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.
NEW METRICS -
Last week Harvard’s Sustainability and Health Initiative for Net Positive Enterprise (SHINE) hosted its annual Net Positive Summit to showcase the latest trends in well-being and health, and how they factor into creating Net Positive impacts. SHINE’s mission is to help corporations across all sectors measure and accelerate the ways in which they help the world become a healthier, more sustainable place. The summit showcased how integral well-being – which includes a combination of employee health and the health of the planet – is to creating a flourishing future.
LEADERSHIP -
Today at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2016 in New York, Claus Stig Pedersen, Head of Corporate Sustainability at biotech giant Novozymes, was announced as one of ten 2016 Local Pioneers of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
“We’re an emerging sector. We’re the cool kids. And that takes time,” said Kathryn Sheridan, CEO and founder of Sustainability Consult, during a Wednesday morning breakout session on the rise of bio-materials and bio-based products at Sustainable Brands 2016 San Diego.
Bio-based alternatives to plastic and other fossil-based materials can be used for a variety of applications, including construction, manufacturing and apparel, among others. However, many have yet to reach scale, largely due to industry clinging to classic chemistry.
“Bio-based materials work, it’s just a matter of economics,” Sheridan said.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
What could be a dry technical presentation on supply chain metrics is immediately derailed, as presenter Scot Case, Training Developer for the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), elects to depart from the predetermined slide show, and instead deliver the content in a workshop-style format. So much for a nice, easy-to-write post.
PRESS RELEASE -
The company is incorporating bio-based plastics and post-consumer recycled paperboard into their new and improved Earth’s Choice product line
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have proposed a new bio-inspired, “bottom-up” approach for designing cement paste – concrete’s binding ingredient. Led by Oral Buyukozturk, a professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), the team compared cement paste to natural materials such as bones, deep sea sponges, and nacre, an inner shell layer of mollusks.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
In 1997, biologist Janine Benyus popularized the term “biomimicry,” with her groundbreaking book of the same name, and spearheaded the growth of the discipline dedicated to applying Nature’s designs and processes to create a healthier, more sustainable world. I recently spoke with Janine about some of her favorite biomimetic innovations, about asking more from our design interventions, and some of the yet untapped areas in which Nature’s genius could help solve our most intractable problems.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
From waste management to construction to apparel, circular economy models are gaining attention and proving effective in numerous industries. Even those in healthcare – an industry that requires the highest level of uncompromising performance – are beginning to re-evaluate linear product lifecycles.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Ford Motor Company claims to be the first automaker to formulate and test new foam and plastic components using captured carbon dioxide (CO2) as feedstock. Within five years, the company expects to be using the new biomaterials in its vehicles.
Foams formulated with up to 50 percent CO2-based polyols have shown promise in ‘rigorous’ automotive tests, and could be used in seating and under-hood applications. The company claims that the CO2-derived foam will reduce the use of fossil fuels in Ford vehicles – potentially reducing petroleum use by more than 600 million pounds annually. Other plastic materials are currently under development.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Unilever’s Sustainable Living brands continue to show superior performance, as the company reports on the fifth year of progress of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. Consumers expect more of brands and businesses now — and they reward those that deliver a wider social benefit in addition to the traditional product performance at an affordable price.
In 2015, Sustainable Living brands — which have integrated sustainability into both their purpose and products:
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The UPS Foundation has partnered with drone manufacturer Zipline and leading vaccine alliance Gavi., to deliver blood, medicines, and vaccines to clinics across Rwanda via a fleet of Zipline drones. Drones can provide a faster, more reliable method of medicine delivery in areas where roads are often impassable, or where products cannot be kept for long without spoiling. The venture is planned as a one-year initiative, with hopes to expand in the future.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Food packaging is one of the main generators of packaging waste in developed countries. In 2012, each person in the European Union (EU) countries generated an average of 156.8kg of packaging waste, and plastic containers accounted for 19 percent of it. In total, 15.1 million tons of plastic packaging waste was generated. Of course, many organizations are working on cutting back this waste, and new materials are under development, including biodegradable bioplastics made from renewable materials or even waste.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Nature has inspired all kinds of innovation – from Ford looking at geckos’ sticky toe pads to improve adhesives to Airbus building a stronger, lighter-weight galley partition that mimics cell structure and bone growth. Biomimicry is also influencing building design across industrial, commercial and residential projects.
CLEANTECH -
Regularly scheduled United Airlines flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco will be fueled by a blend of 30 percent biofuel and 70 percent traditional fuel, reducing an estimated 60 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with regular fuel.
Other airlines have tested biofuel, but United says it has “made history … by becoming the first U.S. airline to begin use of commercial-scale volumes of sustainable aviation biofuel for regularly scheduled flights,” with this new initiative.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The ‘biggest international sustainable entrepreneurship competition’ is underway! The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is open to entrepreneurs and businesses who have a product or service which reduces CO2 emissions. Now in its 10th year, this annual business plan competition for eco-entrepreneurs aims to promote a low carbon economy by supporting “sustainable innovation in the battle against climate change.”
PRESS RELEASE -
CVS Health, the nation's largest pharmacy innovation company, today announced Be The First, a five-year $50 million
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.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Rather than creating more waste, two new plastic solutions are speaking to the eco-conscious: Gumdrop Ltd. is using chewing gum in a novel, closed-loop recycling solution, while a new container was designed for improved reusability and recyclability.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
According to the United Nations, 1.2 billion people live in areas of physical water scarcity and another 1.6 billion people face economic water shortage or lack the infrastructure to take water from rivers and aquifers, making water scarcity one of the most significant global problems to be faced this century.