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Advanced Innovation Center

ghts to save humanitys

problems
Despite outstanding technological progress,
most of humanitys basic problems remain
unsolved. Corporations need disruptive
innovation to find sustainable solutions

CORPORATE Related:
GOVERNANCE |
STRATEGY 1. China scales back
restrictions on
foreign investment
Author: Alfredo Zolezzi, in free-trade zones
Chief Innovation
Ocer of Advanced 2. Eurozone ministers
Innovation Center approve further
debt relief for
Greece
3. US Federal Reserve
hikes rates again as
February 3, 2015 confidence in the
economy grows

4. Place your
nomination for the
World Finance
Digital Banking
Awards 2017

5. Further Brexit
AICsPlasmaWaterSanitationSystem.Ahighly uncertainty for
efficientdistributedsolutionforunderserved Britain as snap
communities election yields hung
parliament
In a world that faces energy shortages, we pay a
6. Santander rescues
great deal of attention to traditional and renewables Banco Popular
forms of energy, but it seems that we underestimate from collapse
the most powerful one: the energy of ideas.
7. Political instability
sends South Africa
We are at a unique point in history where scientific into recession for
knowledge is a commodity and the available the second time in
eight years
capacities to develop new technologies are
outstanding. Then, what shall we do with all the
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outstanding. Then, what shall we do with all the 8. Adani Group to

potential accumulated by academia andindustry push ahead with
alike? $12.4bn Australian
coal mine despite
protests
Technology is advancing rapidly, but for the
SEARCH poorest people in the world life has not changed 9. Oil prices on the
much. There are hundreds of millions of people that rise as Gulf states
sever ties with
still live in a state of perpetual crisis. The natural Qatar amid fears of
evolution of society has led us to contradictions like terrorism
having Nasas Curiosity Rover exploring Mars,
while a child dies every 21 seconds due to 10. Barclays sells Bank
of Zimbabwe as
preventable waterborne diseases. African withdrawal
continues
Innovation is a tool that leads us to look forward to
the future, anticipating problems by constantly
seeking opportunities. It is also an invitation to take
action, moved by the power of our own ideas and
materialised in real solutions.

Developing technical solutions

alone is not enough, there are $260bn
many other factors that need Annual
to be addressed from the economic losses
innovation standpoint. The associated with
key to generating significant
inadequate
impact is pairing technologies
water supply
with novel approaches to
social and environmental
issues. Technological progress can be connected to
social improvement by establishing innovative
business strategies. Through the convergence of
these innovations it is possible to generate impact
that is sustainable and scalable.

Obsolete models
The reason there are still so many people suffering
from hunger, lack of drinking water and sanitation,
pollution and a number of other old problems that
still persist, regardless of the impressive
technological progress nowadays, is because we rely
on obsolete models. This is not just a problem for
governments, but for the entire society. Large
corporations will not be able to continue
performing the way they do without considering
the increasing social unrest. For instance, soon it
will be impossible to continue producing soft drinks
with a water footprint of over 600 liters of water
per produced liter. It has been projected that two-
thirds of the worlds population could be living
under water-stressed conditions by 2025.

Similar situations can be observed in every

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Similar situations can be observed in every

productive sector. For example, there
are huge
investments projected in the mining sector
$88.5bn for the next seven years in Chile alone
(according to the Chilean Copper Commission)
SEARCH which is certainly needed due to the number of
benefits that mining corporations generate. Benefits
include the production and contributions to local
economies, employment, services, infrastructure,
human capital formation, technological progress,
economic dynamism, and more, but the extraction
of resources cannot be done at the expense of
communities and the environment.

Business will not be viable in the long term if

innovation is not applied to their activities, and the
way corporations relate to their surroundings.

Consumption behaviour and consumer-brand

relationships are not the same as they were a few
years ago. Corporations cannot just ignore social
and environmental issues, they need to anticipate
the effects that a stressed world will have on them.
This is only possible through innovation.

Todays informed society demands solutions for a

number of social, economic, political and
environmental issues. Corporations can no longer
simply focus their efforts on optimising their
production processes and increasing profits.
Regardless of current results, they need to align
with the ongoing transformative social changes. To
enhance their performance, and even to ensure
their sustainability, companies need also to improve
and strengthen the relationship with their
ecosystem, through initiatives that generate social
and environmental impact.

