Restorative Innovation

10 Restorative Innovation Initiatives from Singapore You Should Know

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 07:48:36 -0700

Singapore is home to many corporate innovation efforts as well as a diverse entrepreneurial community. According to Angel List there are 1710 startups in Singapore as of 2016. There are many startups in Singapore that are on the mission to “Change the World” and “Restorative Innovation”.

Restorative Innovation is an innovation theory that forms the basis of a robust innovation economic model which is used to predict & explain a certain pattern of innovation-driven growth for innovative solutions that does not harm health, humanity and environment.

RI can be mistaken for social tech enterprises or sustainability focused ventures. The characteristics below can help anyone understand the nature of the model.

Superior on the latent needs attributes, along the dimensions of health, humanity and the environment that customers value.
Contains new value propositions to attract a new (and often) niche customer segment who is willing to pay a price-premium for the attributes.
More expensive than comparable providers’ mainstream products/service.
Can co-exist with mainstream products for an extended (even indefinite) period of time.
Price gap diminishes over-time (due to technology or scale) creates a parallel and duo consumption pattern.

Based on the above definition of Restorative Innovation we have put together 10 companies based in Singapore that fit the principles.

Astroscale

What they do?

Talk about moonshot. Astroscale is on a mission to secure long-term spaceflight safety by developing space debris removal services with $25million in funding for research, education and deployment.

Why is Astroscale a Restorative Innovation Champion?

The Tesla Roadster may just be one of the debris to be cleaned up in the future,...Read More

Feetz — Shoes for the road ahead

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 20:56:32 -0700

The Story — “If one could choose just 1 out of the 87,000 combinations to get that comforting sip of coffee blend, surely the same could be applied to shoes?” Sipping on a very specific grande mocha light with two pumps during a frustrating shopping trip is exactly the epiphany that Feetz founder Lucy Bear had.

But while shoe shopping can be exasperating, for others who may have Broc Brown with Sotos Syndrome, also known as cerebral gigantism, shoe shopping becomes more troubling than ever. Shops usually stock upper shoe sizes up to 13 or 14, Brown requires size 28 shoes. This is where Feetz come in.

Made to fit — Feetz resolves size and fit problems by employing 3D printing, customising each pair of shoes for the consumer, and the process goes like this: a customer takes three photos of each foot (Feetz captures 22 measurements from these), and submits the data to Feetz. Feetz uses their custom algorithms to generate a specific shoe 3D model in the selected design and at the correct sizing. They then produce the shoes and ship to the customer.

Other than being customisable, Feetz unique patented polymer, Flexknit™ Polymer, is superior in its flexibility: it is able to stretch 700–800% without breaking and return to its original shape. Feetz® has been named Entrepreneur’s Magazine Top 100...Read More

What can Restorative Innovation Bring to our Future?

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 09:03:52 -0700

Last week, I introduced the Restorative Innovation framework and I offered an economic model for innovators to consider as they ideate around value creation in new venturing.

To explain this economic modeling, let us first establish that we all want to be healthy, be more humane, and to protect the environment. These needs, we shall label them as latent needs as they tend to be subconscious, omnipresent, and intrinsic in us. But these needs are often overridden by explicit counter signals in our world which is by now, dominated by highly optimized, mass-produced goods, and high-velocity consumptive environment.

I take grocery shopping as an example of this counter signal. Have you ever shopped for organic fruits and vegetables in Cold Storage? Why are they typically 3x higher in price from mass-farmed produce? Here I submit to you the psychology of price anchoring as having an effect to suppress the latent need. Because we have a highly-optimized supply chain for mass production, the parallel, not-yet-optimized supply chain is used only for the niche market.

While we inherently know that organic produce is healthier for ourselves and our families, we are unwilling to pay the higher price, thus creating an ever increasing price gaps between the two supply chains. Note that I use the word ‘unwilling’, and not ‘unable’ because I submit to you that for many of our households, we can absolutely afford the healthier option. But because of the price anchoring, this latent need is suppressed from the choice dilemma, often not even entering into our conscious decision-making. But what if we can close the price gap, with use of technology and process innovation, of the healthier foods by increasing the yield, optimizing the supply chain, or converting more customers to increase demand? My hypothesis is, we can lower the price curve where such types of innovation can co-exist with mass...Read More

The Backbones of Restorative Innovation

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 01:43:50 -0700

I start this post with a question about how we can feed 9 billion people by 2050, knowing that our agriculture production methods deplete our planet’s resources at an alarming rate and that 14–15% of climate change can be attributed to inefficiencies in agriculture methods. For example, we know that it takes 25 calories to produce 1 calorie of beef protein — this is not a sustainable model of consumption. We know that cattle raising occupies 30% of the world’s surface and accounts for 18% of human-caused greenhouse gases. Our meat consumption is expected to grow from 612,000 tons of meat production (2016 figure) with an increase of 11.7% by 2025 (USDA estimates), exerting further pressure on resources — raising livestock accounts for roughly 23 percent of all global water use in agriculture, or equivalent to 1.15 litres of water per person per day. If we continue this path of consumption, will our earth continue to feed us, quench our thirst, cloth us — power our homes, factories, vehicles, and devices?

