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.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Airbus Group is taking innovation inspired by nature to the air by using 3D printing to help build a stronger, lighter-weight galley partition that mimics cells structure and bone growth. The design literally lightens each airplane’s load, allowing it to do things like save a projected 465,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
COLLABORATION -
Dermatologists Grace Bandow and Samar Jaber were surprised by the experience they had on their first mission to a Syrian refugee camp. They prepared for parasitic and bacterial infections associated with crowded living – minor diseases that flourish in “close, dirty quarters.” What they did not anticipate was the number of people who simply needed an item commonly found in a household medicine cabinet.“It never occurred to us to prioritize Vaseline petroleum jelly,” they wrote in an article published by The Washington Post upon their return.
PRESS RELEASE -
Participation in the newly created Health and Wellness Technology Accelerator is open to companies that support human wellbeing through interventions that target nutrition, physical activity, stress, sleep, alcohol and smoking cessation. Companies will be selected based on criteria established jointly by JJHWS and Plug and Play. Consistent with Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to support diversity and its focus on increasing women’s representation in science and technology, the accelerator will target at least 30% participation by companies founded by women or minorities.
CLEANTECH -
The Ford Motor Company is ‘going further’ with its Smart Mobility Plan, which focuses on innovation in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics. Two recent developments include the use of sensor technology on motorcycles to collect mobility data in Africa, and autonomous vehicle testing on public roads in the US.
PRESS RELEASE -
Sustainable Brands® pan-European conference SB’15 London begins today at the Beaumont Estate in Windsor. Nearly 400 business executives across diverse industry sectors and from 30+ countries are convening today through November 18th to collaborate and demonstrate how brands are transforming sustainability-led initiatives into profitable business outcomes.
NEW METRICS -
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found that carbon dioxide (CO2) has a direct and negative impact on human cognition and decision-making, according to a new study, as reported by ThinkProgress.These impacts have been observed at carbon dioxide levels that most Americans are routinely exposed to today inside classrooms, offices, homes, planes and cars.
CLEANTECH -
Medical records, electronic or otherwise, might as well be Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics to, well, just about anyone other than a medical professional. This makes it next to impossible for us to make sense of our personal health data.But a startup called Gliimpse says it has developed the “Rosetta Stone” for medical records, which helps translate the esoteric information into fluid, actionable data. I recently caught up with Gliimpse co-founder and CEO Anil Sethi, and co-founder and president Karthik Hariharan.