Innovation and Disruption: How a Global Corporation Stays Ahead of the Curve
Innovation and disruption have become the lifeblood of successful businesses in today's rapidly evolving corporate landscape. To maintain a competitive edge, corporations must not only adapt but also foster a culture of innovation that embraces disruption. Isabela Galli, Vice President and General Manager of Avery Dennison in Latin America, sheds light on how this global corporation has harnessed innovation and disruption to maintain its leadership.
Successful companies often have a set of core values that guide their path and keep them competitive. Sustainability happens to be one of Avery Dennison's fundamental values, and many of our corporate innovation strategies revolve around this idea. Our ongoing quest is to improve our range of solutions that support the circular economy, all with the ultimate goal of achieving Net Zero Carbon emissions by 2050.
Realizing the size of this challenge and understanding that no success story is written alone, we decided to dive into the startup world and tap into the disruptive energy these ventures bring. To elevate our initiatives, we needed to combine our global experience and scale with the disruptive potential of businesses that often only require an acceleration opportunity to turn a brilliant idea into reality.
That's where AD Stretch comes into play – the first corporate accelerator program in the labels industry aimed at creating partnerships with the most innovative businesses to address real business challenges. Together, we have embarked on a journey that increasingly connects consumers and brands through new experiences, creates more sustainable, responsible, and efficient value chains and fosters innovation in the material space. All of the above has been achieved by prioritizing sustainability through the development of intelligent, circular, and low-carbon materials and packaging, solutions with renewable and recycled content that facilitate recycling and explore reuse. As an example of our commitment to these principles, Cohort 03 is focused on three challenging areas: the development of next-generation energy storage materials, maximizing consumer experiences, and improving sustainability.
To bring this initiative to life and harness its full scalability potential, we relied extensively on transforming our culture of innovation. As a part of our commitment to excellence and high-level execution, we also recognize the importance of fostering an environment that is open to experimentation. Our focus is on improving our ability to navigate risks and seize learning opportunities by proactively addressing them. To facilitate this process, we also place great emphasis on creating a psychologically safe and encouraging workplace where everyone feels included and can consistently explore new ideas. In an environment where all voices are heard, we remain receptive to embracing new ideas.
Practically speaking, what strengthens our experimentation journey the most is the engagement, motivation, and proactivity of our global employees. Through AD Stretch, we encourage our employees to get out of their comfort zones and work in diverse and non-hierarchical teams, learn how to act like a startup and apply these learnings in their daily functions.
This is how we strike a perfect balance between everyday tasks and the opportunity for different individuals to contribute with significant insights and truly collaborate with our innovation program. That means that innovation and disruption are not just buzzwords for Avery Dennison; they are the driving forces that keep us at the forefront of our industry. By prioritizing materials innovation, Customer engagement and sustainability, engaging with the startup ecosystem, and fostering a culture of innovation, we ensure that our journey toward a more sustainable and competitive future remains steadfast.
