Photo: Licensed under CC – credit Flickr user: Mike Beauregard
Today, we are well on our way to a complete digital transformation – where smart sensors and interconnected devices will reshape our economy. But as we build this new Internet of Things, how can we avoid the pitfalls and waste of our current system? In a new report called Intelligent Assets: Unlocking the circular economy potential, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum propose that, if done right, this new digital revolution can be the driver that ultimately moves us towards a circular economy.
Biomimicry Institute co-founder Janine Benyus is featured in this report, explaining how a truly resilient Internet of Things market can be informed by biomimicry. In an article on Circulate, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s blog, Benyus explores examples of how the ways that natural systems interact and share information can help us create intelligent assets that maximize our resource productivity while minimizing waste.
Benyus writes:
“Life is network based. Millions of years of evolution have allowed the natural world to develop what can be argued to be the most tried, tested and optimized protocols in existence: biological networks. The ability for Internet of Things (IoT) market stakeholders to interpret and effectively apply principles derived from the study of biological networks will lead to increased asset and resource productivity, as well as greater system resilience.”
Access the complete Intelligent Assets: Unlocking the circular economy potential report.
