FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
While sustainable tourism offerings are increasing along with traveler interest in giving back to the communities that they visit, most operators support local
organizations through donations. But a growing wave are opting for microfinance to create larger, lasting impacts for more people.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Necessity is the mother of invention. That’s what led many entrepreneurs to create their product or service innovations in the first place — and that adage is definitely in play as businesses large and small are forced to pivot, almost daily, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold.
COLLABORATION -
This World Water Day (March 22), over 250 craft brewers from around the world will launch unique brews, proceeds benefitting The Brewgooder Foundation and
its sustainable development projects across Malawi.
COLLABORATION -
The companies will jointly support funded European startups with artificial intelligence-based solutions for sustainable food and regenerative agriculture in a three-month accelerator.
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.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
At SB’19 Madrid last week, a diverse array of innovators in various fields demonstrated the notion that asking the right questions and being willing to use imagination to find solutions to the climate crisis and other pressing global issues can turn a Moonshot into reality.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Many people and organizations, as well as broad market and social trends, contributed to sustainable seafood’s arrival at this place. Everyone who engaged helped build the network; and because they did, our oceans and plates are going to be healthier.
WASTE NOT -
As the Great Pacific Garbage Patch continues to fragment into microplastics, it is key that we reach proven technology status as soon as possible; we are closer than ever to having a tool capable of cleaning up the oceans for good.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Participants in Mars’ inaugural accelerator program — designed to support the next generation of food businesses transforming the way we eat — will receive a four-month mentorship with industry experts and grants up to $50,000.
WASTE NOT -
The regenerative food tech company is on a mission to revolutionize how food is managed along supply chains, while also addressing the global challenges of food waste, nutrition and climate change.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
From early-stage startups to college students to grade-school prodigies, 3M, the Biomimicry Institute and Unilever continue to mine the latest, greatest minds for the next sustainability innovations.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
A new report says crop diversification will help Vietnamese coffee farmers reduce their CO2 footprint, but makers of a new beverage that’s the molecular equivalent of coffee posit that it could be the wave of a climate-changed future.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
This week, more momentum on the anti-plastic front: Unilever will develop a crowdsourced, plastic-free laundry solution to combat single-use sachets; while Stora Enso and Sulapac are developing renewable drinking straws.
Unilever to invest €100K in crowdsourced alternative to plastic packaging
CPG giant Unilever has announced that it will invest €100,000 in a new, plastic-free laundry tablet — a crowdsourced innovation that has the potential to replace single-use sachets of laundry powder, a popular format for laundry detergents in the developing world that is problematic in terms of plastic waste.
CLEANTECH -
Next week, at the COP24 climate summit in Poland, a Swedish startup is set to unveil what it hails as the world's first carbon-negative fuel.
NextFuel briquettes
LEADERSHIP -
Atlanta may not be the first city that comes to mind when you think of sustainability — but perhaps, it should be.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Kickstarter PBC and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today unveiled new features on Kickstarter aimed at helping innovators evaluate and reduce the environmental impact of their products from the concept stage.
Kickstarter and EDF worked together to develop an information hub called the Environmental Resource Center, as well as a space where project creators are asked to publicly commit to environmental practices. These features will help thousands of people create sustainable products by embedding environmental considerations into the early planning stages.
WASTE NOT -
It was 2014 and social entrepreneur Samir Lakhani was working on sustainable aquaculture projects in the villages of Northern Cambodia. Watching a mother wash and bathe her new baby using laundry powder rather than soap is a vision that has stayed with him to this day.
It was also the inspiration for his next business venture.
“I noticed that nobody seemed in good overall health — whether it was an infection that wouldn’t go away or a child with diarrhea,” he told Sustainable Brands in a recent interview.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Much has been said about how to grow a company and sustain that growth over time. From building a sales funnel and forming strategic partnerships to implementing the right IT systems and establishing parameters for how employees interact with each other, with management and customers, there is no shortage of advice.
WASTE NOT -
The global movement to end textile waste continues, with the release of outer- and undergarments from new and established brands alike.
PRESS RELEASE -
Now in its second year, the 2018 Africa Innovation Challenge is open to innovators and entrepreneurs from Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria & Ghana among other African countries.
The challenge focuses on identifying scalable and sustainable solutions to six major health and environmental problems for Africa’s population.
Winning Africa-based innovators and startups are eligible for mentorship and US$50,000 in financial support and resources to help bring their ideas to market