8 Sustainability ideas that will change the world | FT Rethink

2022 is the year to achieve a net zero economy to find solutions and policies in the sustainability space ideas that will truly move the goal posts of how we can create a nature positive future [Music] we believe that it is precisely in the high emitting sectors where some of the most important work is being done fabric nano is a biotech startup who has found a way to sustainably synthesize 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 to 90 percent 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 silicon and nano crystals relatively environmentally friendly procedures making it triboelectric [Music] 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 [Music] making affordable fashion sustainable is the goal of this global ecommerce brand everything is handmade 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 one hundred percent this pioneering stockless fashion brand is on the rise [Music] 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 n caves 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 modeling 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 [Music] you