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.
Trending: BASF, Coca-Cola, EC Break New Ground on Plastics Recycling
Continuing this year’s wave of near-constant innovations aimed at responsible management of post-consumer plastics are new advancements from both the private and public sector. BASF making products with chemically recycled plastics BASF announced it has broken new ground in plastic waste recycling with its ChemCycling project. Chemical recycling provides an innovative way to reutilize currently unrecyclable plastic waste, such as mixed or uncleaned plastics. Depending on the region, such waste is usually sent to landfill or burned with energy recovery.
Give More This Season: The 2018 SB Holiday Gift Guide
What better way to commemorate the season of giving than with gifts that really give more － by improving ecosystems, business practices and financial security; and eliminating waste, pollution and carbon emissions around the world － while spreading holiday cheer? Here are just a few of our favorite discoveries this year of products we'd be proud to give. For sustainable urban active-ists
Plastic, Be Gone! Unilever, Stora Enso Developing Better Sachets, Straws
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.
All New 3M Products to Include Sustainability Value
US-based multinational 3M launches approximately 1,000 new products each year; starting in 2019, 100 percent of them will have sustainability built in: Today, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24), 3M announced its first formal requirement that, beginning in 2019, all new products will include a Sustainability Value Commitment that demonstrates how they drive impact for the greater good.
Kickstarter, EDF Partner to Push for Better Product Development
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.
Geomimicry: Reversing the Great Sequestration
This is the third in a four-part series on geomimicry by renowned author and George Mason University professor Dr. Gregory C. Unruh. Read parts one and two.
Meet the Plant-Based Protein Poised to Sustainabilize the Food Industry
Along with a wave of plant-based meat innovations from startups such as Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Right Treat, which are giving the meat industry a run for its resource-intensive money, a new plant protein solution could further revolutionize the food industry.
SAMBAZON, Ecology Center Seeking College Students with Purposeful Business Ideas
SAMBAZON — the first company to bring organic açaí to the U.S. — and The Ecology Center, a non-profit eco-educational center, have launched their second annual Greenhouse Initiative.
Mimicking Nature, But Not as Nature Intended: An Introduction to Geomimicry
This is the first in a series of posts by Dr. Gregory Unruh about geomimicry and its implications for sustainability.
Trending: Nike, Native Shoes Projects Helping Shoe Industry Tread Lighter
Earlier this month, Nike announced the winners of its Circular Innovation Challenge, which called for new products using Nike Grind — Nike's ground-up post-factory and post-consumer materials — and new technologies to advance footwear recycling.
UPS Launching First-of-Its-Kind Urban Delivery Solution in Seattle
A growing number of forward-thinking companies have set about redesigning urban mobility solutions to meet the needs of modern cities and their citizens — from Lyft committing to providing carbon-neutral ride-sharing nationwide; to the growing popularity of electric bikes and scooters for personal mobility; to Ford’s work on everything from autonomous and connected vehicles to roads, parking and public transit solutions to
Q&A: YouNoodle on Why Startups Can Be Key to Your Sustainability Strategy
Well known as a technology engine — with a global network of 200,000+ startups that has powered a 1000+ innovation/startup competitions and challenges — YouNoodle might not be the first company you think of for advice on corporate sustainability strategy. But as the industrial era is replaced by a more entrepreneurial society, YouNoodle is helping brands and organizations keep up with disruptive innovation — and the sustainability space could certainly use more of that.
World's First Search Engine for Clean Drinking Water Also Fights Plastic Bottle Pollution
Consumers report that the prevailing reason why they buy bottled water is "convenience." Anyone can search online for the nearest gas station, coffee shop or nail salon, but when it comes to thirst, what options does one have? Open Google Maps and search “water fountain” — or ask Siri or Alexa, “Where can I fill up my water bottle?” No one has ever indexed the locations and prices of clean water around the world ... until now.
Ag Innovation Showcase Highlights Beacons of Hope for the Future of Food
Feeding the world is no new challenge, but with an expanding global middle class, what has made the problem worse in recent years is a new appetite for rich, resource-intensive foods. The demand for protein is increasing in China and even in mostly vegetarian India, who account for much of the increasing strain on land, animal and water resources. Thus, the global food system must account not just for not only an increasing population, but also a growing class of consumers with demanding palettes and greater purchasing power.
How AI, Machine Learning Are Solving Global Problems
Although developments in the field of artificial intelligence began around the 1950s, its capacities have significantly increased in the recent years. Owing to factors such as the development of faster computers, availability of open-source software and the access to vast amounts of computational data, AI has now branched into machine learning (ML), probabilistic predictions, chaos theory and evolutionary computation. Investing in artificial intelligence courses, therefore, prepares people to undertake not just one, but many AI applications.
Q&A: How Boothster Is Redesigning the Exhibit Industry
The exhibit industry is one of the most wasteful on the planet. Just take a look at the end of most conferences and trade shows, and you’ll see floors and dumpsters filled with plastics, banners, janky aluminum and other non-sustainable materials. Back in March, the Sustainable Brands team saw a clever, sustainable booth-building system and reached out to the designer, Boothster, to collaborate on sustainable stage designs and booths for SB’18 Vancouver.
HPE, WEF Enlisting Tech Sector to Solve World Hunger by 2030
Today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Sustainable Development Impact Summit, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and WEF committed to help solve world hunger by 2030 through the innovative application of technology. HPE and WEF are calling on public and private organizations to join them in an open collaboration to find solutions that will eliminate food insecurity; and sustainably, nutritiously and inclusively feed a growing population.
Dairies Resuming Home Deliveries: A Sustainable – and Sustainability – Strategy?
The milkman is making a come back. In a dozen or so communities around the U.S., dairy trucks sporting happy cows and nostalgic farm scenes are showing up at doorsteps to drop off fresh milk, cream, butter and eggs. Is that a sustainable strategy? And what does it do to promote sustainability?
Report: Scaling Circular Economy in China Could Save Businesses, Households ¥70T by 2040
New research from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) finds that a transition to a circular economy in China’s cities could make goods and services more affordable for citizens while reducing the impacts normally associated with middle-class lifestyles. The findings are being presented today at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China.