Since 2008, governments and companies have proposed green growth as a new growth engine that seeks both environmental protection and economic growth. To realize this, it is important to balance hardware and software and build a platform through intellectual collaboration.
Steps toward green growth
Since the global economic crisis of 2008, governments and companies have proposed green growth as a new growth engine. Green typically emphasizes the value of environmental protection, which tends to suppress conventional growth. However, green growth is emerging as a new development strategy because it is compatible with both environmental protection and economic growth. European countries are increasing the share of renewable energy in their energy infrastructure, and there is a growing social consensus to introduce a carbon emissions trading system. GE, a major U.S. company, has reorganized its business units to create a green growth division. GE’s eco-friendly division, called EcoMagination, is leading the production and sale of energy-efficient products and the construction of eco-friendly plants. In Korea, with the inauguration of the MB government, the Green Growth Council has taken center stage to lead green growth as the future growth engine of Korea. National companies such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and Hyundai Heavy Industries have also designated green growth as the future food and are leading the way in technology development.
Green hardware and green software
The green growth field is broadly categorized into green hardware and green software. Green hardware is defined as a series of tasks that increase efficiency or reduce carbon dioxide emissions through the development of eco-friendly technologies and new materials. This includes products such as electric vehicles and wind turbines, as well as innovations in manufacturing processes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Green software, on the other hand, refers to intangible values such as services, brands, and converged knowledge, as well as hard values such as the physical performance of a product or its quantitative supply capacity. In addition to the ability to innovate based on performance and experience, a proper understanding of the nature of green value can also be considered green software, including establishing a brand strategy to make consumers feel the concept of green, or developing a platform that integrates products to create synergistic effects. However, in Korea, there is a concern that the balance is being lost by focusing only on green hardware development in the midst of the green growth fever.
Balancing hardware and software
Regardless of the field, the balance between hardware and software is important. Apple dominated the smartphone industry with the release of the iPhone. The key to the iPhone’s ability to defeat traditional cell phone powerhouses like Nokia and Samsung is the right balance of hardware and software. The iPhone’s performance isn’t overwhelming in terms of central processing unit, memory, or size compared to its competitors. However, its user-friendly design, simple user interface, and iTunes, a platform that integrates products and services, have allowed it to outperform its competitors. Smartphone customers chose the iPhone because of the harmony between hardware and software, not because of its hardware performance. This shows that the balance between hardware and software is where true innovation comes from.
Intelligent collaboration
What does it take to build green software? Intellectual collaboration is the most effective way to build green software. From a group genius perspective, where many collaborations can produce better results than a single genius, intellectual collaboration has already produced several success stories. The Chemsite cluster in Germany is a prime example. In this cluster of chemical industrial parks, companies are supported by the government to research policy directions and collaborate to drive innovation. In addition, the cluster has strengthened links between production companies and research and development, and is leading the way in applying new eco-friendly processes by developing technologies with various stakeholders. Gone are the days of companies seeking their own development paths. The Chemsite cluster is a prime example of intelligent collaboration, where competing companies have grown the whole pie, providing a win-win path through intelligent collaboration.
Implementing green software
To maximize the intangible value of services, brands, fusion knowledge, etc. and the ability to innovate from performance and experience, multiple collaborations are required. In other words, to implement green software through intelligent collaboration, a platform is required. Platforms are basically aimed at getting a large number of participants online. It is necessary to objectively select information suitable for green growth from a large number of information online, and to determine the rightness or wrongness of information through multiple participation. The general public recognizes that green growth is an important concept, but it is not clear what exactly it is and how it affects our society. First, objective information should be accumulated through the platform, and then it should be reprocessed and spread online. For example, it could provide information on how the eco-friendly elements of a particular product work and how it will change our society. If this work is sustained, new content can be presented beyond the primary processing of information, leading to the development of convergence knowledge that combines ideas from various fields to propose a new framework for green growth.
If green software is properly established through such a platform, it will be possible to expect sufficient synergies between services and convergence knowledge. Governments and companies should strive to become leaders in the field of green growth by promoting the balanced development of green software along with the development of green hardware.