When engaging in humanitarian campaigns,

corporations generally assume that their
contributions will not generate direct benefits for
them or, in the best case, will slightly improve their
brands perception when properly communicated.
Nevertheless, given the increasing social pressure
for a responsible performance, corporations often
are forced to carry out diverse initiatives in order to
enhance their relationship with the environment
around them.

Making an impact
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Making an impact
major
Despite some laudable initiatives by several
corporations, their remarkable efforts have not
reached the scale required to generate significant
impact. Even though CSR campaigns can generate
SEARCH great impact for their beneficiaries, it is accepted
that philanthropy is not good business for
corporations. We believe that it is possible to break
this paradigm.

This is not about demonising or blaming

corporations, neither is it an ideological debate. It is
about proposing a new effective model. When
creating appropriate solutions for those billions of
people in need, it is possible to generate several new
billion-dollar businesses based onshared value.

In addition to their own objectives, large

multinational corporations have a unique
responsibility. They have the opportunity to help
the poorest populations achieve major progress in
human and economic development.

At the Advanced Innovation Center (AIC) in Chile,

we have demonstrated that it is possible to connect
technology with poverty. Not based on
philanthropy, but on sustainable business models.
By linking together the interests of different parties
it is possible to generate social and economic impact
at the same time. The most important condition for
a successful partnership is fostering mutually
beneficial interdependence.

Continuing with the previous example on a social

crisis that threaten the sustainability of
corporations, the lack of access to clean drinking
water is one of the largest drivers of extreme
poverty around the world today.

Few problems cause so much damage and human

suffering; few issues are as entrenched and universal
as the need for reliable access to clean water.
Providing safe access to clean drinking water is one
of the most impactful things any organisation can
focus on. For every $1 invested in safe drinking
water and sanitation, the World Health
Organisation estimates returns of $3-34; not to
mention the positive impact it can have on issues
related to education, womens rights, and freedom.

When providing clean water, beneficiaries

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When providing clean water, beneficiaries also gain

hope and dignity.
Furthermore, the World Bank has estimated the
total economic losses associated with inadequate
SEARCH water supply and sanitation at $260bn annually.
There has been an enormous amount of money
spent on trying to end this horrible problem with
very little to show for it. Despite the best efforts of
organisations around the world, the progress made
thus far has not been good enough.

Corporations and consumers

To deal with this global crisis AIC has created a new
technology the Plasma Water Sanitation System
(PWSS). This has proven to be a highly efficient
distributed solution for underserved communities,
besides many other possible applications. In
accordance to our model, we have paired this
technology with innovation in the way corporations
relate to their consumers and improve their
sustainability. We will lead a worldwide
humanitarian campaign for providing millions of
people in need with access to drinking water, while
reducing the corporate water footprint, all using
advanced technology and guided by a global vision
with local impact.

This campaign will be carried out by a worldwide

network of corporations and their consumers,
foundation, manufacturers, distributors and other
relevant players. The impact created by these
groups working together will be measured through
a variety of metrics, like liters of water treated,
amount of people served, reduction of waterborne
diseases and even numbers oflives improved.

This joint effort will create a deep, strong, and

lasting emotional bond with customers based
upon high levels of traceability and accountability
which would go far deeper than normal
engagement. It would result in long-term customer
loyalty. Corporations could also benefit by including
this campaign in their water balance accounting, so
as to offset the water footprint of their products.
The result of this campaign will be greater than just
one effort, it will lead to the creation of a
Distribution Network for Good, which can be used
to disseminate several innovationsand technologies.

Convinced that the convergence of advanced

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Convinced that the convergence of advanced

leads
technology and innovative business models to
high social and economic impact, we have created
FAZ Foundation. Instead of using outdated,
traditional approaches, we use a new model that
SEARCH allows us to maximise our impact, accelerating the
fight against poverty while establishing viable
corporate objectives.

Developing innovation always involve a great

amount of risk, both technical and commercial,
however, the real risk is in not innovating. We
believe that innovation is no longer an option, but
an obligation.

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