The current Corona crisis has changed many things. This includes the way of dealing with problems and working on new ideas. Thus, our Greiner Packaging Sustainability Hackathon, originally planned as a physical event at Packworld, has been transferred into a virtual format. Some things - such as the sustainability of our products - are so important that even Corona cannot stop them.
Together with our innovation partner Lead Innovation Management GmbH from Vienna, we decided to work on the topic of sustainability in the form of a hackathon last year in November. 'Do the innovation' is not only a claim but also means constantly working on the advancement of our products and bringing new ideas to life. For this purpose we have decided on the format of a hackathon because we believe that the concentrated power of our employees together with the expertise and creativity of external lead users holds the chances for new thoughts, solutions and ideas. After all, that is exactly what a hackathon is all about. 2 days of intensive work, sometimes until late in the evening, together with external experts, who support the employees in finding the perfect solution.
Now the time had finally come. From 27 to 28 May 2020, the Greiner Packaging Team was able to work on 2 problems concerning sustainable packaging together with 9 external experts. On the first day, a particularly large number of ideas was generated by means of various creative methods such as 'intergalactic thinking'. On the second day, the focus was on refining and deepening these ideas and developing concrete concepts. Not only the involvement of external experts was new for us, but also the digital implementation. The conclusion: We are totally excited! For one thing about the motivation and the extraordinary contribution of the experts. They came from the most diverse areas, for example from the construction industry, from universities or even from motor sports. Next to the innovative approaches of these lead users, we are also impressed by the virtual and creative collaboration. Both the intensive idea sessions and the cosy get-together after work worked wonderfully even without physical proximity. Once again the current crisis has shown what opportunities change, flexibility and the courage to try something new brings.
Of course, before the hackathon is also after the hackathon - the real work starts now. After all, we want to implement the great ideas and thus contribute to making our products more sustainable and contribute to a future worth living.
