May 3, 2018
We have long understood the positive impacts of nature on wellbeing and learning capacity, particularly in young children. But how can nature be brought into urban classrooms? In Finland, the ‘forest kindergarten’ is gaining popularity. Four days a week, rain or shine, small groups of 5- and 6-year-old children are led into the forest by…
March 25, 2018
This year at GreenBiz, our Chief Sustainability Officer Erin Meezan participated in a panel called “Building a New Carbon Economy: Strategies for Turning Waste Carbon from Liability to Asset.” We sat down to unravel what that really means and how businesses can work alongside academia, non-government organizations and government to build this new “economy.” …
March 2, 2018
There is an African proverb that states, If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want go far, go together. This is certainly true in the circular economy. We are increasingly seeing companies realise the power and value of collaboration. Just recently, a cross-industry consortium of companies joined forces to tackle the global…
February 1, 2018
To state the obvious, 2017 was quite the unpredictable year. While sustainable business leaders and climate advocates knew there’d be inevitable changes with a new U.S. presidency, few could have anticipated just how volatile the past 12 months were. From the U.S. federal administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord to the Environmental Protection…
August 30, 2017
Just two years ago, Interface released a third-party verified research report titled “The Global Impact of Biophilic Design in the Workplace,” now known as the Human Spaces report. Our research results were astonishing. With over 7,500 people surveyed across the world, there was a reported 15% increase in perceived wellbeing and creativity and a 6%…
September 15, 2016
Melissa Sterry is a design scientist and systems theorist. We interviewed her on biodesign, biomimetic cities, and more. Melissa is recognised as a world leading authority on the science, technology and thinking that could help build a better world. We tend to focus on the macrocosm of the city but you’ve shown there’s much to…
August 8, 2016
Vo Trong Nghia Architects (VTNA) has grown up against the backdrop of a relentless tear-down-and-build in Vietnam that many have criticised as hasty and insensitive. The firm offers a perspective on green urbanism does yet not affect the planning of Vietnamese cities where there is instead evidence of a systematic stripping of blue-green cover and…
June 7, 2016
If you are an avid hiker, you know the excitement of catching a glimpse of a sunlit meadow through a dark forest, spotting a sliver of a grand vista just around the bend in the trail, or hearing the sound of a waterfall just out of sight. These tantalising hints of something pleasant ahead compel…
May 21, 2016
The whimsy of a Bureo Minnow skateboard, with the raised scales that pattern its deck and its fishtail back-end, belies the serious mission it serves. At the core of each Minnow is 30 square feet of recycled fishing net that otherwise may have found its way into the tons of plastic that litter our oceans. Bureo founders Kevin Ahearn,…
March 9, 2016
Water – from crashing waves to trickling streams, wading pools, and water fountains – enhances the experience of a place. Pattern 5: Presence of Water The Presence of Water biophilic design pattern has evolved from research on the health and wellbeing benefits associated with access to water, including reduced stress, lower heart rate and blood…
David Congram 
Interface 
Jon Khoo 
Christine Needles 
Darran Anderson 
Nirmal Kishnani 
Catie Ryan