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Janine Benyus

Co-Founder
Biomimicry 3.8

Janine Benyus is a renowned biologist, innovation consultant and author, who named and popularized the biomimicry movement.

Janine is the author of six books, including the seminal Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, in which she names the then-emerging discipline that emulates nature's designs and processes (e.g., solar cells that mimic leaves) to create a healthier, more sustainable planet. Since the book’s 1997 release, Janine has evolved the practice of biomimicry, consulting with businesses and conducting seminars about what we can learn from the genius that surrounds us. Her favorite role is Biologist-at-the-Design-Table, introducing innovators to 3.8 billion years of brilliant, time-tested solutions.

In 1998, Janine co-founded the world’s first bio-inspired consultancy, bringing nature’s sustainable designs to 250+ clients including Boeing, Colgate-Palmolive, Nike, General Electric, Herman Miller, HOK architects, IDEO, Interface, Natura, Procter and Gamble, Levi’s, Kohler and General Mills. As a result of working with Janine’s team, the world’s largest commercial carpet manufacturer (Interface, Inc.) introduced a carpet line inspired by random pattern formation in nature. In record time, Entropy™/I2 rose to become Interface’s top-selling product, and now represents 40% of its carpet tile sales.

In 2006, Janine co-founded The Biomimicry Institute to embed biomimicry in formal education and informal spaces such as museums and nature centers. Over 100 universities are now part of the Biomimicry Educator’s Network, introducing biology’s lessons to students who will one day design, engineer and manage our world. In 2008, the Institute launched AskNature.org, an award-winning bio-inspiration site for inventors. In 2010, Janine and her team combined the for-profit and non-profit arms into a single B Corp called Biomimicry 3.8.

Janine Benyus is tagged in 8 stories.
Brand Leaders, Visionaries Gather to Help Sustainability Practitioners ‘Recenter & Accelerate’
Brand Leaders, Visionaries Gather to Help Sustainability Practitioners ‘Recenter & Accelerate’

Organizational Governance / This week at SB’22 San Diego, over 1K sustainability practitioners have converged to share insights, tools, inspiration and opportunities for collaboration with the goal of building a regenerative future for all. On opening night, luminaries from a variety of disciplines reminded attendees the importance of taking a breath and opening your mind. - 1 year ago

Benyus: COVID-19 Offers ‘Utopian Glimmer’ of New World, But We Must Give Back to Nature
Benyus: COVID-19 Offers ‘Utopian Glimmer’ of New World, But We Must Give Back to Nature

Circular Economy / “We’re seeing a bit of utopian glimmer coming through, and natural selection chooses what works over and over. So, when we get back to normal, we get this glorious choice to put back in our lives only what is best, only what we found made life worth living.” — Janine Benyus - 4 years ago

Interface Moving from Net Zero to Climate Positive by Rethinking Factories as Forests
Interface Moving from Net Zero to Climate Positive by Rethinking Factories as Forests

New Metrics / With 3.8 billion years of R&D behind Earth’s systems and creatures, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what we can learn and how we can apply those lessons to our companies, products and processes. - 6 years ago

Biomimicry = Return on Inspiration
Biomimicry = Return on Inspiration

Finance & Investment / Reprinted with permission. This article was originally published in the 25th Anniversary issue of GreenMoney Journal. - 7 years ago

Lessons from Spirituality, Nature and Business on the Meaning of Purpose and How to Activate It
Lessons from Spirituality, Nature and Business on the Meaning of Purpose and How to Activate It

Consumer Behavior Change / The purpose of business is changing. While historically, business students have been taught that the purpose of business solely is to increase investors’ profits — known as the Friedman Doctrine — the most successful brands are searching for a deeper meaning. Defining and activating purpose in business was the key theme of Tuesday evening’s plenaries at Sustainable Brands 2016. While Millennials often receive credit for compelling companies to embrace higher ideals, this actually is something all generations of demanded, said Shannon Schuyler, Chief Purpose Officer at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). However, because Millennials are such a large demographic and constantly communicate via technology, their voices are being heard. - 8 years ago

Janine Benyus: What Businesses Can Learn from the 'Optimization Engine of Evolution'
Janine Benyus: What Businesses Can Learn from the 'Optimization Engine of Evolution'

Organizational Governance / In 1997, biologist Janine Benyus popularized the term “biomimicry,” with her groundbreaking book of the same name, and spearheaded the growth of the discipline dedicated to applying Nature’s designs and processes to create a healthier, more sustainable world. I recently spoke with Janine about some of her favorite biomimetic innovations, about asking more from our design interventions, and some of the yet untapped areas in which Nature’s genius could help solve our most intractable problems. - 8 years ago

Innovation Inspiration: What Bones Taught Airbus About Optimizing Strength
Innovation Inspiration: What Bones Taught Airbus About Optimizing Strength

Innovation & Technology / 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. - 8 years ago

‘The Best Ideas Might Not Be Ours’: DiCaprio Produces Film on Biomimicry
‘The Best Ideas Might Not Be Ours’: DiCaprio Produces Film on Biomimicry

Innovation & Technology / As more and more organizations with sustainability missions are discovering, getting a celebrity to help spread your message could be the difference between creating a tiny ripple and engaging millions around the world (see recent examples around deforestation, the Sustainable Development Goals, clean drinking water, and eating more produce, to n - 8 years ago