Biomimicry in the Nordic Countries

Abstract

The awareness of Biomimicry within the processes of design and development in Nordic companies are not well known. As a result, The Nordic Council of Ministers Working Group for Sustainable Consumption and Production in its efforts to contribute to the Nordic Environmental Action Plan 2013 - 2018 has called for this report to highlight Nordic forerunners in Biomimicry. The study conducted by Torben Lenau, Lilli Linkola and Anna Maria Orrù, will present a basis for planning further activities to leverage the possibilities for actors in biomimicry and to disseminate knowledge and methodology on if and how nature's solutions can provide environmental and competitive advantages in business development. The report is divided into three sections. Chapter 1 is an introduction into the field, motivations and background into biomimicry, a clarification of definitions into biomimicry and other bioinspired fields. Chapter 2 presents the results of the mapping study and a discussion of current actors and activities. Chapter 3 provides a series of recommendations. Results showed that over 100 organisations and almost 100 professionals from the Nordic countries are listed in the stakeholder map. Most actors were identified in Sweden (57 % of all actors listed). The number of actors identified and listed in Denmark, Finland and Norway was around the same in all of the three countries (DK 16%, FI 12% and NO 13% of all actors). Only three actors were identified in Iceland. Almost half of the activities were categorized as academic research and development, one third of the activities fell into category industry which includes a wide range of companies from design and architecture to business consultancy. Other two categories of actors were education and training, and forums and innovation platforms. Chapter 2 also provides a presentation of the European scene with approximately over 40 significant actors grouped into two families of bioinspired communities; those related to the Biomimicry Institute (USA), and those that are part of a biomimetic scientific research and development network with four countries leading: Germany, UK, Switzerland, and France. Analysis outlining opportunities, threats, weaknesses and strengths of biomimicry in the Nordic Countries shows that there is an opportunity to enhance the current activities in biomimetics and circular economy with biomimicry by bringing into the field of biomimetics a more structured approach to sustainability and by providing a concrete methodology to design sustainable systems in circular economy. A great strength in the stakeholder’s network is that there are several industry forums and innovation platforms that would be able to foster knowledge sharing between academia and industry. The Summary of recommendations includes a need for a comprehensive Nordic network for Biomimicry to increase awareness between actors and to strengthen Scandinavian influence as biomimicry frontrunners connect to the various European alliances. We recommend setting up a Nordic Centre for Biomimicry, Biomimetics and Bioinspiration with representation and key actors from each Nordic region starting with a Nordic summit to bring together actors found in this mapping process. Another recommendation is for education and training, as there is a need for more opportunities to train and study Biomimicry and Biomimetics. As biomimicry is a transdisciplinary process, there is need for cross-institutional collaboration and support in this endeavour. Public private partnerships are also necessary to leverage the potentials in green business development, in order for companies to be able to share the risk of research and development of novel solutions. A requisite for transdisciplinary collaboration is to provide clearer definitions of Biomimicry and Bioinspired sectors, and attempt to avoid binary relations between biomimicry and biomimetics as seen in the European scene. We suggest a need to setup, develop, maintain an online presence with a continued mapping of actors, and creation of coordinated platforms: for training, educational opportunities, research, practice and for knowledge sharing and collaboration between identified actors. All such endeavours will require allotted, stable funding, promotion and strong support from the public sector. We believe the effort is both significant and valuable given the immense potential offered from increasing knowledge from nature as an inspiration and model for sustainable solutions and future development.