PROJECT
Sustainable Solutions Hub
SKILLS
Sustainable Design Methodology
UX
Systems Thinking
Research
Biomimicry
UX
Systems Thinking
Research
Biomimicry
GOAL
Design a nature-inspired solution to a sustainability problem.
OVERVIEW
With this project, the sustainability problem I wanted to address was one of the core principles of capitalism - competition. In the business world, cooperation and sharing of resources is not the norm - the system incentivizes private companies to compete and guard innovations as proprietary, even when a solutions could have broad benefits for their industries and society as a whole - for instance, pharmaceutical formulas, clean manufacturing processes, circular waste systems, etc. In nature, however, there are many examples of cooperative behavior in social animals that benefit the group more than individual competition.
PROCESS
Identifying the Problem
This project used the Challenge to Biology design process to broadly define the problem, then look for biomimetic inspiration to solve the problem as nature already has.
Several turns through the process identified three major functions I hoped to achieve with my solution:
1. Cooperation within a system for mutual benefit.
2. Enable coordination through self-organization.
3. Enable efficient distribution of resources.
Research & Discovery
I researched how different species accomplish these functions to the benefit of the group or system, in order to ideate how similar principles could be applied to a possible solution for more cooperative business practices. Ultimately the inspiration for the functions above came from three species, respectively.
1. Cooperation - Taking inspiration from the cooperative feeding behavior of humpback whales,
The proposed solution is an online hub assembling these solutions into a central resource for businesses interested in improving their own practices by learning from sustainable companies both within and outside of their own industries. This could enable normally siloed businesses - especially those eager to promote their own green initiatives - to share their knowledge and resources and improve standards across industries.
The proposed solution is an online hub assembling these solutions into a central resource for businesses interested in improving their own practices by learning from sustainable companies both within and outside of their own industries. This could enable normally siloed businesses - especially those eager to promote their own green initiatives - to share their knowledge and resources and improve standards across industries.
SOLUTION
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