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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.

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Cropdots Cultivating Local Food Movement by Connecting Growers to Eaters

On a blazing hot Saturday in Los Angeles last month, the Venice High School Garden, also known as The Learning Garden, hosted the latest in a years-long string of community events – this time, a “Tomato Late Harvest Summer Tasting,” hosted by local startup Cropdots.

Levi's New Wellthread Collection Launches Water<Less Fabric, Holistic Approach to Sustainable Design

Levi Strauss &amp; Co. has led the charge in dramatically reducing the environmental impact of its garments by improving the efficiency of its processes: As the company announced in March, it has saved more than 1 billion liters of water since the inception of its Water&lt;Less™ process in 2011.

Kuli Kuli's Moringa Green Energy Shots Create Jobs, Fight Deforestation in Haiti

Energy shots such as 5 Hour Energy have proliferated in recent years as they have taken up an increasingly large portion of the multibillion-dollar energy drink market. The smaller, sugar-free energy shots often position themselves as a healthier alternative to full-sized energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster.But can energy shots truly be healthy?They sure can, according to Lisa Curtis, CEO of mission-driven food startup Kuli Kuli.

Have an Idea for the Future of Food? Unilever, Cargill, General Mills, and More Want to Hear It

Startups that are innovating around nutritious, sustainable food are invited to pitch for a £3000 cash prize and a three-month mentoring program with the Unilever Foundry. The competition is open to innovators tackling food system challenges such as heart health, obesity, under-nutrition, food waste, and sustainability of the food chain.

8 Finalists Join First-Ever Biomimicry Accelerator on Mission to Feed 9 Billion

The 2015 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge (BGDC) attracted hundreds of ideas inspired by nature from nearly 2000 designers, architects, biologists, engineers, students, nature-lovers, and food enthusiasts from over 70 countries to rethink our food system. This week, the first-round finalist teams were announced and invited to attend a biomimicry celebration and awards event in Austin, Texas on October 4.

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Redefining the Role of Business to Achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Thanks to the ingenuity of private businesses and the leadership of intergovernmental organizations, humanity has made monumental leaps forward since the dawn of the 21st century.I am not talking about the rise of the smartphone. I am talking about the fight for a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable world.Over the past 15 years, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals have brought governments and NGOs together with leaders from the private sector to build the most successful anti-poverty movement in history, ultimately lifting more than a billion people out of extreme poverty.Today, though, there is much more to do.

Unilever Foundry's Ideas Platform Announces Winners of First 3 Sustainability Challenges

Unilever Foundry’s new idea platform today announced the winners of its first three sustainability challenges. The debut round of idea sourcing saw over 70 community members submit more than 150 ideas across the three categories. A panel of Unilever judges have now selected a grand prize winner for each challenge.

adidas Reveals Plans to Close Materials Loops with Custom, Recyclable, Zero-Waste Sporting Goods

Today, adidas announced Sport Infinity, the sportswear giant’s plan for a new breed of sporting goods that will never be thrown away. Instead, football (soccer) players will be able to constantly reimagine and recycle their dream products using an inexhaustible 3-D “super-material.” Every gram of sportswear, including the boots of Argentine soccer star Leo Messi, will be broken down to be remolded again in a waste-free, adhesive-free process that gives consumers more scope for personalization than ever before.

This Startup's Shower Head Uses 70% Less Water

In a time when water conservation increasingly is becoming a top-of-mind issue, showers remain a guilty pleasure even for many of the eco-conscious. After toilets and clothes washers, showers are the third-largest water hogs in an average U.S. home — a typical eight-minute shower uses around 20 gallons of water, according to the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

NIKE Commits to 100% Renewables, Partners With MIT Climate CoLab on Materials Innovation

As part of NIKE, Inc.’s goal to reduce its environmental footprint and enable business growth, the company announced two efforts today aimed at furthering that commitment: a collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate CoLab to bring innovation in materials to the forefront of the climate conversation, and a commitment to reach 100 percent renewable energy in company-owned-and-operated facilities by 2025.

