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.

Will New Ecodesign Regulation Make Sustainable Products the Norm for EU Consumers?

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. Brands, take heed: This legislation will apply to all products that are sold in Europe, not just manufactured in the region — impacting manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and sellers all around the world.

Foodtech Innovators Spill the Beans on Climate-Proofing Coffee

These two startups are fundamentally changing how coffee is produced — by eliminating the need for beans altogether, and repurposing food waste along the way.

This Nepalese B Corp Illustrates a Holistic Model for Sustainable Development

Shah Hemp Innoventures turns typically wasted ‘weeds’ into a resource for literally building a more sustainable, equitable economy.

Purdue Researchers Aim to Prevent Wildfires by ‘Studying Every Tree’

Purdue University’s Institute for Digital Forestry is developing a variety of remote-sensing solutions that can enhance the ability to determine the probability and magnitude of wildfires at a given location.

Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo Lead Brands Launching First City-Wide Reuse System

The collaboration, led by the NextGen Consortium, makes reusable cups the default option in over 30 national and local restaurants across the City of Petaluma, California.

4 Ways for Businesses to Consider the Planet in Every Product

Sustainable product design is a business imperative. Here, we outline four ways for companies to bridge the intention-action gap and future-proof their business and supply chains through intentional design.

New Partnerships, Processes Aim to Slash Concrete’s Climate Impacts

UNIDO and the GCCA have partnered to decarbonize the cement and concrete industry, with a strong focus on the Global South; while Cambridge researchers have developed a potentially game-changing cement-recycling process.

How Whirlpool, Washing Machine Project Are Bridging ‘the Global Washing Divide’

The Washing Machine Project and the Whirlpool Foundation are scaling distribution of a hand-cranked washing machine to help women and girls in remote areas reclaim time for education, work and personal growth — ushering in a new era of laundry that eliminates persistent social barriers.

‘Enrich Life-in-Motion for Those We Serve’: How Mazda’s Values Fuel Its Innovations

Sustainable Brands Tokyo's Shigeki Aoki talks with Mazda President and CEO Masahiro Moro about how the 104-year-old auto manufacturer’s mission and strategies center around 'the joy of driving.'

Turning the Tide: A Startup’s Mission to Restore Balance to Coastal Ecosystems

Thalasso’s technology harvests invasive sargassum seaweed, while its micro-biorefineries turn the ecosystem-disrupting material into a circular-economic revenue generator for affected communities.

Brands Are Shaping a Better Future by Designing for How People Live

SB Brand-Led Culture Change featured a host of insights into how brands are engaging customers and changing behaviors through circular design and making energy-efficient choices “normal;” and two new guides aim to equip businesses to meaningfully address social- and climate-justice issues.

15 Startups in Mars’ 1st ‘Unreasonable Food’ Cohort Poised to Future-Proof Food

Mars Snacking and Unreasonable Group will work with the selected rapid-growth ventures to scale their sustainable solutions in the first year.

This Startup Aims to Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth, But at What Cost?

Colossal Biosciences says its work to revive keystone species such as the mammoth could be a boon for ecological restoration and biodiversity preservation, but conservationists say it could become a moral and ethical quagmire.

Full Circle: Why Place-Making Strategies Are the Next Sustainable Innovation Frontier

To unlock a self-sustaining, regenerative local system, an ecosystem of co-beneficiaries invested in the place and bound by a system of co-benefits is required.

Could Lab-Grown, Hybrid Foods Be the Future of Sustainable Protein?

While the plant-based protein industry deals with growing pains, cultivated meats — and even a combination of the two — are waiting in the wings to help future-proof our food system.

Cocktails for a Cause: Mission-Driven Distilleries Champion Conservation

Alma del Jaguar Tequila and Mutiny Island Vodka are using their small but growing footprint to protect jaguars in a volatile borderland and expand the potential of an underused superfood, respectively.

A Buzzworthy Solution: The World's First Government-Approved Bee Vaccine

Dalan Animal Health introduces the inaugural USDA conditionally licensed vaccine for honeybees, providing a prophylactic solution to safeguard the global honeybee population from lethal infectious diseases.

New Ways of Catching, Producing Seafood Could Boost Health of Aquatic Ecosystems

More conscientious catch methods and the rise of cultivated seafood could help take the pressure off of overfished marine ecosystems — whose health is critical for planetary health.

Kind Traveler Adds SLO to Destinations Where ‘Every Stay Gives Back’

Kind Traveler’s responsible-tourism model now helps San Luis Obispo, California further its tree-planting efforts and progress toward its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035.

Could Supercharging Starch Production Secure Our Food Future?

ClimateCrop is boosting starch metabolism in plants through non-GMO gene editing — enhancing crop resilience to climate change, increasing yields, and offering a sustainable solution to future farming challenges.