Reverse innovation goes green

One of my favorite innovation concepts is 'reverse innovation' - where smart ideas get developed first in developing countries, because they have additional constraints that require more creative solutions. This week's Economist refers to a recent report that identifies the same thing happening in the field of sustainability. I'm rather optimistic about our planet's ability to support 9bn people by 2050 without becoming a desert wasteland, and this kind of story makes me feel ever more so. 

Schumpeter: Green growth | The Economist:

A new study by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) identifies 16 emerging-market firms that they say are turning eco-consciousness into a source of competitive advantage. These highly profitable companies (which the study dubs ?the new sustainability champions?) are using greenery to reduce costs, motivate workers and forge relationships. Their home-grown ideas will probably be easier for their peers to copy than anything cooked up in the West. The most salient quality of these companies is that they turn limitations (of resources, labour and infrastructure) into opportunities. Thus, India?s Shree Cement, which has long suffered from water shortages, developed the world?s most water-efficient method for making cement, in part by using air-cooling rather than water-cooling. Manila Water, a utility in the Philippines, reduced the amount of water it was losing, through wastage and illegal tapping, from 63% in 1997 to 12% in 2010 by making water affordable for the poor.