When time is limited, time zones are many, and you need to generate real, usable solutions, what do you do? You run a hackathon. This event lasted three days and is part of a larger effort to help customers reduce energy consumption and lower emissions.
From workshop idea to hackathon format
“We initially planned to bring everyone together for a workshop at our headquarters in Kista,” says Johan Petersson, Product Manager Sustainability. “But to keep costs down while still driving innovation forward, we decided to explore a virtual format instead.”
Together with colleague Linda Holmqvist, Senior UX Designer, who brought extensive experience from digital workshops and prior experience with hackathons, they designed a virtual hackathon that allowed global teams to work within their local time zones and still be able to collaborate.
A global team effort
About 30 participants from the U.S., Europe, and China took part in the event. They came from areas like Sales, Service, R&D, Market Intelligence, and Strategy. Each team was asked to create customer-focused, energy-saving ideas that could become real concepts.
The teams focused on three different customer segments: Battery, Pharma, and Food, each tackling a unique challenge. “The goal was to go from idea to concept in just eight hours, and they did it,” says Linda. “It was intense, but the energy was high.”
A wide range of ideas
The ideas covered a broad range: from product upgrades and rotor development to digital tools and new service models. Some teams focused on tracking energy consumption, others on how to better communicate the value of upgrades to customers.
Each of the four teams pitched four ideas each, and by the end of the event, five of them had been selected to move forward.
“These ideas won’t just make our products more energy efficient and help us meet our SBTi targets,” says Johan. “They’ll also position us as a leader in energy-efficient dehumidification.”
Read more about how we work with our sustainability agenda.
