LAUNCH, the coalition of technology supporters that includes such organizations as NIKE Inc., NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State, is adding some Nordic-based new members such as IKEA, Novozymes, Kvadrat, Arla and a number of government institutions, to form LAUNCH Nordic. Since 2010, the coalition has spotted and supported “visionaries whose ideas, technologies or programs have the potential to create a better world.”

The extended organization will continue to tackle the world’s greatest sustainability challenges both on the local and international level. Among others, LAUNCH Nordic will focus on exploring the sources and methods of manufacturing of innovative sustainable materials.

Pic.: A fragment of the LAUNCH process infographics

LAUNCH Nordic was presented on March 14 at a summit in Copenhagen, in front of the professionals from a range of industries—120 global and Nordic industry stakeholders, materials specialists, designers, researchers, innovators and policy makers.

To inspire collaboration between smaller groups of professionals, the project will launch the LAUNCH Nordic Challenge 2014 for individuals and teams, start-ups and established companies, inviting them to submit their applications through June 1. In August, the panel of judges will select the most high-potential talents and LAUNCH will include them into the “immersive program that provides access to capital, creativity and capacity building.”

“At IKEA, we know first-hand how important collaboration can be in bringing new innovations and technologies to scale,” said Håkan Nordkvist, Head of Sustainability Innovation at IKEA. “Together with our partners from LAUNCH and LAUNCH Nordic, we can participate in the identification and development of transformational innovations that can help solve global sustainability challenges.”