Implementing innovation for ecological transformation
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1Today, a wide range of stakeholders – from governments, to NGOs, to financial institutions, to large businesses and small enterprises – are deploying innovations in service of the ecological transformation. Many examples illustrate the potential of human ingenuity to address the challenges we face, and the progress being made across all sectors. At the same time, there are also significant challenges to be overcome, not least how to rapidly scale and spread these innovations to meet the scale of the challenges we face.
2This section illustrates a range of examples of innovation for ecological transformation in different sectors. Mahima Sukhdev, Senhal Bhosale and Anupam Ravi from GIST Impact speak to innovative models of measurement that are helping businesses and other institutions to understand their impact on the natural world and to take action.
- 1 The World Bank. Urban Development Overview. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/ove (...)
3Certain spaces and contexts require specific approaches to innovation. With more than 56% of humanity now living in cities,1 transforming these spaces into ones that support thriving lives and a healthy environment is a particularly important pursuit. Dayna Baumeister and Nicole Miller of Biomimicry 3.8 share a framework for integrating biomimicry – adopting and adapting nature’s designs – into the built environment. Practitioners and academics who are part of the UN-sponsored Net Zero Cities Initiative highlight the diversity of technology, low-tech, social, and other innovation strategies being employed in cities across the world to promote ecological transformation. The case study of Urban Rigger in Copenhagen illustrates the role of innovative start-ups in creating new solutions that promote both positive environmental and social outcomes.
4Of course cities are only one area where innovation is taking place today. Catherine Ricou, Head of Innovation at Veolia, shares examples of how the company is developing new approaches and technologies to reduce the environmental impacts of a range of industries and essential social goods – from water, to air, to soil. Experienced practitioner Henri Boyé shares an example of how governments are creating an enabling environment to scale promising innovations in the marine renewables sector. And to round off this section, Ellen Martin and Amandine Joly of Circulate Capital outline the role that investors and finance can play in scaling innovation for circularity.
Notes
1 The World Bank. Urban Development Overview. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview#:~:text=Today%2C%20some%2056%25%20of%20 the,people%20will%20live%20in%20cities
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References
Bibliographical reference
Tejas Bachiraju, India Boschet, Grace Chua, Julian Lambin and Kite Insights, “Implementing innovation for ecological transformation”, Field Actions Science Reports, Special Issue 25 | 2023, 28-29.
Electronic reference
Tejas Bachiraju, India Boschet, Grace Chua, Julian Lambin and Kite Insights, “Implementing innovation for ecological transformation”, Field Actions Science Reports [Online], Special Issue 25 | 2023, Online since 10 November 2023, connection on 15 February 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/7154
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