Think Act Regenerate

“True luxury is having a product that is durable and that stands the test of time."

Rimowa’s suitcases are designed to be infinitely repaired New legislation requires brands to create durable, repairable products. Rimowa's network of repair centers offers a glimpse into this future.

Great to talk with David Hauser of startup ELIoT Energy about how they're delivering smart, appliance-level BaaS (batteries as a service) with multiple benefits.

The range of solutions scaling today is fascinating - as is the entrepreneurial thinking that's creating Blue Ocean regenerative business opportunities.

INTERVIEW | Exploring “battery as a service” opportunities with ELIoT Energy | Think Act Regenerate In this episode, host Leigh Baker of Think Act Regenerate talks with David Hauser about his innovative Melbourne battery-as-a-service startup ELIoT Energy . They discuss the multiple benefits their business model offers big organisations, the hospitality industry, environment and the community. LINK...

I like the use of the word "evolve" in this headline - plus the list of solutions businesses in the article body.

Https://impact.economist.com/ocean/ocean-health/what-if-plastic-could-evolve-to-replenish-the-planet (Https://impact.economist.com/ocean/ocean-health/what-if-plastic-could-evolve-to-replenish-the-planet)?

What if plastic could evolve to replenish the planet? As consumers demand more sustainable products and packaging, major brands are seeking vetted alternatives to displace traditional plastics at scale in order to usher in a new, more circular economy. Sustained, focused attention and materials innovation is essential to helping brands realise this shi...

Always meant to learn more about the circular economy - but haven't quite get there yet?

What about doing it with a worried (or ambitious) young person you know?

Welcome to Circular Classroom! An interactive educational toolkit for upper secondary high school educators and students to integrate circular thinking into the classroom.

" dumping that thermal energy into the sky instead of redirecting it is a wasted opportunity,"

New York high-rise uses heat pumps and waste heat to cut fossil fuels - One Step Off The Grid The cutting-edge, state-backed project could be a model for other big buildings sprinting to comply with the city’s building decarbonisation law.

Device protection, energy cost savings and more

How appliance level batteries can shield store owners from energy spikes, and act as sponge for grid An appliance-level battery can protect from black/brownout or a power surge. But it can also act as a sponge for renewable energy, and protect from price spikes.

"What’s remarkable is that this business is at least as profitable as our existing PC and printer business. The profit mandate is really what raised it to the board’s attention."
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/how-hp-is-finding-success-in-circularity

"A green business has to be managed as a business to have the credibility that it needs within an organization." -Dave Schull, HP

And part of the HP ecosystem of enablers is Australia's circular economy pioneer Close the Loop Group

How HP is finding success in circularity Selling refurbished PCs and printers is at least as profitable as selling new ones, says HP Workforce Solutions president Dave Shull. Here’s how the company is scaling up its circular business.

Nice example of "Product as a Service" economic models, when you think about it.

Instead of "selling a product" (Macaw chicks), communities now sell "enjoy the experience of seeing them at their best in the wild".

"...in 2006, a Bolivian bird conservation organization, Armonía ... helped the communities set up the 50-hectare Red-Fronted Macaw Community Reserve and build an ecolodge facing the cliff..."

Farmers Are Creating a Brighter Future for Bolivia's Red-Fronted Macaws Once rural landowners learned they could generate income by protecting macaws, the endangered birds went from burdens to boons.

Nice example of creative upcycling.

This abandoned Kansas City bridge will be a vibrant entertainment district Kansas City's Rock Island Bridge hovers above the Kansas River. Soon it will be home to concerts, restaurants, and hiking trails.

Innovation that's about collaboration and ownership...

"...the project ... is also the first in Australia to find a way to combine corporate and community ownership, ... with an ownership structure that includes the local farming community..."

Vic wind farm breakthrough, with pioneering share structure A 5-turbine project in north-west Victoria has become the first wind farm to receive local council approval since restrictive planning laws were introduced in the state a few years ago. The key may…

Circular Economy often gets "heard" as "something to do with recycling". Full spectrum CE is much more impactful.

