Sustainia’s top 100 for 2014 makes interesting reading
It’s a chilly winter’s afternoon in my home town down under, and I’m catching up on my reading list.
The Sustainia Top 100 came out last month and it’s an inspiring way to spend some time. It’s the third annual report on the practical, happening, fundamental shifts underway in how our products and services are being delivered.
“The solutions in the Sustainia100 are readily available, have the potential to scale up across markets, and impact society on the triple bottom line of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. “
Most exciting for me from the perspective of the emerging regenerative economy were the trends identified, including circular, closed loops and rethinking consumption:
- TOP TREND: New solutions for the rise of the Circular Economy, creating products in closed-loop systems
- A wave of water efficiency innovation
- The move towards more responsible supply chains
- Advances in data analytics to identify new practices for increasing sustainability
- Shaping new markets towards a service economy by rethinking consumption, shifting from ‘own/dispose’ to ‘lease/share’
- Smart technologies for increasing building efficiency.
If you don’t have the reading capacity for the full report, the 2degrees Top 10 is a great taster across the 10 categories of innovation, complete with short videos. It’s a great antidote to whichever environmental ‘doom and gloom’ merchant last tried to scare you with talk of ‘huge inaction and denial’ and ‘horrible consequences’. (Yes, I’m quoting a world-renown speaker. No, I’m not going to identify him.)
Most importantly, use the 100 innovations as inspiration for discovering your own opportunities. What are the local needs where you live that are waiting to be met from local resources in ways that renew communities, regenerate ecosystems and generate prosperity for all?
As these innovation trends accelerate, how can you ‘surf towards the future’ and spread optimism, fun and excitement?
