The Biomimicry Confluence Day 2: Flowing to and End
Our Day 2 of the Biomimicry Confluence could not have been a better follower to Day 1. Our speakers were energised, engaging, open, humble in their expertise, and shared on topics that are extremely current and relevant as we take the practice of biomimicry forward into the future.
The Q+A sessions also proved to be fruitful times of connecting and sharing, and lots of networking was done with participants sending LinkedIn connections, exchanging emails and setting up in-person meet-ups! (Mission: Accomplished).
Here are the highlights and our key takeaways.
The Ethics and Politics of Biomimicry
Alessio Gerola, PhD candidate at Wageningen University, Netherlands
Posing the important questions from a philosophical standpoint, even when the answers are not easy
Alessio started the conversation with a deeply moving image of buildings shaped like trees replacing real trees, asking us to choose a word that describes how it makes us feel. All answers were negative, showing that “imitating” nature might not always be a good thing.
He made the statement: “Imitating nature, in itself, is not sufficient, or necessary to achieve sustainability.” There can sometimes be a loss in translation during the application of biomimicry that may impact the success of the project - and the result is missing the point of biomimicry.
He warned against the risk of techno-solutionism and anthropocentrism, asking: “Are we solving the problems just for us, and perhaps thereby creating more problems for someone else?” One example is the well-known chase study of wind turbines inspired by whales - which is great. But what about when these wind farms disrupt the migration patterns of birds? One win for one loss is no win at all.
In the end, he said, it’s not just about stealing ideas, it’s about giving back and acknowledging the genius of nature.
You can read more in Alessio’s paper, “Who Owns Nature?” here.
Organisations as Organisms
Hannah Temple, Founder of TealCo
An organisational consulting agency that guides companies through biomimicry 
Hannah opened with a powerful remark: “We need to be evolving our organisations to be less like machines and more like nature.”
She quoted Nora Bateson: “We’re going somewhere different. Let’s go there differently.” And in pace with this, she led the participants in a beautiful box-breathing exercise, setting the tone of focus and attunement for the session.
We need to move to a paradigm in business where life is at the centre.
Her company uses a tree as an analogy to look at five different areas within an organisation, which should be aligned with nature’s wisdom in the following ways:
- Soil: Origin story and history, core statement of identity, financing structures
- Roots: All relationships like employees, customers, partners, funders, government, more-than-human world
- Trunk: Internal environment, leadership, culture, processes, systems, physical environment
- Fruits/flowers/foliage: Products, services, waster, emissions, taxes, legal activity
- Materials: Raw materials, chemicals, energy, money, resources, information
You can learn more about TealCo here.
Biomimicry at Systems Level
Beth Rattner, Former Director of the Biomimicry Institute
A circularity thought leader, and staunch anti-recycled plastic activist
Beth brought the ugly truth to us hard and fast. She reminded us how microplastics is found everywhere from the ocean to our food, which means we urgently need to find another solution that is not plastic at all. She boldly announced that “Recycled plastic is a waste of time.”
An example of the dangers of recycling plastic is the plastic utensils often used by fast food restaurants. They are likely obtained from plastic in the electronics industry, and contain chemicals like fire retardant which is extremely harmful to ingest. Durable is not necessarily sustainable.
She challenged our assumptions and reminded us that good intentions can sometimes be under informed. Her standpoint: We should design for bacteria! Meaning, biodegradable is by far preferable over recycled.
When she launched D4T (Design for Transformation) the team tackled mixed waste in the textile industry - taking post-consumer mixed textile waste, and deriving several biocompatible outputs as marketable feedstock.
Create fabric without dye, replace titanium dioxide with cellulose, and produce fiber with less energy. We need materials that the earth recognises.
You can learn more about D4T here.
Nature and Technology: Not Opposites
Kaitlin Chuzi, Director of Biomimicry
Pioneering a career where there wasn’t one before
Kaitlin reminded us that in the battle between Nature and Tech - they don’t have to be in conflict!
Her model showcasing various intersects and the resulting “symbiosis” between the two can look like this:
- Low tech + Low Nature
- High tech + High Nature
- Low tech + High Nature
- High tech + Low nature
And her conclusion: It can, and should, co-exist to the benefit of all, and in life-friendly ways. Tech should be built in service to nature. Nature is the best place to turn for regeneration models, and for informing technological advances.
Measuring ecosystem services allows us to quantify ecological regeneration, and plan for the best case scenario: High tech + High nature communities.
You can learn more about Microsoft's biomimicry applications here.
In Closing
What an exciting whirlwind two days it was. To our attendees, we cannot express enough how deeply we appreciate your presence, and the sharing of your time, knowledge, resources and passion.
If these sessions got you thinking: "I need to start a project too!", then we'd be more than happy to join you on your journey. Please feel free to contact our Director, Ali Daynes on [email protected] to discuss next steps or have a look at our Biomimicry Practitioner Programme or Biomimicry Educator Programme.
If you are a Biomimicry Confluence ticket holder, you can rewatch the recordings here at any time!
We are already planning the next one... so stay tuned!