- September 05, 2022
Sustainable innovation unlocking human potential
We all know technology can be life changing. But what if it gave you back the gift of sound and the ability to reconnect with family and friends? And what if this crucial innovation didn’t cost the earth?
In this article, Chaojun Li, Global Head of Sustainability at WSAudiology, and Laust Korsholm, Manager IT Service Desk Denmark at WSAudiology, reveal how sustainable innovation is improving the health, well-being, and quality of life of people who are suffering from hearing loss and how a circular economy for technology is a big part of the plan.
WSAudiology is an organisation tackling a big challenge. According to the World Health Organisation, over 430 million people have disabling hearing loss requiring rehabilitation, rising to nearly 700 million by 2050. Today, fewer than one in five of these people wear a hearing solution.
The global company, headquartered in Lynge, Denmark, and Singapore, has been at the cutting edge of hearing aid technology for more 65 years. Its mission? To unluck human potential by making wonderful sound a part of everyone’s life. And with that, to deliver sound so natural, people forget about their hearing loss.
Last week, WSAudiology’s Global Head of Sustainability, Chaojun Li, and Manager IT Service Desk Denmark, Laust Korsholm, joined Jason Skidmore, Chief Commercial Officer at 3stepIT for a chat. They discussed what it takes to be a tech leader, our environmental responsibility, and how innovation can change lives.
Jason: I can imagine hearing loss is a really personal challenge and a different experience for everyone. How do you use technology to meet the unique needs of your customers in a personalised way?
Chaojun: The sounds that connect you to your life are so important. Even the slightest loss of hearing may have a huge impact on your experience of the world – distancing you from people, connections, and experiences.
We believe that, once you put a hearing aid on, you shouldn’t have to think about it until you take it off again at night. You should be able to get on with your life, while in the background, your hearing aid employs the most advanced sound engine, AI powered personalisation, and seamless integration.
That’s why innovation and technology are at the core of our business. We have a dedicated team of engineers constantly working on improving our products and platforms. Our artificial intelligence features also make it easier to adjust the technology to individual needs.
Jason: WSAudiology is an expert at marrying innovation and sustainability, why is this important?
Chaojun: Great products and services are no longer enough. The best companies are pushing themselves to make a positive contribution to society. We believe that through responsible business decisions, we can help preserve sound and nature.
We continually search for innovative ways to minimise our environmental footprint in terms of energy, water and fuel consumption, waste management, and packaging.
Just one example is our Danish headquarters in Lynge, north of Copenhagen, which has an aquifer thermal system that provides heating and cooling. Our windmill delivers green electricity. We’re CO2-neutral and we can deliver excess energy to the electricity grid, providing a CO2-free contribution to the local area.
We’re always looking for solutions that go that one step further.
Jason: Companies are increasingly being asked to demonstrate clear and measurable results in sustainability. How do you benchmark your activity?
Chaojun: Our objective is to become the most environmentally friendly and diverse hearing aid company, serving the most people and doing our utmost to realise our purpose. But we know that ambitions alone aren’t enough. We have set clear objectives and detailed targets to track our progress and we measure ourselves using global standards. We have committed to the science-based targets initiative (SBTi) and we’re signatories to the UN Global Compact. These frameworks guide us to make the right decisions and make a positive change in people’s lives in the most sustainable way possible.
Jason: What role does 3stepIT play in this vision?
Laust: The societal problems we want to solve are too big to tackle alone. We need likeminded partners who are committed to sustainable operating models and skilled in delivering measurable results.
We choose to work with 3stepIT because you understand that technology is our greatest asset, and we both know we need to manage it responsibly and efficiently to get the best outcomes for our business, our customers, and our planet.
Being leaders means doing things differently, sometimes for the first time, so that others can follow in your footsteps and be inspired by your journey. And it means taking on the responsibility to seek out and adopt ideas that are going to challenge the status quo.
3stepIT’s solution ticks a lot of boxes because it gives us control of our assets and eliminates any concerns about data security, privacy, and the compliance of our devices from the moment they are no longer in use. Your service not only helps us reduce the environmental impact of our technology; it also gives us capital to reinvest in innovation and digital transformation projects, so we can ensure our team has access to the latest digital tools. Thanks to 3stepIT, we are turning e-waste into e-wealth.
We have ambitious targets to improve the reach and accessibility of hearing solutions using the most innovative technology we can develop while limiting our environmental impact. Thanks to 3stepIT’s services, we are on a journey to fully adopt a circular economy model for our tech, and even though we are only at the start of this evolution, we are already seeing great results.
We are ideal partners because we both agree business success doesn’t need to come at a cost to the environment. And by working together, we can continue innovating, serving the needs of our customers, and also give something back to society.