Our population growth, economic growth, and the resulting climate change are creating unprecedented resource stress on our planet. For example, it is estimated that by 2030, we will see a water demand to supply gap of 40%. If we continue to consume the resources of this earth without regards to its regenerative timescale, perhaps one day, the earth would go bankrupt because she befriended too many humans. What happened to the Read More

Go, go, Gogoro: A Revolution of ‘Tesla On Two Wheels’

Tue, 07 Aug 2018 19:48:05 -0700

Since 2011, Taiwanese-startup Gogoro has ambitiously changed the world by building an energy infrastructure with renewable energy. Introducing its sleek line of Smartscooters* — operated in all-electric, connected via bluetooth and designed largely by former engineers and designers in HTC and Microsoft. Gogoro has opened and zoomed all the way in representing scooters in the electric vehicles industry.

What makes Gogoro an outstanding innovation? Swappable batteries replace the conventional way to plug-in and charge system. Charging can be done at GoStations in seconds with the Gogoro Energy Network or at home. It saves users a lot of time in sharing batteries while on the road, marking a transformation of technology in urban development.

Gogoro built the business in their home market, one of the most congested countries concerned with serious air pollution issues. In Taiwan, approximately 13.7 million scooters were registered till December 2015; with such significant high rate of ownership, it brought up serious issues — gasoline-powered vehicles emissions account for 20% — 35% of PM2.5 and more than half of NOx pollutants in the country. These results highlight a need to tackle the social and environmental impacts caused by the high rate of scooter ownership.

To tackle these problems, Gogoro turns them into opportunities, showcasing a good model of Restorative...Read More

8 Reasons why Singapore’s Crux Labs is a Restorative Innovation Champion

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 20:46:13 -0700

Rohit Gupta, founder of Crux Labs is a Restorative Innovation advocate. His debut product Crux LX is a palm-sized smart device that is able to unify communication across voicemails, landlines and mobile devices anywhere enabling seamless communication amongst teams and SMBs. Imagine how many tools this palm sized device can replace.
By now, we all know that Restorative Innovation is a framework & an innovation model that refers to new strategies, ventures, products, concepts that are designed to restore health, humanity & the environment in addition to creating & capturing a promise of value for the innovator and consumer.
We sat down with Rohit and we are in awe of his product’s impact and how they use open-source software and hardware to craft a green-product that is efficient, innovative and very cost effective. In his own words, here are 8 reasons why Rohit and his product Crux LX is a sustainable and Restorative Innovation champion:
Small is Big. A lot of people are in awe of what a small device like Crux LX can do by replacing their old-bulky EPABX system. We don’t need grand packaging to imply Crux LX’s impact. Following a micro-server design, it works with minimal input materials and efficiency in mind.
Simple & Compact Design. When we think of telephony and telecommunication, we imagine telephones, wires, complex technology and bulky power-guzzling devices. But, like how Steve Jobs liked the inside of the Apple device sleek and organized, I wanted Crux LX to exude simplicity on the outside, to ensure the product reflects what we have done on the inside by breaking down the complex telecom technology. I worked with the manufacturer to zero in on a case design that was sleek, compact...Read More

E6PR - Marine Wildlife Has A Hero!

Tue, 24 Jul 2018 20:40:25 -0700

‘Passion drives innovation and innovation brings about a positive change’
Dumping plastic waste into the ocean is a leading cause of environmental damage and harm to the marine life and Restorative Innovators have been devising solutions to solve these problems. One such champion is E6PR — Eco Six Pack Ring — and this is its story.
The problem and solution
An estimated number of over eight million tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean each year. This figure is expected to double by 2025. At the same time, packaging accounts for over 40 percent of total plastic usage. Over the last 10 years, more plastic has been produced than during the whole last century. Further, only 5 percent of plastics are recycled effectively, while 40 percent end up on landfill and a third in fragile ecosystems such as the world’s oceans.
Meanwhile, Americans drank 6.3 billion gallons of beer last year, 50% of it in cans. Most of the plastic six pack rings end up in the ocean. More than one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in the oceans. Further, over 50 percent of sea turtles have consumed plastic. In total, plastic has been ingested with dire consequences by 700 species of marine wildlife.
Six-pack rings, also known as yokes, are plastic links used to easily sell a set of beverages like soda and beer packs. Once detached, it is imperative to cut up the plastic rings before tossing them away. These lightweight rings often drift out into nature, where they are a danger to plants and animals alike. E6PR is a plastic-free six-pack ring that feeds the marine life instead of choking or...Read More

Tesla— A Pathway To Zero Emission Future?

