Good for Business, Good for the Planet: The Judges Behind the World's Foremost Biomimicry Prize

In 1994, Ray C. Anderson asked himself all those questions when he realized his company, Interface, needed a sustainability overhaul. This “spear in the chest” epiphany led to what Ray later called his Mid-Course Correction, the beginning of his quest to prove that sustainability was not just the right thing to do, it was the smart thing to do for business.

Created in honor of Ray, this $100,000 prize sparks the next generation of businesses and social enterprises that prioritize people and planet and are bringing us one step closer to a regenerative world.

Here, you can learn more about the 9 incredible candidates for this year’s grand prize, representing a range of industries. From eliminating toxic paints and dyes, to providing a new, life-friendly approach to marine infrastructure, these game-changing companies are providing a “ray of hope” in the world today.

Each year, we typically have an in-person pitch event, where the finalist teams get to pitch their biomimetic product or service to our panel of judges, but this year, of course, it was all done virtually. Comparing and ranking startups across industries and stages is challenging, and keeping nature’s standards in mind is an even more challenging task. Can we meet her expectations?

Today, the stakes are higher than ever and us humans could use the help. In order to keep these priorities top of mind, we cultivated a panel of judges who are trusted experts in the fields of biomimicry, sustainable product design and innovation, environmental sciences, and entrepreneurship. They took nature’s principles of good design into consideration with all their decision-making (more info on that criteria below). And tomorrow, we’ll get to hear who they selected on-stage during the mainstage plenary at Circularity 20.

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