Nature knows best: CEO to present on 'biomimicry' at Herrick
The famous primatologist Jane Goodall said, “We must remember that we have not inherited this planet from our parents, we have borrowed it from our children.” With this philosophy in mind, I want to bring you hope that the tools and seeds of knowledge for a verdant future are here.
One of those tools, a fountain for knowledge and sustainable innovation, is biomimicry.
Biomimicry will be the focus of the next presentation in the monthly Sustainability Series, organized by DeGraaf Nature Center, a division of the ODC Network. The series explores various topics that make up a nature-rich community, such as beauty, health, biodiversity, creativity and social justice.
The presentation, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, will explain biomimicry and how we apply it to innovation, product, and business development. It will be held in the auditorium at the Herrick District Library Main Branch, 300 S. River Ave. in Holland. Registration is preferred but not required. Find out more at herrickdl.bibliocommons.com.
So, what is biomimicry? Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics biological strategies that have evolved over 3.8 billion years of natural selection to solve human design challenges. Biomimicry will approach a design challenge with a simple question, “How would nature solve this?”
Biomimicry then proceeds through a standard “design thinking” process of these steps: Identifying the project functional problem statement, development of a biological strategy, discovery of corresponding natural models, abstraction of design principle(s) from those models, emulation of the model with technical matter, and evaluation of the identified solutions’ fitness.
You are familiar with biomimicry if you have ever utilized Velcro, a product that was inspired by thistle burrs.
Biomimicry cannot stand alone. It also needs to be supported with corporate formation and governance tools such as B-Certification. Think of B-Certification compliance as corporate DNA that forces a balance of financial performance with environmental, social and community metrics. This is a greatly needed evolution beyond traditional corporate profit maximization objectives or voluntary environmental, social and governance guidelines.
Biomimicry also needs to be blended with other design and product development tools such as life cycle assessment, circular design, producer responsibility, and complete systems mapping to provide optimized results.
My end message is that the tools and knowledge to design a more hopeful and regenerative future are here.
— Dana Lowell is founder of Biophilia Ventures, a business development, supply, and investment network, and CEO of Lilypad Labs, a solar-powered watercraft manufacturer.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
MiSustainable Holland is a collection of community voices sharing updates about local sustainability initiatives.