channel agility , primary packaging , and smart packaging .

MR : I head up the research and development ( R & D ) department at DS Smith . I ’ ve been in the business for a long time – 30-plus years . In my team , we investigate the viability and efficacy of new materials for packaging applications . Yet we ’ re also really interested in new technologies for various uses , but mainly on the product side . Our core purpose it to innovate and work with new materials is to make the manufacturing of our packaging more efficient .

Why is innovation so important ? ML : For a start , innovative companies perform better ; they have higher shareholder returns ; they have higher growth margins and profitability rates ; they attract and retain the best talent . So , in a very basic way , it makes economic sense for a company to innovate . I really cannot overstate the importance of innovation , especially when you factor in global crises like the pandemic . If Covid-19 taught us one thing in the business world , it was that innovative companies are more resilient . It shouldn ’ t come as a surprise that those companies are now industry frontrunners .

MR : Let me put it this way : You wouldn ’ t like to still be driving around in a car from the 1970s ! All brands are innovating . Since they are innovating , they are also asking us – as their supplier – to innovate alongside them . In this way , instead of a supplier , we become their innovation partner . Products and services are continuously moving ; ripples reach right through the supply chain . We need to stay on top of that and look ahead . Fundamentally , if you want to be a leading company , then you must be innovative . It ’ s not an option . If not , you will come to a standstill and you will die . Innovation is something buried deep inside the genetic code of our capitalist society . It ’ s necessary to survive .

ML : Definitely , and interestingly , disruption is more often than not coming from outside the industry . It ’ s across the board , and so of course we look at what our competitors are doing but we are also particularly interested in what non-competitors are doing , especially when it comes to new technologies . We want to disrupt ourselves , rather than be disrupted . manufacturing-today . com 25