Here's an audio summary of the Think Act Regenerate INSIGHT on Circular Economy.

INSIGHT | The radical efficiency opportunities of CIRCULAR systems | Think Act Regenerate Summarising the Think Act Regenerate INSIGHT on how full-spectrum Circular Economy innovation can uncover regenerative business and career opportunities.

I love podcasts that come with a transcript - especially when they're about today's practical solutions.

Induction stoves with batteries built in, and why they matter What's the big deal about an induction stove with a battery built in? That's a new product that's set to hit the market next year. I talk about it with one of the entrepreneurs behind it and a scientist at the Department of Energy who helped secur it funding.

Wondering "WHY this regeneration thing?"
Here's my interpretation of the opportunities that this updated design perspective offers entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.

INSIGHT | Levelling up to design for REGENERATION | Think Act Regenerate What insight does REGENERATION offer in finding high-impact business, career and community development opportunities?

I remember when I first read Cradle to Cradle (a fair while ago now 😉).

Great to see C2C certified solar panels in the real world.

New rooftop panel line promises high efficiency and "cradle to cradle" sustainability - One Step Off The Grid Singaporean solar manufacturer launches new line of rooftop solar panels featuring a unique cell design and circuitry and "cradle to cradle" certification.

I don't often share "research finds" stories - but this one has both parallel industry adoption and practical retrofit potential. Plus it's a great example of biomimicry in action.

Winglets inspired by Andean condor could improve wind turbine efficiency by 10 pct Biomimicry is already used in aviation but is yet to find a place in wind turbines, until this research showed how it might work.

Using smart graphic design to make big resource usage reductions.

HarperCollins made a tiny tweak to its book design—and has saved thousands of trees as a result The publisher is reducing the number of pages in its books by tweaking their fonts and layout. With the clever use of fonts and layout, Harper Collins' designers have saved millions of pages without the reader even noticing

Nice to get an update from our local Melbourne entrepreneurs Fungi Solutions on Mycellium packaging and leather product development.

Leading the Artisanal Revolution with Mycelium Leather - Crafted from Nature 🌱 It's been some time since we last connected, and we're thrilled to be back in touch with exciting updates from Fungi Solutions. Over the past year, we've been hard at work scaling up our production to meet the growing demand for sustainable materials. Here's what we've been up to:

A couple of interesting agriculture stories in the latest Project Regeneration newsletter THE WAGGLE on Biochar and Rewilding.

The Waggle - Issue 69 Take Action on Nexus Find out how to protect existing forests and allow degraded forests to recover and mature to their full potential as a critical solution for carbon sequestration and biodiversity loss in our Proforestation Nexus. 

System interactions are complex - but well worth doing detailed analysis on.

“By protecting livestock, [guard dogs] can help mitigate conflict between farmers and predators, offering a humane and effective alternative to lethal control methods.”

The approach could also provide biodiversity benefits. Other wildlife that might be preyed on by foxes—such as ground-dwelling birds—could fall under the protective shield of the dogs, the researchers note.

Using dogs to create a “landscape of fear” could help livestock and wild predators coexist A study of Maremma sheepdogs in Australia found they kept predatory foxes on the move, but still able to use habitat.

I always enjoy reading Project Regeneration's THE WAGGLE newsletter.

The Waggle - Issue 68 Indigenous people make up less than six percent of the global population yet speak more than half of the world’s languages, each with “a universe of information” that would disappear if it were to become extinct. For example, three-quarters of all medicinal plant uses are linguistically unique...

Fascinating story of coffee pod entrepreneurship AND the process of internal business innovation from a recent Fast Company article. (Ticks at least 5 INSIGHTS principles off, too.)

It will be interesting to follow up in 12 months.

