ESA taps Planbox to institutionalize innovation, aligning with ISO 56002 standards to strengthen its competitive advantage.

Wilmington, Delaware — Planbox, the pioneering agile innovation management platform, has been selected by Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a 100% employee-owned environmental consulting firm with over 50 years of experience, to standardize and scale its innovation efforts and unlock the full potential of ESA’s innovative spirit.

Though innovation has always been woven into ESA’s corporate fabric, the integration of Planbox as its innovation management system provides a formalized structure for the systematic development, evaluation, and implementation of ideas. As part of the firm’s five-year strategic plan, this move represents a significant stride towards firmwide standardization of innovation processes.

“Innovation has always been reflected in the collaborative work of our teams with our clients and partners. However, until now, we lacked a formal structure for harnessing innovation firmwide,” said Leslie Moulton-Post, ESA President/CEO. “Planbox will enable us to transform ideas into value-generating assets with our employee-owners using a shared virtual space, and do so in a way that is continuous and consistent.”

A decisive factor in ESA’s selection of Planbox was the platform’s alignment with the ISO 56002 Guidance Standard for Innovation Management Systems. “ESA aims to organize its innovation program around ISO 56002, adhering to established best practices in innovation management, thereby increasing the likelihood of repeating successful outcomes.”

Additionally, ESA’s alignment with ISO 56002 not only reinforces the crucial role of innovation within its strategic five-year plan but also amplifies its importance to the executive team. “Aligning with these global standards strengthens our commitment to innovation and solidifies our market position. We anticipate that our clients will demand these high standards and meeting them will give us a competitive edge as we pursue new work.”

Also captivating ESA are robust features like Planbox’s configurable workflows and H2H (Head-to-Head) decision framework. “The workflows offer significant advantages for our Innovation Stewardship Council, enabling them to easily evaluate ideas and advance them through our criteria for selection, funding, and implementation. They can also leverage H2H to make unbiased decisions about which ideas to move forward.”

ESA envisions numerous benefits from using Planbox. The firm aims to enhance engagement and collaboration among all employee-owners, gain a competitive advantage, generate client value, and improve operational processes. Expected outcomes include fostering cross-regional and business unit collaboration, bolstering resilience, driving tangible cost savings and revenue growth, and reinforcing their reputation as creative problem solvers.

“We’re thrilled to onboard Planbox as our innovation management platform. This move enables us to fully tap into ESA’s potential, unleashing a wealth of ideas that will drive meaningful work forward, and fortify our competitive advantage,” concluded Moulton-Post.

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About Planbox

Innovation is at the heart of becoming Future-Fit. Built on ISO 56002 and AI, our end-to-end agile innovation management platform and services empower medium and large-sized organizations to become more adaptive, creative, and resilient. Planbox helps you turn creative ideas into winning projects and integrate everyday tools to collaborate smarter with your community of employees, customers, partners, startups, governments, academia, and expert solvers. Planbox has offices in Canada, UK, and USA, with customers around the world in over 140 countries.

About ESA

Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is a prominent environmental science and services firm, leading the industry in planning and design, environmental science, regulatory compliance, and restoration. ESA works to improve the sustainability and resilience of communities and the natural environment, providing responsive client service and tackling complex environmental challenges. A 100% employee-owned firm, growing thoughtfully and deliberately, ESA invests in its employee-owners across offices in California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southeastern United States. To learn more, visit www.esassoc.com.