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5th Future Fabrics Expo Featuring Innovations Poised to Reduce Fashion's Formidable Footprint

The Sustainable Angle is a UK-based not-for-profit organization that initiates and supports projects that help minimize the environmental impact of industry and society. Its principal project, The Future Fabrics Expo, now in its fifth year, focuses on the fashion industry and how its egregious environmental impacts can be reduced through innovation in textiles, and novel ideas to transform the fashion system and design practice.We recently spoke with Researcher and Project Manager Charlotte Turner about the impetus for the organization and its impacts to date.

VW Scandal a Jolt to 'CSR' That Reaches Far Beyond the Auto Industry

What started as a sordid tale of Volkswagen rigging half a million cars with “defeat device” software has snowballed into a global scandal as the German automaker later admitted 11 million of its cars were involved in the deception.

P&G Promises 15 Billion Liters of Clean Water, 30% Fewer Emissions by 2020

Last week, Procter &amp; Gamble (P&amp;G) announced two new 2020 goals: delivering 15 billion liters of clean drinking water through its Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its facilities by 30 percent.

Climate Week: B Team Reminding Business, World Leaders of Undeniable #BusinessCase for Net Zero

Today The B Team, comprised of leaders of some of the world’s largest companies, is calling on governments and businesses alike to aim for net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 or before, building upon their February 2015 call to world leaders.A ‘Net-Zero by 2050’ aspiration being adopted by leading companies demonstrates the importance of bold long-term targets, and reinforces what the Leaders of The B Team are asking for from world leaders in the political process at COP21 in Paris.

Monsanto Wants to Be the World’s Greengrocer

Monsanto has set its sights on global vegetable dominance and its lead contender is Beneforté broccoli, which is described as “even more of a good thing.” The agribusiness giant is hedging its enormous bets placed on a corn-and-soy-driven business as consumer demand for healthier and less processed foods assails CPGs in all food and beverage categories from soda to cereal.

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#BusinessCase: Furniture Take-Back Programs from IKEA, John Lewis Save Money, Emissions

Furniture waste is the focus of two reports released this month. UK think tank RSA and recycling and waste company SUEZ published Rearranging the Furniture, which takes a design-focused approach to bulky waste reduction, increased reuse of furniture, and development of a circular economy. And the Furniture Re-use Network’s (FRN) new report, Commercial Retailers: Their Impact on the UK Reuse Sector, discusses the impacts of FRN partnerships with major furniture and electrical equipment retailers.

Cargill Marks Anniversary of No-Deforestation Pledge With New Forest Policy; Greenpeace Wants More

On Wednesday, just a few days from the first anniversary of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) — an international, multi-sector commitment to safeguard the world’s forests and to help tackle climate change signed by Cargill and other major multinational companies, governments, and civil society organizations at last year’s UN Climate Summit — Cargill released a new Policy on Forests. Backed by forest protection action plans for Cargill’s priority commodity supply chains, the policy sets a comprehensive approach for the company in its efforts to prevent forest loss.

Help FreshPaper Spread the Word About Its Food-Saving Potential to 100M Super Bowl Viewers

Cross-Posted from Waste Not. Fenugreen, 2013’s SB Innovation Open winner and creator of the potentially game-changing food-saving innovation FreshPaper, is one of 10 startup finalists in contention for the most coveted of TV spots: a Super Bowl ad.

Startup Working to Provide Jobs to Refugees Resettled in the US

The ongoing plight of the millions of refugees fleeing Syria and other parts of the world has captured the world’s attention, but what happens once they’ve found somewhere safe to settle?In the midst of the refugee crisis, socially conscious jewelry brand Liberti USA is asking you to support the American dream and help resettled refugees exercise their right to work.

27 African Startups Prove Worthy Grassroots Solutions for Sustainable Development

27 African social and environmental startups were recognized with awards last week at the 2015 SEED Africa Symposium. The recipients’ business models benefit local communities and help meet sustainable development challenges. Two of the awards were specifically designated for women-led ventures that focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

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