"The best time to launch a new product is when you don't need to launch it."

https://www.fastcompany.com/91056402/how-keurig-finally-made-a-coffee-pod-with-no-plastic

Also worth noting:

* Set up a separate internal team with a stretch goal
* Funded it like a startup
* Started with a blank sheet of paper - re-invention rather than improvement
* Looked around the world for global design solutions.

How Keurig finally made a coffee pod with no plastic Keurig's CEO launched an in-house startup to create a new coffee system designed to put the K-Cups out of business.

Turning banana waste into a non-animal leather in India.

Circular design using local resources to meet local needs.

Banofi Leather At Banofi we have the courage to shatter the boundaries of imagination. We believe that our purpose is to turn the tide – to break free from the status quo and make way for revolution. We’re resolute to make impactful innovation the new normal.

A picture worth a thousand words?

“Cheaper than a mince pie:” Tradie charges up electric digger then tows it to work with his Tesla Electric earthmoving equipment towed by an electric vehicle. No noise, no dangerous air pollution. Sounds like every tradie’s dream!

"The final design is now known as the Bionic Partition. The results:

* A cabin partition 45% lighter than traditional Airbus designs – 143 lb to 66 lb.
* 3D printing resulted in 95% less raw material saving money, material and emissions
* As weight was slashed, efficiency skyrocketed – for every 2.2 lbs reduction in weight the jet fuel use is cut by 232.2 lbs (~ 35 gallons)
* The Bionic Partition is now the world’s largest metal 3D printed airplane cabin component."

Your Next Flight May Be Designed by Slime Mold and Human Bones – Biomimicry Institute Learn how slime mold–a brainless, single-celled organism—mapped the dark universe, challenges us to rethink intelligence, and more.

Regeneration includes new ownership models, not just new technology.

"For the community, co-investment has ensured that a portion of the economic benefit from harvesting the wind stays in the local community and has led to a sense of community ownership in the project. "

How communities can benefit from being - literally - invested in big renewables Overseas projects show community co-investment can build social licence for large scale renewable energy projects.

"The new cement was designed to perform like ordinary Portland cement, and meets an international standard for that performance; when it’s mixed with water, the resulting concrete flows at the same rate as ordinary concrete, hardens in the same way, and is as strong and durable. "

Cement is a climate nightmare. Here’s how one Boston startup is eliminating emissions Sublime could be the first company to fully decarbonize cement manufacturing.

"US-based study found planting native grasses and flowers under solar panels helps insect populations to massively improve – by up to 20 times in the case of native bee populations. "

"By adding pollinator habitats to the concept of agrivoltaics ... [it] improves a site’s land use efficiency and ecosystem services output."

Solar farms and native grasses create pollinator havens and boost biodiversity, study funds Solar farms can play a significant role in restoring insect habitats that could mitigate ongoing conflicts over farming land use change.

" the panels offer shade from the hot sun and rain, protection from aerial predators for their young lambs, and some ewes have even given birth under the panels."

Australia’s biggest solar farm reaches peak output, now to host 6,000 sheep New England solar farm reaches full output and now plays host to 2,000 sheep, a number that will treble in coming months, making it the biggest mob of sheep doing solar grazing in Australia.

Enjoying reading the new issue of The Waggle from Project Regeneration. Everything from Jane Goodall to Virtual Power Plants.

The Waggle - Issue 61 Roots & Shoots opens an Indigenous-led office in the Amazon - Primatologist and activist extraordinaire Jane Goodall has launched a branch of her successful youth education and empowerment program Roots & Shoots in the Amazon, as this recent Mongabay article explains. Begun in 1991 in Tanzania with...

Some nice entrepreneurial thinking about better use of what we have and Product as as Service:

"Now EVs are coming on a lot faster than home batteries...

We’ve got all these rooftop solar homes and businesses, but they’re getting paid almost nothing to send that power back to the grid,” says Bradley. “So, I thought, why don’t we bring those two sides together?”

https://thedriven.io/2023/12/07/an-airbnb-for-charging-evs-how-solar-homes-could-cash-in-on-switch-to-electric/