Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.
A sustainable world already exists.
Humans are clever, but without intending to, we have created massive sustainability problems for future generations. Fortunately, solutions to these global challenges are all around us.
Biomimicry is an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies. The goal is to create products, processes, and policies—new ways of living—that are well-adapted to life on earth over the long haul.
The core idea is that nature has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with. Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. After billions of years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival.
“I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. A new era is beginning.”
-Steve Jobs
“The countries, communities, and companies that most closely [and] consciously mirror Mother Nature … are the ones that are going to thrive in what I call the Age of Accelerations. I’m a big believer in biomimicry.”
-Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
The Biomimicry Institute empowers people to create nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet.
“When we look at what is truly sustainable, the only real model that has worked over long periods of time is the natural world.”
-Janine Benyus
“You could look at nature as being like a catalog of products, and all of those have benefited from a 3.8 billion year research and development period. And given that level of investment, it makes sense to use it.”
-Michael Pawlyn
Dig Deeper
More than a few folks have shared their excitement and perspective on biomimicry over the years. Explore our resource library for more breadth and depth on this ever-evolving practice.
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Sources
Chameleon image via Shutterstock.
Cocklebur image via Shutterstock
