It’s time for radical innovation

Marketers selected innovation as their number one opportunity in Sustainable Marketing 2030, WFA’s global research project with Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice. Today, September 4th, WFA and Kantar will host two webinars to launch the new Radical Innovation playbook.

As one of the five levers of Sustainable Marketing 2030’s Circular Marketing and Growth Framework, Radical Innovation explores the role of innovation in value creation and showcases the opportunities that may exist both upstream and downstream for brands that consider embracing circular principles alongside conventional approaches. This is the second in a series of five case-study led guides illustrating how brands can choose to embed sustainable marketing principles and practices in their operations.

The webinars will feature case-studies from Philips, Decathlon and Heineken, and focus on highlighting how innovation may drive business performance as well helping companies deliver their decarbonisation goals.

The playbook features case studies from more global brands leveraging innovation as a strategic transformation lever, helping to build business resilience and unlock new revenue streams. Case studies cover a range of B2C and B2B brands including IKEA, Reckitt, Jaguar Land Rover, L’Oréal and e.l.f. Beauty.

Ahead of the launch, we asked four industry leaders to share their perspectives on Radical Innovation and how it could enable brands to unlock tangible proof points that may create competitive advantage and build resilience into the business model for marketers.

Josefien Olij

Global Senior Director Marketing Communication & Creative Excellence, Philips

At Philips, we believe technology should be Caring and Courageous. In a world where tech often chases novelty for its own sake, we’re choosing a different path — one rooted in purpose, not just progress. That belief was put to the test when we took on one of the industry’s most wasteful habits: product returns. 30% of people believe refurbished items are lower quality. 61% feel uncomfortable using refurbished personal care products. That’s not just hesitancy — that’s hardwired resistance.

With Better Than New refurbished became not just acceptable, but desirable. Through Creative Business Transformation, we made returned products the heroes of our consumer experience – from storytelling to supply chain -. Proving that sustainability and desirability can go hand in hand. Because innovation isn’t always a new product. Sometimes, it’s a new (sustainable) mindset. That is the caring side of tech. That is better care for more people — and planet.

Emily Hill

Director at Kantar’s Global Sustainable Transformation Practice

In today’s world, radical innovation is not a nice-to-have, but a strategic imperative. Brands are under growing pressure to demonstrate real-world impact and marketers are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation.

The opportunity is evident: Kantar data shows that brands perceived as highly innovative grow up to 7x faster than competitors. Yet only 33% of businesses are transforming their portfolios. To close this gap, marketers must consider how they can positively influence upstream activities, integrate sustainability into every-day decision-making and support consumers in adopting new behaviours, especially in the use-phase where circular habits are less familiar.

Radical innovation is not just about new products or services, it’s about redefining value, reshaping category norms and unlocking new pathways for growth. For marketers, this means evolving from storytellers to system shapers – creating the enabling conditions for sustainable growth across the entire value chain.

Jeroen Schoorel

Sustainability Manager, Global Commerce and Innovation, Heineken

In 2024, HEINEKEN launched our global circularity strategy to accelerate progress in three key areas: reusable packaging, recycled content and recyclability across our portfolio. Reusable packaging is not just a sustainability initiative; it is a strategic lever for long-term value creation. Our goal is to increase the percentage of volume sold in reusable format from 38% to 43% by 2030. Achieving this will require significant effort and collaboration with multiple stakeholders, both internally and externally.

Success depends on cross-functional collaboration internally, connecting our supply chain, corporate affairs, marketing and sales teams to co-create infrastructure, drive innovation, and change consumer behaviour. We are also building internal storytelling capability through our partnership with Campus, a story-led learning platform hosted by Waterbear and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which introduces the opportunity and business case for change.

Externally, we need to co-create complex reuse infrastructures and launch innovations that make reusable formats appealing to consumers because they remain at the heart of our efforts. By applying Kantar’s “Fuels & Frictions” behavioural framework, we uncovered valuable insights into what encourages or hinders behaviour when it comes to returning packaging and these learnings are helping us design solutions that resonate in local market contexts.

In South Africa, for example, we launched the Heineken™ Star Bottle in reusable glass and this has become an inspiration for other markets. Thanks to our “learn, share, reapply” approach, stories like this are accelerating smarter progress globally.

Michelle McEvoy

Global Lead Sustainable Marketing, WFA

In Sustainable Marketing 2030, 57% of marketers cited sustainable innovation as the biggest opportunity to accelerate sustainable transformation, making it the biggest opportunity identified by the global study.

In identifying case studies for the Radical Innovation playbook, we unearthed a breadth of examples of brands who are capitalising on the opportunity, leveraging innovation in a series of different ways.

Some marketers are bringing their understanding of the changing consumer landscape, from demand signals to emerging consumer trends, while others are looking at upstream value-chain activities, rethinking packaging, product and business models.

This knowledge can offer brands a new pathway to growth by unlocking new opportunities for brands. Those leading the way are developing first-to-market innovations as proprietary drivers of growth, all whilst helping to build business resilience.

Others are developing products and services that make circular choices such as resell, refurb and repair more desirable. These new business models not only provide consumers with access to more sustainable choices but can help brands reinforce trust and accelerate the delivery the organisation’s own sustainability goals. With 55% of marketers in Sustainable Marketing 2030 identifying new business models as the second-biggest opportunity for marketing accelerating a sustainable transition, it’s clear how circularity offers an exciting multi-sector growth opportunity alongside more conventional approaches.

To capitalise on these opportunities, brands may need to look at the capabilities and competencies of their teams. By building a holistic view of the end-to-end value chain, enhancing cross-functional collaboration skills and applying the core principles of experimentation, marketers will be able to better understand the role they can play in realising the opportunities that stem from Radical Innovation.