During the month of March, Natura received visits from two delegations of foreign universities interested in innovation and sustainability: University of California – Berkeley and representatives from universities in the United Kingdom.
The group of MBA students from the Haas School of Business – University of California Berkeley was led by Brazilian Prof. Flavio Feferman. In addition to the company's facilities, they learned about two Natura programs: Amazon and Natura Campus. Before the visit, the students had already discussed Natura in their classes, making the discussion quite interesting, including topics such as sustainability and open innovation.
The Haas School of Business is home to the important Center for Open Innovation, directed by Prof. Henry Chesbrough, author of three books on the subject: Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology (HBS Press, 2003); Open Business Models (HBS Press, 2006); Open Services Innovation (Jossey Bass, 2011).
Learn more about the Center for Open Innovation: http://openinnovation.berkeley.edu/
The British delegation consisted of 21 leaders from universities. The mission was organized by the British Consulate and stayed in São Paulo until Thursday.
After touring the company's facilities, the representatives were welcomed by the Natura Campus Program team, and there was significant interest in learning about our collaborative open innovation model. Initially, we presented the history of partnerships and collaboration, both national and international. We also addressed the main research topics worked on by the company: Well-Being Sciences; Senses and Experience Design; Sustainable Technologies; Classical and Advanced Skin and Hair Sciences.
The researchers asked many questions about how Natura builds its partnerships. Unlike traditional open innovation models, we take an active approach to working in the world of science and take pride in valuing and encouraging interaction with academia through a systematic and long-term relationship. We believe that this closer contact facilitates the identification of mutually beneficial opportunities and the generation of multiple forms of value for the entire network of partners. By the end of 2011, we had established partnerships with 18 Science Institutions from nine Brazilian states, totaling 39 collaborative projects focused on basic or technological scientific research.
