We’re in an age when consumers and businesses are more aware than ever about the need to build a more sustainable world.
But how can we make our lives and our businesses more sustainable? What are the seemingly small/simple changes we can introduce to make a big impact tomorrow?
These were just two of the questions that Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles explored on a city trip with the innovative ID. Buzz Cargo concept car to one of Europe’s sustainability tech capitals, Amsterdam.
During the trip, the ID. Buzz Cargo met three startup founders who are seeking to change the world of tomorrow by taking a deeper look at the way we package, design, and transport products. These inspiring people and their visions were presented on stage at The Next Web Conference under the title #movingideas. Want to find out more? Then hop in and join us.
First stop: Digitalization meets sustainability
On our way to Amsterdam, we made a pit stop in Cologne to meet sustainable packaging startup VYTAL. Takeaway food is growing more and more popular, however it also results in more packaging.
VYTAL provides restaurants with reusable dishes in which customers can receive their meals and then return them after they’ve finished eating – completely free and without paying a deposit. Users can register via an app, with QR codes linking each dish to its user.
The journey from the first idea – making tomorrow’s reusable dishes as easy and intuitive as they are disposable – to the concept as it exists today was a long, continuously developing process. However, Dr Tim Breker, VYTAL co-founder and Managing Director, says:
The many challenges and changes are what makes inventions so unique and stimulating.
Reinventing the status quo and helping people live more sustainably, this is an example of an innovation that’s as brilliant as it is simple.
Second stop: design meets sustainability
Dutch start-up Project Cece is a fair-fashion finder disrupting the market by making it even easier to shop for sustainable, fair-trade clothing. The Project Cece website not only offers a wide variety of fashion brands, but also provides highly detailed information about the companies. As Project Cece’s co-founder Melissa Wijngaarden put it:
Sustainability and transparency are most important, but without appealing packaging not a lot of people will buy it.
Third stop: logistics meets sustainability
Sustainability and customer-friendliness do not need to be contradictory. Dutch startup, Trunkrs’ proves this. Trunkrs offers logistics solutions for fast, reliable same-day delivery. It makes use of environmentally conscious delivery vehicles, spaciousness and always-on connectivity. Jan Wijn, the co-founder and CEO of Trunkrs, is also thinking big:
We want to change the world of logistics by using sustainability, connectivity, and digital transformation.
The transport of the future will not just be sustainable, but also smart.
#movingideas – the journey has only just begun
Project Cece, VYTAL, Trunkrs and the ID. Buzz Cargo are all exciting new ideas that will help us transition towards a more sustainable world.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles aims to move people and goods from A to B efficiently and sustainably. Or, as Dennis Haustein, Head of Market Intelligence at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, says, “During development, we are always guided by one question above all: how can we make our customers’ lives easier, professionally and personally?” The ID. Buzz Cargo from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will offer sustainable electric mobility, connectivity and a generous amount of space. But the journey is only just getting started, as the future will need more ideas to keep things moving.