Much has been made about the potential for artificial intelligence and automation to solve some of the grand challenges facing society, whether that’s reducing carbon emissions through smarter energy management or streamlining global supply chains to prevent shortages of goods.
But while these technologies promise great advancements, a more human-centric approach to innovation is just as crucial in addressing deeply rooted social and environmental issues, according to ESCP’s associate dean and professor of sustainability Gorgi Krlev.
Unlike tech breakthroughs, which tend to focus on speed and efficiency, he explains that social innovation reimagines how society operates, aiming to address deeply rooted social and environmental issues.
In fact, social innovation is about more than just finding new ways to solve problems – it’s about changing the structures that created those problems in the first place.
“When it comes to solving the many sustainability challenges we are facing, the problem is not that we do not have enough technology available, but that we do not use it in the right way,” Krlev says. “To tackle the big crises of our century, we need social mobilisation and social change. And that is what social innovation is all about.”
To tackle the big crises of our century, we need social mobilisation and social change. And that is what social innovation is all about.
What sets social innovation apart
Unlike pure business innovations, which often prioritise profit, social innovations are distinct because both the outcomes they seek and the methods they use are social at their core.
As Krlev further explains, social innovations “change social structures, practices and processes” and “enhance society’s capacity to act”. Rather than quick fixes, they offer long-term, community-driven solutions that empower people to take control of their own futures.
Take microcredit, for example – small loans given to people in impoverished communities, particularly women, to start businesses. While microcredit alone won’t solve global poverty, according to Krlev, it challenges deep-seated assumptions about what’s possible for people with limited resources.
“Aid for poor people turns into empowerment, and poverty is seen not just as a lack of income but as a result of multiple deprivations,” Krlev notes. By giving people the tools to lift themselves out of poverty, microcredit changes the relationship between finance and social mobility.
At the same time, social innovation is not exclusively based on entrepreneurship as a universal answer to all problems and instead embraces holistic approaches, for example, such that promote policy reforms around homelessness to achieve fundamental and lasting improvements.
Power to the people
Social innovation can take many forms. In the power industry, for example, renewable energy cooperatives are democratising energy production by allowing communities to generate and manage their own clean energy. In fact, there are some 2,250 energy cooperatives across Europe, serving 1.5 million citizens under the REScoop federation of energy communities.
This helps break the stranglehold of big corporations on energy production and gives people a direct say in how their electricity is produced and distributed.
Meanwhile, initiatives focused on diversity and inclusion are changing how we view disability in the workplace, Krlev says. Projects like “Dialogue in the Dark”, where blind guides lead participants through pitch-black environments, challenge conventional thinking about disability.
Another example is how some companies are employing individuals with autism as software testers, where their unique cognitive strengths become an asset, not a limitation.
“Social innovation shows how a different future is possible,” Krlev says. “It offers an alternative, often radically different blueprint for how society can work. At the same time, it tends to grow locally and embed in communities, which requires more time for it to scale, but makes it stronger overall.”
Social innovation shows how a different future is possible. It offers an alternative, often radically different blueprint for how society can work.
From despair to hope
One of the most powerful parts of social innovation is its ability to turn despair into hope, according to Krlev. In industries traditionally dominated by a “buy, use, throw away” mentality, social innovations are pushing for circular economies, where products are repaired, maintained and reused instead of discarded.
For instance, companies like Fairphone are introducing modular smartphones that can be easily upgraded and repaired, reducing electronic waste. Such examples show that even in sectors driven by fast consumption, alternative models can gain traction.
Krlev notes that organic agriculture, for instance, has gone from being seen “for the hippies and tree huggers” to a mainstream practice. Organic products now make up a big chunk of global food sales, with major corporations like General Mills ramping up their investments in organic farming to meet demand and embracing a “farmer-driven regenerative agriculture strategy”.
Mainstreaming always comes with the risk of mission drift or greenwashing. But it also shows how contagious ideas surrounding new ways of engaging with and for society can be.
In urban planning, meanwhile, he says cities around the world are transitioning from car-centric designs to walkable, bikeable neighbourhoods that encourage healthier lifestyles. Cities like Paris, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Portland have introduced such projects that prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.
How to get involved in social innovation
For those feeling overwhelmed by the scope of the challenges we face, social innovation ultimately provides a way to take action.
Krlev stresses that you don’t need to start a company to make a difference: “What is essential for social innovations is to look at the root causes of problems and understand the system that surrounds them, to then consider how these can be changed,” he says. This systems-level thinking allows for deeper, more lasting solutions.
Sometimes, he adds, contributing to social innovation means working within an organisation to drive change from the inside. Other times, it involves grassroots activism, political advocacy or educational projects.
What’s crucial, in any case, is to think beyond immediate, incremental fixes and focus on how to address the underlying causes of problems.
Social innovations, then, are laying the groundwork for a fairer, more sustainable future by tackling the systems that fuel inequality and environmental damage. In a world full of uncertainty, they offer hope, showing that real change is not just possible – it’s already happening.