Presentation for the ALTERNET 2017 conference: Nature and Society: synergies, conflicts, trade-offs.

1. Innovation Inspired by Nature
a powerful way to operationalize nature-society synergies
ALTERNET CONFERENCE GENT
Nature and society: synergies, conflicts, trade-offs
03/05/2017 Leen Gorissen

2. Premise

3. “The business world is an important partner
to rebuild the relationship between
nature & society”

4. By inspiring businesses to innovate like
nature they can shift to a value logic of
“doing well by doing good”

5. Insights based on

6. A DECADE OF TRANSITION RESEARCH

8. Key findings

9. THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE IS NOT ABOUT
TECHNOLOGY.

10. IT IS ABOUT
‘HOW TO ORGANISE THE TRANSITION’

11. ‘HOW TO CHANGE THE LOGIC OF VALUE CREATION’
DEGENERATIVE GENERATIVE REGENERATIVE
$$$ “sustainable”

12. ‘HOW TO DEVELOP & IMPLEMENT NEW ROLES’
E.g. Teaming Innovation Biologists & CEOs to learn how to
‘Innovate like Nature’
Pics © nexxworks San Francisco Tour (April 2017)

13. ‘HOW TO DEVELOP NEW PARTNERSHIPS &
NETWORKS’
Innovation Biologists & System Thinkers team up with entrepreneurs

14. But most of all

15. ‘HOW TO RECONNECT HUMANS TO NATURE’

16. “We the people” vs “what is out there”
FOR, THE ILLUSION OF SEPARATION BETWEEN HUMANS -
NATURE IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF OUR CURRENT CRISIS

17. AS LONG AS WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NATURE,
WE REMAIN TRAPPED IN “MANAGEMENT OF UNSUSTAINABILITY”

18. Momentum
Now, there is extraordinary

19. BUSINESS CHALLENGES
Peak oil, peak burn-out, disruption, volatility, complexity,
uncertainty, ambiguity, political & ecological crises,…

20. BUSINESS PIONEERS RECOGNIZE THAT THEY NEED A
NEW PARADIGM FOR INNOVATION

22. “I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century
will be at the intersection of biology and technology.
A new era is beginning.”
- Steve Jobs -
What can we learn from superorganisms that have been succesfull for billions of years?

23. BIOMIMICRY – mimic mother nature

24. Framework

25. BIOMIMICRY
Innovation inspired by nature

26. WHY?
It is the largest R&D project in history

27. BIOMIMICRY
the Art and Science of studying the natural world,
translating nature’s time-tested, life-friendly
strategies & principles and applying these to
human design & organisational challenges.
=

28. FORM
model – surface - texture
PROCESS
Series of operations
(ECO)-SYSTEM
Networks of which the sum
is more than the parts
DIFFERENT LEVELS

29. FORM: E.G. MODELLING TRAIN FRONT AFTER THE
KINGFISHER’S BEAK TO INCREASE STREAMLINING

30. PROCESS: E.G. PRODUCING NON-TOXIC YET
HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ADHESIVES LIKE THE MUSSELS

31. SYSTEM: E.G. WASTE RECYCLING AND UPCYCLING
LIKE NATURE’S DECOMPOSER-FILTER SYSTEMS

32. ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: LEARNING FROM
SUPERORGANISMS HOW TO BUILD RECIPROCAL NETWORKS,
COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE, DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP AND
REGENERATIVE VALUE
E.G. Reciprocation
histories are a
good way to
snowball
cooperation and
discourages
cheating:

33. Business sense
Bio-inspired innovation makes

34. 95% Renewable Energy
98% reduction of GHG
50% lower footprint
50% recycled and
bio-based material
1$ billion turnover
110 countries
5 production locations
3500 employees
“Be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire
world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people,
process, product, place and profits – and in doing so,
become restorative through the power of influence.”
Business in the EU

35. No two leaves are the same on the
forest floor.
Why would carpet tiles need to be
identical?
Gecko’s don’t need glue to stick
ENTROPY CARPET TILE TAC TILE

36. No two leaves are the same on the
forest floor.
Why would carpet tiles need to be
identical?
Gecko’s don’t need glue to stick

37. FROM ZERO TO POSITIVE IMPACT

39. “DOING WELL BY DOING GOOD”
INTERFACE SHOWS THAT IT CAN BE DONE

40. Interfaces
We need more

41. BRING SYSTEMS THINKING & BIO-INSPIRATION
TO THE BUSINESS WORLD

42. WHILE BUILDING CAPACITY FOR EVOLUTION
INTO OUR ORGANISATIONS

43. OUTSIDE IS WHERE RECONNECTING TO NATURE
HAPPENS!
CEOs experiencing rules of self-organising systems in the heart of San
Francisco and taking entrepreneurs outside in Oakland (April 2017)

44. THE NL MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
ALREADY INVESTS IN BIOMIMICRY

45. THE BUSINESS WORLD IS READY TO IMPLEMENT
INNOVATION INSPIRED BY NATURE.

46. RESEARCH & GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS
COULD HELP SCALE BIO-INSPIRED INNOVATION

47. Together
we can transform exploitative value
regimes into regenerative ones.

48. WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

49. Learn more?
www.studiotransitio.com
studiotransitio@gmail.com
twitter: @L_gori
THANK YOU!