I’ve had a great time meeting with packaging industry leaders this week at the 2008 Packaging Strategies Summit in Bonneventure, Florida, where I was one of the featured speakers. With so many innovative developments in packaging design, I am fascinated by how these leaders are continually coming up with great new ideas that deliver differentiation and disrupt the store aisle!

One of the challenges I often hear about is how to maintain this growth while meeting the needs of what I call the Innovation Ecosystem (which I tell my clients is a top-priority!). Today I shared with conference attendees the main elements they must focus on as they design their own packaging innovation ecosystem. Environmental, economic and social considerations are the three main forces involved in sustainable innovation.

Of course, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all ecosystem, so each company must create its own based on its unique offerings and capabilities. To build an innovation ecosystem, you need to have an open-ended sustainable outcome by looking across the design, delivery of product, how it is used and how it is disposed of. These ecosystems involve complex relationships between many players: vendors, customers, regulators, influencers, shoppers, decision makers, management, innovators, brokers, competitors and others, where simple linear chains of events are not applicable.

The business objectives should focus on how to decrease the environmental footprint, improve the financial bottom line and operate the organization ethically to improve your relationships with employees and the communities where they live and work.

We also talked about the need for developing partnerships and alliances that complete their ecosystem and deliver sustainable, innovation-driven growth. Bottom line: It’s important to choose the right partners who have the eco-friendly designs and the disposability that you don’t have within your own brick and mortar walls.