BIOMIMICRY:Inspiration, innovation, mentor and way of life

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Life creates conditions conducive to Life

Agenda and Introduction

Scientist, Facilitator, Social Entrepreneur

AGENDA Technology and Nature: what’s effective Comparison of approaches Focus on Biomimicry Efficient and Effective

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Technology & Nature

Technology Nature

Bron: Julian Vincent et al.

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Technology & Nature

Technology Nature

Bron: Julian Vincent et al.

Eco-efficient vs Eco-effective

The big quest: to come up with solutions that

expand/improve the regenerative capacity of bio-based systems

Efficiency: Reduce, Regulate, Recyle, less bad solutions, Down-cycling, end- of-pipe

Effectivity: Up-cycling (continous/closed loops), Waste is food, good nutritious solutions, context-sensitive Are they mutually exclusive?

Study Sustainability approaches:SelectionRequirements: influential, published in scientific literature, not limited to a specific discipline (e.g. architecture) or environmental

problem (e.g. climate change) and attempt to come up with a set of principles that could serve as a guides

or reference points when one wants to embark on a transition towards sustainability.

Initially studied:

• The Natural Step (TNS)

• Cradle to Cradle (CtoC)

• Ecological footprint (EF)

• Biomimicry (B)

• Industrial Ecology (IE)

• Natural capitalism (NC)

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Focus on three sustainability approaches:

• The Natural Step (TNS)

• Cradle to Cradle (CtoC)

• Ecological footprint (EF)

Integration via Biomimicry-Bio-inspired approaches

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CtoC: How do we love all children of all species forever?

Problem: We produce ourselves to oblivion. Cradle to Grave

1. Waste does not exist: waste is food

2. Sun limitless source of energy and life (4 billion years to go)

3. Cherish/stimulate diversityObserve:

Energy-supply + Growing population is no problem!

Technologically Optimistic

The Natural Step: what can we do?Perform a gap analysis using the lens of sustainability, and then work

toward closing the gap.

A change-management approach that is value-driven and selects intervention methods that help organizations and networks (of organizations) to move toward more sustainable ways of operating.

TNS II

Principles/Values:

Nothing Disappears: All mass and energy in the universe is conserved.

Everything Spreads: Energy and matter tend to spread spontaneously; everything has a tendency to disperse (the Second Law of Thermodynamics, or the Law of Entropy).

There is Value in Structure: We determine material quality by the concentration and structure of the matter that makes up a material. For example, food and petrol are valuable because they have a high concentration and structure. What we consume is the ability of energy to perform work. We never consume energy or matter because it is neither created nor destroyed. (see 1)

Photosynthesis Pays the Bills: Net increases in material quality on Earth are generated almost entirely by the sun-driven process of photosynthesis..

Ecological Footprint: How do we know?

2 problems: current ways of producing and consuming and growing population

Similar to funnel TNS

It is an accounting method that seriously creates awareness, but lacks a change-mgt approach

Green accounting – waterfootprint, carbon footprint, etc.

Measurement oriented

Gaps Sustainability Approaches Requirement TNS C2C EF Sufficient?

Issues addressed in scope Social 2 2 1 Y Ecological 2 2 2 Y Economical 2 2 0 Y Political/institutional 1 0 2 Y Ethical? 2 2 2 Y (Psychological/)Spiritual 1 0 0 N Physico-chemical 2 2 2 Y Biological 2 2 2 Y Socio/cultural 2 1 0 Y Economical 1 1 0* Y Measurement tool 1 0 2 Y Contextual factors addressed Psychological 1 1 0 N Behavioural 2 2 2 Y Cultural 1 1 0 N Systems 2 2 2 Y Process: conditions and types of work Awareness (Conceptual) 2 1 2 Y Association (Relational) 1 1 0 N Agency (Action driven) 2 2 2 Y Action and reflection process

2 0 0 Y

Shared understanding 2 1 1 Y

Vision 2 2 1 Y Inspiration 1 2 1 Y Passion 1 2 0 Y Leadership

Positive approach:

2 1 0 Y

Positive approach 1 2 0 Y

Life creates conditions conducive to Life

Nature as model, measure & mentor

Biomimicry is a new way of viewing and valuing nature, based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but what we can learn from it.

The Technology of Nature/Biology

Definition brings value

Biomimicry, bionics, biomimetics = same

Biomimicry: mimicking the functional basis of biological forms, processes and systems to produce sustainable solutions

Conditions: a-biotic nature

Biomimicry reminds us that life is directly or indirectly subject to Earth’s operating conditions:

Earth is in a state of dynamic non-equilibrium.

Earth runs on sunlight, water and gravity

Earth is subject to limits and boundaries.

Nature uses cyclical process

LIFE’s PRINCIPLES

Evolve To Survive Replicate strategies that work

Integrate the unexpected

Reshuffle information

Be Resource Efficient Use multi-functional design

Use low energy process

Recycle all materials

Fit form to function

Adapt to Changing Conditions Maintain integrity thru self-renewal

Embody resilience thru variation,

redundancy, & decentralization

Incorporate diversity

LIFE PRINCIPLES

Integrate Development & Growth - Combine modular & nested components

- Build from the bottom up

- Self-organize

Be Locally Attuned & Responsive - Use readily available materials & energy

- Cultivate cooperative relationships

- Leverage cyclic processes

- Use feedback loops

Use Life-Friendly Chemistry - Build selectively with a small subset of elements

- Break down products into benign constituents

- Do chemistry in water

InterfaceFLOR Entropy & Tactiles

Biomimicry-3 levels

Bio-utilized Bio-assisted Bio-mimicked

Nourishing-HealthyWell-adaptedEffective?

SustainableHarvest

Natural BreedingHumane Conditions

Mimicking, form, process and (eco-)system

DamagingMal-adaptedEfficient?

Unsustainable harvest

Transgenic,Inhumane Conditions

Mimicking form; heat, beat and treat

Disciplines

Biomimicry and Sustainability: IntegrationInspiration from permaculture: The 3 function rule makes a system resilient (self-organizing). The 3 function rule originated as a design principle for permacultural

systems which goes like this: Every organism has multiple functions (AT LEAST 3) in a system and each

function that a system has is supported by a number (AT LEAST 3) of organisms (redundancy).

Nature shows that searching the ultimate- one dimensional answer – is a strategy that destroys life in the long run.

So, no organic vs industrial agriculture but integrate and diversify Also no search for the best or ultimate design or engineering

approach but multi-method context sensitive Sustainability is a multi-level construct, that has produced a myriad

of approaches Biomimicry is able to shed light on and integrate different

approaches in a manner that creates opportunities for more life… What does this mean for your branche of engineering?

Efficient and effective: as a strategy

80-95% savings (efficient),

It’s safer (technically and at the perception level) and Could become Effective if:

Using alternative renewable sources of energy production (effective) for such applications becomes becomes feasible

Continuous Cycles

Life creates conditions conducive to Life