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 21:49:11 -0700

Will your next car talk to traffic lights, apply breaks to help avoid a collision? The world is moving on to futuristic cars and Tesla is innovating by manufacturing a zero emission car. Now, what exactly is zero emission vehicle? According to California air resources Board, zero emission vehicle is a vehicle that emits no exhaust gas from the onboard source of power. Tesla aims to accelerate to world’s transition to sustainable energy by manufacturing a zero emission vehicle. The Zero emission vehicle has played a huge role in padding Tesla’s earnings. It pushed Tesla’s earnings to positive territory for the first time in many years.

Tesla has proved to be successful in defining a new phrase — “Silence is the new power” with its electric cars emitting only a faint hum. Tesla aims to be the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.

Tesla — The safest cars ever
Tesla was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who wanted to prove that people didn’t need to compromise to drive electric — that electric cars can be better, quicker and more fun to drive than gasoline cars. Today, Tesla builds not only all-electric vehicles but also infinitely scalable clean energy generation and storage products. Tesla believes the faster the world stops relying on fossil fuels and moves towards a zero-emission future. It defines its mission and vision as follows:
Mission — To accelerate the world’s transition to...Read More

Micronutris: Insects Over Meat?

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 20:01:47 -0700

Did you know that meat has a much higher “energy footprint” than any other food? It takes 75 times more energy to produce meat than corn. It also takes an area of vegetation 7 times the size of EU to produce food for cattle and other livestock animals in the Europe.

FAO (UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization) predicts that the population on earth will grow up to 9 billion by 2050 which would double the worldwide demand for meat and water. Undoubtedly, some alternative solutions to traditional livestock and feed sources must be developed to satisfy the need of the global population and to reduce the pressure on the Earth’s forests and seas.

Fortunately, Cedric Auriol as a restorative innovation leader founded Micronutris a perfect solution for this problem.

Micronutris: Edible Insects

Founded in 2011, Micronutris is the first farm in France raising edible insects and creating insect-based products. Their mission is to produce high-quality and healthy food options in a sustainable way meanwhile becoming leader on the European market. Micronutris is seeking for high protein alternatives as the production of meat is not sustainable and won’t be possible to satisfy the needs of the growing population.

The consumption of insects is the solution as the production of cold-blooded insects requires 7x less plants, 50x less water and emits 100x less greenhouse gases compared to livestock. Besides reducing the environmental pressures, insect-based diet will cut down the global food and feed insecurity. Cédric Auriol, hopes that Micronutris will continue to switch the mindset of the European population towards the ‘insect-based diet’. The products provide more nutritional benefits...Read More

Can Singapore Evolve to be an Innovative Farming Country?

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 21:26:26 -0700

Singapore currently imports more than 90 per cent of its food. A country that ranks as the second most densely populated country by the World Bank, has now gone on to a new journey on food innovation — agriculture technology (agtech or agritech).
The global farming systems have transformed in decades, with the advancement of agriculture technology, it is able to optimize the costs and outcomes based on the data analysis applied in crop monitoring system. Indoor farms come in hi-tech greenhouses and vertical farms; we have the insect farms, producing protein alternative for animals (including human) and aquaculture feeds by honeybees, silkworms and even cockroaches. Urban farming is particularly ideal for Singapore due to the climatic and spatial conditions. So far, among the 200 local food farms producing fish, eggs and vegetables, 15 of them are indoor farms.

Local and global investors are eyeing agtech, boosting the local agtech as one of the dominated technology in the market. In this green city, these categories are aggressively transforming to be the best investment in Singapore, which are the agricultural biotech, the novel farming systems (fish, insect and algae farming), farm management software and the supply chain technology respectively.
Here are the questions we are concerned about —
Is it really sustainable in a country that faces scarcity of land?
What are the REAL VALUES of urban farming?
There is a precondition of high capital investment and energy requirement for urban farming. However, the emergence of local startups has Read More