﻿2020 is the year to achieve a net zero economy,
to find solutions and policies in the sustainability space,
ideas that will truly move the goalposts of how we can create a “nature positive future”.
We believe that it is precisely in the high emitting sectors where some of
the most important work is being done. FabricNano is a biotech start-up who has found
a way to sustainably synthesise bioplastics and fossil-fuel-free chemical ingredients at scale,
and produce those chemicals 100 times faster than normal petroleum-based products.
Their breakthroughs could mean that cell-free manufacturing
could finally transcend niche to become commonplace.
After a hugely successful retrofit of the Empire State Building in New York City,
a program called the Empire Building Challenge is providing 50 million dollars in funding
to high-rise building owners to pilot innovative retrofit solutions.
Although new buildings are easy to make green, old ones make up 80-90% of our usage
and this is where we need to make sustainability gains. The best solutions will be shared widely
with other building owners across New York State to create a network of sustainable practice.
Making electricity from human-powered steps is a concept that has been around for a while,
but without a lot of market uptake. But new technology developed by two Swiss labs
means that, for the first time, we can create electricity from wooden flooring.
Wood is one of the most sustainable and popular building materials.
But its electro-neutrality has meant that it has been relatively ignored for energy harvesting.
These scientists found a way to modify it with silicone and nanocrystals,
relatively environmentally friendly procedures, making it triboelectric.
What if you could grow wood in a lab? Researchers at MIT have not only discovered how to replicate
wood by isolating tunable plant tissues, but also to grow it in specific shapes thereby
reducing waste. Even though wood can be grown sustainably, this new technology has the capacity
to transform our use of biomaterials and combat deforestation.
Making affordable fashion sustainable is the goal of this global e-commerce brand.
Everything is hand-made to order in Spain and Portugal.
Most importantly, they only make what is ordered, totally reducing unsold production waste. For
every item ordered, they encourage you to resell something you no longer want. They also offset
their carbon footprint and donate material scraps to independent fashion brands. With an annual
average growth rate of 100%, this pioneering stockless fashion brand is on the rise.
Buying up carbon credits to satisfy sustainability goals is not going to fully get us to Net Zero.
Nature-positive business solutions require that a price be put on “negative externalities”. And two
companies are helping to do just that. NCAVES, is a UN funded research project
that is laying the groundwork for environmental and ecosystem accounting.
With pilots in Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, the project is developing the tools,
language and structure for how we can measure the value of ecosystem services.
Similarly, InVest has created a set of modelling tools to evaluate the impact of investments
in natural infrastructure in cities. The software models the links between nature and
the well-being of populations, demonstrating the way investors can become allies to nature.
But investing in nature can also mean investing in nature.
Costa Rica is the first tropical country to have halted and actually reversed deforestation.
By taxing fossil fuels, the government has financed a 500-million-dollar
payout to landowners – saving more than 1 million hectares of forest and replanting
7 million trees. Whilst many good programs exist around the world,
Costa Rica has been recognized as one of the most successful due to political
will and a passion for, and recognition of, the importance of their environment.