Innovate

Companies have capitalized on innovation opportunities to drive growth through joint ventures, reevaluating product design or function and disruptive technologies.

Suez 

Suez is the only international company whose activities are exclusively dedicated to solid waste and water management, and it therefore intends to be the leader in sustainable resource management to improve the environmental and economic performance of cities and industries. Suez’s strategy is based on two main pillars: Transform the Group’s activities through innovative solutions that lead the way to circular economy, and open up to new markets across the globe and in new customers’ segments.

In establishing new revenue streams and services, the company aims to double the volume of plastics recycled by 2020, increase the production of renewable energy from waste and water facilities by 10% and improve alternative water resources supplies. Suez has partnered with two companies aiming to capture complementary business lines: innovative recycling solutions with TerraCycle and a new polymer recycling facility in partnership with Chemelot Ventures.

Capitalizing on the power of collaboration, Suez anticipates its circular economy solutions will allow it to capture more market share and expand into unconventional markets for resource management companies.

Lyft

Launched in 2012, Lyft is the first peer-to-peer ride-sharing platform that unites humanity and technology. Based in San Francisco, California, the company recognized the underused capacity of personal vehicles on the road as an opportunity for direct transportation services at a fraction of the cost of taxis while providing income to drivers.

Demonstrating successful implementation of the sharing economy through turning products into services for underused assets, Lyft had 162.5 million rides in 2016, three times the amount in 2015.

Lyft launched Lyft Line in 2014, an additional service that uses a real-time on-demand ridesharing model to maximize every seat in the car. Building upon the original Lyft service model that established trust and reliability with consumers, Lyft Line creates more value for customers by offering fare reductions of up to 60% if they’re willing to share their ride. As the Lyft platform improves in efficiency, passengers, drivers, local business and communities all stand to benefit from on-demand carpooling.

Lyft Line now operates in over 20 cities and gets smarter over time as it better understands how people move around. As the system learns more it can better optimize vehicle rides, Lyft aims to shift society’s perception from “needing a car” to “needing a ride.” Lyft recently raised another $600 million USD at a valuation of $7.5 billion USD as it has expanded operations to 131 additional cities in 2017 alone.