THE NEXT ECONOMY -
“We’re seeing a bit of utopian glimmer coming through, and natural selection chooses what works over and over. So, when we get back to normal, we get this
glorious choice to put back in our lives only what is best, only what we found made life worth living.” — Janine Benyus
MARKETING AND COMMS -
As many of us find ourselves with much more time at home due to the COVID-19 crisis,
a lot of us are finding opportunities to do things we couldn’t quite get to in the course of our ‘regular lives’ before the widespread lockdowns.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
A new book, Lo—TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism, highlights centuries-old technologies that provide a powerful toolkit for sustainable architecture and
design in the modern age.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The tagline for this year’s Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, “Design° for People + Planet,” asks participants to look at what degree of change they will make for a particular SDG, using nature as their mentor.
CLEANTECH -
Smart building features once seemed like nice-to-haves, but they’re rapidly becoming need-to-haves. Facilities that are at a competitive disadvantage are not going to catch up by making operators smarter. The operators are already smart, and they don’t have time to deal with dumb buildings.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The Ray of Hope Prize competition gives startups a chance to get their biomimetic innovations to market; entrepreneurs with nature-inspired design solutions for climate mitigation, carbon sequestration or the SDGs have until December 31 to apply.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
People have opinions about the ways we should address the climate crisis. There are many possible solutions, but however we decide to change, we have to do it now.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
From soil erosion solutions that draw inspiration from natural tide pools and a kingfisher’s eyelid, to technologies that use protection methods developed by plants, the winners of this year’s Biomimicry Global Design Challenge present some truly creative solutions inspired by nature.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
We know that carbon emissions, particularly carbon dioxide and methane, are a major contributor to global climate change trends, and that the challenge of mitigating and even reversing this trend is highly complex. We also know that — like so many other sustainability challenges we face — managing carbon is a challenge faced by the natural world and solved through its own adaptive strategies that have evolved over 3.8 billion years.
In short: Nature sees carbon as a building block — and we can, too.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Reprinted with permission. This article was originally published in the 25th Anniversary issue of GreenMoney Journal.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Fashion continues to make headlines, with news emerging about a new textile breakthrough and shifting attitudes towards clothing across the UK that are helping drive down the industry’s environmental impact.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Nature-inspired solutions designed to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems continue to gain steam as five teams of entrepreneurs from around the world vie for the top prize at the 2017 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
This was no introductory workshop. Everyone in attendance on Monday afternoon, day one of SB'17 Detroit, raised their hand when asked if they knew what biomimicry is, and everyone was interested in diving in and learning how to use biomimicry in their own work. Thus, organizers Nicole Hagerman Miller and Dr.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Two new announcements from Ford highlight how the auto and mobility company is harnessing technology to get ahead.
With ambitious plans to launch an autonomous vehicle in 2021, Ford has announced that it is investing $1 billion over the next five years in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence company founded by former Google and Uber leaders, to develop a virtual driver system.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The latest textile innovations include a new TENCEL® made from cotton fabric waste, recently picked up by Patagonia, and a research breakthrough that could lead to ‘tarantula blue’ textiles.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Both the Biomimicry Institute and Net Impact launched food-focused competitions earlier this year, seeking innovative ideas for new products or services. This week, the winners of the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge and Forward Food Competition were announced.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The annual competition from the Biomimicry Insititute is spreading its wings: The Biomimicry Global Design Challenge (BGDC) is expanding to include the Living Product Prize.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The 2015 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge (BGDC) attracted hundreds of ideas inspired by nature from nearly 2000 designers, architects, biologists, engineers, students, nature-lovers, and food enthusiasts from over 70 countries to rethink our food system. This week, the first-round finalist teams were announced and invited to attend a biomimicry celebration and awards event in Austin, Texas on October 4.
LEADERSHIP -
A new cooperative venture at Arizona State University aims to make ASU a key academic hub for the emerging discipline of biomimicry.
Since Janine Benyus first observed and named the field in her 1997 book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, designers, engineers, businesses and other innovators have increasingly turned to nature in search of inspired ideas.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) has partnered with Canvas.net to offer a free, open online course called, Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology. The course is an introduction to biomimicry, a sustainability framework that studies nature’s best design ideas to help us solve our own design challenges.