How nice to stop thinking about COVID for a minute and revel in the potential of some truly groundbreaking creations! Here are some of Fast Company’s most recent
list of 26 World-Changing Ideas that we’re especially excited about …
General Excellence: Vulcan II (Icon) – a
massive 3D printer that can extrude the walls of a house in just 24 hours; new
3D-printed communities in southern Mexico and Austin, Texas offer
large-scale proof that 3D-printing tech could be a viable solution for quickly
building affordable
housing
for those in need.
Company of the Year: Abbott – From a new
implant
to keep babies’ hearts healthy, to fighting
malaria,
to addressing the social determinants of health through its Future Well
Kids
and Future Well
Communities
programs.
App: Food Rescue Hero (412 Food
Rescue) – A ‘DoorDash for
surplus food’ that connects extra food from restaurants to hunger-fighting
organizations — and will now offer rides to people in need, as well.
Art and Design: Aguahoja (Neri Oxman and the Mediated Matter Group, MIT
Media Lab) – An installation
project
utilizing 3D-printed “biopolymers” — materials from the natural world that could
replace plastic and degrade at the end of life, eliminating the need for
recycling.
Navigating the Carbon Market: Strategies to Balance Risk and Impact
The carbon market requires a deeper understanding of carbon credit quality and other associated risks to effectively scale and advance significant climate action. Join our free webinar on Thurs, August 1, as Telekom, BeZero, Varaha, and CEEZER delve into the nature of these risks and explore emerging tools and data that enable buyers navigate the carbon market.
Consumer Products: Evrythng – the IoT platform
that makes every consumer product intelligent, interactive and
trackable
now lets consumers scan a package for visibility into their purchase’s entire
supply chain
Food: Full Harvest – An online marketplace that
connects food companies with
farms
to buy ugly and surplus produce to fight waste
Impact Investing: As You Sow – the nation’s leading
nonprofit shareholder advocacy organization has long been persuading corporates
to improve their policies on everything from
packaging
to
energy
to
textiles.
It also offers a suite of online tools to help average investors find mutual
funds that invest in companies they believe in.
Transportation: Convoy – The company developed a program that eliminates the millions of tons of shipping emissions produced each year produced by truckers driving around with no cargo.
Global:
-
Asia-Pacific: Oacis (Phononic) – the system keeps spaces
cool
without the energy use and toxic coolants of traditional air conditioning.
-
EMEA: Youmma Solar Fridge (Youmma, Nidec Global Appliance) – A
refrigerator designed to run on solar power to make it easier for
developing-world households to keep perishable goods
-
North America: Etsy’s carbon-offset
shipping
– creating a new model for e-commerce sustainability
-
South America: Fazendo Futuro –
Brazil’s answer to Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat; if that beef-heavy
market can embrace plant-based alternatives, there may be hope for us after
all.
Read about all of 2020’s World Changing Ideas, as well as the finalists and
honorable mentions,
here.
Published Apr 28, 2020 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST
Sustainable Brands Staff