Miller Magazine Issue: 117 September 2019

67 COVER STORY MILLER / SEPTEMBER 2019 “Technology has a huge role to play,” said Ian Roberts. “But it cannot solve these challenges alone. We also need to think and work across val- ue chains and systems. We cannot achieve our targets by working in isolation. Collaboration is no longer an option – it must be a core competence in all businesses.” Bühler is already creating net- works with industry partners, research institutes, universities, startups and not-for-profit organiza- tions to broaden and deepen the knowledge and expertise focused on solving these challenges. Through its 29 application and training centers it has created a worldwide network for innovation. This view was echoed by Stefan Palzer, Execu- tive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Nestlé Global, who said that his company – the world’s largest food company – has launched an accelerator this year and opened it labs and its expertise to startups, to help them advance more quickly to valid prototypes. The first collaboration is agreed The Bühler Networking Days 2019 provided the opportunity for much networking across and within industries, and was the impetus for new collaborations. After just one day it bore fruit: MassChallenge, the largest global startup accel- erator and the World Business Council for Sus- tainable Development, announced at the event that they had agreed to collaborate to identify cli- mate change solutions. Minutes later, One Young World, a not-for-profit that promotes young leaders, offered their support. John Harthorne, founder of Mass- Challenge, said: “We will each get more value and impact out of the collaboration than we could get as individual entities.” Sunny Verghese, chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, said “What I like about Networking Days is it’s not all about Bühler; it’s about bringing us all together.” How to become part of the solution No one could embody better the sense of purpose shared by partic- ipants at Bühler Networking Days than Isabel Wijsen. At the age of 10, she and her sister founded a cam- paign group in their home, Bali, to tackle the issue of plastic waste. Bye Bye Plastic Bags succeed- ed in getting single-use plastic bags banned on the island and has since gone global – a perfect demonstration of the power and determination of young people to make change. Bühler recognizes the potential in its own em- ployees and already provides a platform for them to contribute their ideas about how the company should develop in future through Generation B. Kate Robertson, co-founder of One Young World, said: “When you see a company as efficient, as innovative, as driven as Bühler taking their young talent seriously, you begin to see what the world of business can actually do.” Closing the event, Stefan Scheiber under- scored the need to hand over a better world to future generations. “We recognize the urgency of the challenges and have dramatically increased our sustainability commitments. It is now our goal to reduce energy, waste and water by 50% in all our future solutions, and make a significant impact in the value chains of our customers,” he said. “As industries, companies and individu- als, we all have to ask ourselves, today, how we can become part of the solution. We hope that Bühler Networking Days 2019 will be seen as a turning point. The challenges are demanding, but we can do it.”