Biomimicry – How Nature is Inspiring Radical Innovation
March 17, 2020 Author: Gary Ralston
How Biomimicry helps gain a competitive edge...
Nature has already solved virtually every problem that humans are facing - and in considerably better ways than anything humans have achieved.
Biomimicry is a rapidly growing design discipline that provides breakthrough strategies for solving business and technical challenges. At the center of this growing movement has been award-winning inventor and biomimetic entrepreneur Jay Harman, author of The Shark's Paintbrush: Biomimicry and How Nature is Inspiring Innovation.
A 2013 Fermanian Institute report determined that by 2030, bioinspiration could account for $1 .6 trillion in total GDP, including $425 billion of US GDP. Savings in reduced resource depletion and pollution could amount to an additional $0.5 trillion worldwide.
There is not a business or product today that can't improve profits, reduce liability, or solve intractable problems through the application of biomimetics.
The Shark’s Paintbrush reveals how nature is inspiring design to be more efficient, effective, resilient, and beautiful.
In Nature’s 3.8 billion years of design experience, the roughly 99% of designs that didn’t work got recalled by the Manufacturer. The 1% that survived can teach profound lessons about how things should be made, how they work, and how they fit.
Jay Harman’s immersion in and curiosity about the natural world have made him one of the best biomimetic designers. The Shark’s Paintbrush is a masterly field guide for all designers and entrepreneurs who aspire to help the world of the made work like, and live harmoniously with, the world of the born.
–Amory B. Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute
Resources
- asknature.org: explore or search for solutions by function, strategy, or organism
- biomimicry.net & biomimicry.org: the world leader in biomimicry education offers free educational resources and training, professional certification, and consulting.
- Resources, including online courses in Biomimicry: https://biomimicry.org/resources/#.V-SGO_krLIU
- Global Network: 33 groups in 18 countries connect you to 12,000 practitioners. https://biomimicry.org/global-networks/#.V-SEy_krLIU
Articles
- Nature and Business: Developing a Sustainable Society Together https://biomimicry.org/nature-business/#.V-R3Y_krLIU
- The Business of Biomimicry (Triple Pundit) https://www.triplepundit.com/search/biomimicry
- Why the Most Exciting Ideas in Leadership Are Coming From the Forest (Inc. Magazine) http://www.inc.com/dayna-baum
Books
- Teeming: How Superorganisms Work Together to Build Infinite Wealth on a Finite Planet, Tamsin Woolley-Barker (May 2017)
- Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine Benyus
- Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation, Denise Deluca
To reach Jay Harman:
Email: jharman@paxscientific.com
This article ©2016 gazelles.com, from a program guide for The Fortune® Growth Summit, October 25 and 26, 2016, Dallas, TX, held in partnership with Gazelles.com.