Product, Service & Design Innovation
The latest products, services, design approaches and business models that are helping organizations of all sizes deliver on their sustainability ambitions and establish a new business as usual.
10 Biomimetic Innovations Poised to Tackle Countless Climate, Biodiversity, Business Challenges
The Biomimicry Institute’s 2022 cohort of Ray of Hope Prize finalists are leveraging nature’s genius to revolutionize textiles, wind turbines, waste remediation, building materials, cleaning products, sunscreen, plastics and more.
New Vertical Aquaculture Technology Offers Sustainable, Profitable, Globally Scalable Protein Source
Housed in cargo containers, Atarraya’s ‘plug-and-play,’ AI-powered Shrimpbox delivers up to 10x the ROI of traditional poultry or swine farming, creating new opportunities for farmers — even in landlocked, highly populated areas.
Retailers and the Food Waste Fight: The Journey Continues
Cross-Posted from Waste Not. Between new approaches to labeling, innovative coatings, redistribution and data-driven solutions, retailers across the Western world continue to fight the good fight against food waste.
Aqua Cultured Foods Aims to Eradicate Overfishing with Sushi That Isn’t Sushi
Despite over 80% of the world’s fish stocks being fully exploited or overexploited, global seafood demand is expected to jump another 30% by 2030. Aqua Cultured aims to deliver affordable, nutritious seafood alternatives to allow our oceans to recover.
World’s First Robotic Beekeeper on Mission to Repopulate and Protect Global Honeybee Populations
Israeli startup Beewise is reinventing beekeeping through AI technology and automation, and significantly improving pollination and honey yields with its smart, networked hives.
Report: An Asset Mindset Is Needed to Make a Circular Economy a Reality
Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. Latest research from Planet Tracker proposes a practical business solution to the problem of plastic waste, whereby packaging is treated as an asset to be returned, rather than a liability to be tossed.
Conquering the Last Frontier of the Climate Emergency: Your Screen
Cross-Posted from Cleantech. As creators of our digital world, we have a powerful role to play. We must consciously reinvent web design to radically reduce the polluting impacts of our sites and apps. We must use our talents to rethink how we build websites, reduce wastage and save energy — or else, we’re complicit.
Could This Upcycled Sugar Company Help Solve the Obesity and Biodiversity Crises?
Supplant breaks down typically wasted agricultural fiber into its signature product, Sugars from Fiber — an entirely new category of sugars, which performs like sugar in the kitchen while retaining the nutritional properties of fiber, and mitigating the impacts of one of the world’s most environmentally destructive crops.
ISS National Lab, Estée Lauder Choose 2 Potential Plastic Pollution Solutions to Launch into Space
The Beyond Plastics Challenge aims to address the plastics dilemma on Earth through the design and production of solutions aided by access to space. The two winning concepts will be able to conduct research in the International Space Station’s unique, weightless environment.
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute: Pushing a Safe and Just Circular Economy Into the Mainstream
As part of Shaw’s sustain[HUMAN]ability® Leadership Recognition Program, VP of Global Sustainability and Innovation Kellie Ballew recently spoke with C2CPII President and CEO Dr. Christina Raab about the evolving, interconnected nature of sustainability and the Institute’s work.
A Paradigm(ond) Shift: Lab-Grown Diamonds Are Changing the Meaning of Luxury
If you see a lab-grown diamond and a mined diamond side by side, they both elicit the same scintillating awe; but lab-grown gemstones don’t carry the injustices of their mined counterparts. For Aether and Sacet, transparency, ethics and regeneration are the future of luxury.
A New Era of Sports Sponsorship: Connecting Branded Merchandise with Circular Innovation
Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. Despite more leagues and arenas introducing initiatives to curb waste from concessions and encourage recycling, the science and innovation necessary to create lasting impact across the board (or the court or field) are still missing. That's where Dow and its partners come in.
Meet the Company Turning Wine Waste into a Delectable Superfood Treat
Through its ongoing research and growing product offerings, WellVine aims to become the world’s premier source of plant-based nutrition and illustrate how upcycling can not only reduce food waste but demonstrate the highest and best use of a remarkable global food source.
Why Companies Are Lining Up to Meet Consumer Demand for Alternative Leathers
As the prior generation of plastic-based alternatives wanes, a host of new, animal and plant-based options are sprouting up — but challenges remain for unseating conventional leather.
This Cacao-Free Chocolate Startup Is Ready to Show ‘Big Chocolate’ a Sustainable Way Forward
“Our alternative chocolate is saying that this industry can function in a different way — and it doesn’t have to be stuck doing things it has been doing for 60 years, making billions of dollars a year off the hard work of farmers in West Africa.” — WNWN co-founder Johnny Drain
Circularity Is ‘Izzy’: Meet the Clean Beauty Startup Creating a Blueprint for a Waste-Free Industry
Cross-Posted from Waste Not. New York-based startup Izzy Zero Waste Beauty is out to show the incredibly wasteful beauty industry that it can mend its wicked ways — vastly reducing its footprint through a hyper-local supply chain and 100% refillable, recyclable products.
Alternative Proteins May Be Best Investment for Slowing Climate Change
Cross-Posted from Finance & Investment. New report finds that with 25% of global GHG emissions caused by the food value chain, the shift to alternative proteins may be the most capital-efficient and high-impact solution to addressing the climate crisis — and over 30% of consumers are ready to make the switch.
Carbios, On, Patagonia, PUMA, Salomon Team Up to Advance Circularity of Textiles
Cross-Posted from Waste Not. After achieving a milestone in packaging recycling, Carbios’ unique biological recycling technology stands to fundamentally change the circularity of textiles.
GoodSam Foods Out to Scale Regenerative, Farmer-Driven Model for Sustainable Snacks
Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. The three-year-old maker of snacks, coffee and other ethically sourced foods is aiming to show that brands can source from regenerative ag systems; but it will require a real commitment to working with rural communities who, for too long, have been left behind by the modern food system.
What Makes a Resale Company Truly Sustainable?
With the resale market for apparel alone estimated to grow to $77B billion by 2026, sustainability is sure to become an increasingly important factor for consumers to consider when debating where to sell and buy their used goods.
