Inspiring sustainable innovation in ghd's R&D

In Autumn 2019 CW managed an opportunity for five start-ups and SMEs to build a collaborative partnership with the R&D team of internationally renowned consumer device designer: ghd.

The ghd Sustainability Challenge was a light-touch way for start-ups to demonstrate their expertise to a potential investor/customer. Consisting of only three "on-site" days, participants were asked to work together to help solve key sustainability challenges being faced by the ghd R&D team.

ghd is looking to decrease the environmental impact of building and using consumer devices.  The challenge is: how do we decrease material and energy usage to make our products more efficient? We want to improve the energy management and efficiency of our devices, while creating less wastage - potentially through leveraging the circular economy. Could greater sustainability also introduce new business models for ghd, such as product as a service?

Dr Tim Moore, VP Smart Devices Coty

A subsidiary of one of the world's largest beauty companies, ghd are leading the way in understanding the science of hair. ghd's Research & Development labs in Cambridge are unique in combining physicists, material scientists, product designers and hair specialists to focus solely on the terminal manipulation of hair. The facility allows for scientific testing on hair and the development of new products, as well as product performance testing. 

FURTHER DETAILS

Areas of Interest:

  • Wireless connected devices
  • IoT
  • High efficiency electronics
  • Heater technology
  • Recyclable materials / circular economy tech
  • Rechargeable battery technology
  • Sustainable manufacturing and reworking
  • Coatings, including electrically resistive coatings

The timeline is:

Date Activity
Wednesday 17 July Call for entries opens
Friday 6 September Briefing Event
Friday 13 September ghd Sustainability Challenge
Friday 4 October Follow Up Event

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