THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Visit Faroe Islands’ innovative strategy and annual ‘Closed for Maintenance’ voluntourism program illustrate the destination’s dual commitment to both promotion and the sustainable development. Lacking relevant legislation, VFI uses tourism to support sustainable development on a broader scale.
WALKING THE TALK -
After meeting their goal to plant 1M trees three years early, Bulleit and American Forests are now focused on improving tree equity in communities that need it most — starting with two in Houston, Texas ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The PDXNext redesign of Portland International Airport’s main terminal involved a first-of-its-kind supply chain that supported the regional timber industry; and ensured wood traceability and equitable sourcing from local tribal, private and public landowners’ responsibly managed forests.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
As salmon demand has grown, so too have large-scale, environmentally destructive aquaculture projects. The community of Frenchman Bay, Maine is fighting a plan to build North America’s largest industrialized, open-net fish farms in their backyard.
WALKING THE TALK -
From my perspective as a scientist who’s been working on climate change and environmental resilience since before the crisis made front-page headlines, here are the four biggest trends I foresee defining 2023.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The collaboration, using Steakholder’s proprietary 3D bio-printing technology, is a significant step forward in both companies’ mission to cultivate and scale sustainable alternatives to conventionally farmed and fished foods.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The VOICE Network’s Cocoa Barometer links the range of challenges facing
cocoa-farming communities to pervasive poverty. The IDH’s new, free Living Wage Action Guide helps companies find the path to the best interventions for their situation.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
COP15 again highlighted the importance of ensuring money moves in the right direction to bring about lasting environmental protection. One example is The Nature Conservancy’s recent purchase of a coral reef insurance policy to protect Hawai‘i’s marine environment from damage by hurricanes or tropical storms.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Oakland-based startup MeliBio has created the world's first vegan honey — molecularly identical to the bee-made version, but a delicious and sustainable alternative that supports bee biodiversity.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The mine’s operator and UK government pledge to offset nearly 500,000 annual tons of emissions through carbon credits; but the clear greenwashing has been lambasted by critics the world over.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
As always, the goal of our gift guide is to encourage a more conscious approach to gift-giving by highlighting products, services and experiences that create value and benefits beyond short-term gratification for the recipient. Here’s this year’s list of some of the many companies, platforms and products that we’d be happy to support anytime.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Meat and dairy companies need to go further and faster to protect our natural world — before politicians, regulators and investors make the decision for them. The latest FAIRR Index shows what’s possible and shines a spotlight on the investment risks of maintaining the status quo.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The new startup offers a regenerative ‘tree burial’ service that reimagines cemeteries as forests — enabling the dearly departed to truly give back to the land and encouraging younger generations to think about death in new ways.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Orange Fiber and Keel Labs are platforms for exploration and innovation that can reverberate across the fashion industry and prove that sustainable feedstocks and production processes can create both financial and planetary prosperity.
NEW METRICS -
NatureMetrics says new platform represents breakthrough in understanding and managing our impact on nature — providing simple, standardized metrics to track and report on site-based nature impacts.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Self-reported data from over 7,700 companies that responded to questions on biodiversity through CDP’s climate change questionnaire shows they are ready to disclose on biodiversity, sending a powerful signal to negotiators ahead of
COP15.
WALKING THE TALK -
In 2021, WSL launched WAOO to protect and conserve surf ecosystems around the world. Over the 2022 tour season, it collaborated with community organizations, indigenous groups, surfers and others on activations including replanting native coastal vegetation in Hawaii, removing plastic pollution from Indonesian waterways, and restoring coral reefs in Tahiti.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
"The Cookbook in Support of the United Nations: For People and Planet" features 75 recipes divided into sections on food systems, biodiversity, sustainable
consumption, food and climate change, and food waste — and shares each dish’s carbon footprint.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Archireef has developed the world’s first-ever biomimetic, artificial reef tile — promoting coral survivorship and growth in an environmentally friendly, adaptive and scalable way.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The USDA has awarded Bridgestone $35M to grow its investment in desert shrub guayule to advance a climate-smart domestic rubber industry and offer a water-smart solution amid the ongoing drought in the Southwestern US.