Project
Discussing consumer cleantech with the Swedish innovation elite
How many have heard of ‘consumer cleantech’? In a room filled with people at the Innovation Parliament, only four people raised their hands…
Smart in ‘smart societies’ is precisely what puts the smart in ‘SmartUp Accelerator’. This term can be very broad, but to us it has much to do with the benefits that come from sustainable innovations for consumers – what we call consumer cleantech. More specifically, we view it as products and services that support us in changing our lifestyles to benefit us and our surroundings through environmental and financial savings – but still let us maintain or even improve our standard of living!
Our view on what the Swedish ecosystem can do to support the development of smart societies was something we had the amazing opportunity to share on the stage of the Swedish Innovation Parliament in Karlskrona on the 9th of May. The Innovation Parliament is a yearly event that supports the industry organization Swedish Incubators and Science Parks in its purpose of gathering and developing the Swedish ecosystem – this year with a focus on smart societies. Here, in front of an audience with people from science parks and incubators as well as corporations and universities, SmartUp Accelerator co-created a session and gave an international perspective on the matter.
A workshop followed the presentations and we sat down at the tables to talk about what tools incubators and science parks need to meet the changes in our ever smarter societies. Many good thoughts came up, one of them being platform communication for ecosystem actors. During the opening speech on the day before this session, the Swedish Minister for Enterprise, Ibrahim Baylan, mentioned the importance of collaboration and the kind of innovation that can support Sweden in becoming one of the first fossil free welfare countries in the world – a goal set by the Swedish Government. Consumer cleantech can most definitely be an important piece in this puzzle, and we’re happy to know that all members of our audience would be able to raise their hands if asked whether or not they have heard of consumer cleantech in the future.