Biomimicry Institute

The Biomimicry Institute is a founded in 2006 and based in Missoula, Montana in the United States. Its goal is to help innovators learn from nature in order to design sustainable products, processes, and policies in response to real-world problems. by Janine Benyus; a natural sciences writer, innovation consultant and author.
Approach
Biomimicry is an approach to design and innovation that finds inspiration in the function of living organisms. The idea of connecting biologists, ecologists and other life scientists with designers and product engineers in the design process was introduced by Janine Benyus. This design methodology can be applied to the creation of materials, products, and solutions for a wide variety of fields and human systems including biochemistry fluid mechanics, physical chemistry, materials design, architecture, energy, textiles, medicine, transportation, and agriculture.
The Biomimicry Institute supports the development of nature-inspired solutions for the sustainability of the planet. Within the larger field of biomimicry the Institute has three primary objectives, to change the areas of:
1) Education: Increase access to high quality materials and services for learning, teaching, and practicing biomimicry as a design process.
2) Practice: Develop the proficiency and practice of next generation innovators so that they have the orientation, skills, and support necessary to use biomimicry to tackle pressing sustainability challenges. Beth Rattner is Executive Director of the non-profit organization, The Biomimicry Institute has become a key communicator in the field of biomimetics, connecting thousands of practitioners and organizations in 38 regional networks and 26 countries through its Biomimicry Global Network as of 2022.
offers consultancy, professional training, development for educators, Among its more than 250 clients are Nike, Kohler. Seventh Generation and C40 Cities. By 2013, over 100 universities had joined the Biomimicry Educator’s Network, offering training in biomimetics.
Programs
AskNature
AskNature is a freely accessible and comprehensive online database that connects nature's solutions with innovation professionals, students, and educators. Launched in 2008, According to the annual report for 2013-2014, over half a million people had visited AskNature in one year,
Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge
The Biomimicry Youth Design Challenge (YDC) is a hands-on, project-based learning experience for middle and high school students. This STEM challenge provides classroom and informal educators with an interdisciplinary framework that combines science, engineering, and environmental literacy with the envisioning of solutions to social and environmental problems. Students identify problems, find inspiration in nature, and engineer designs to mitigate their problems. Students combine biological strategies from multiple organisms into their design. For example, a team of seventh graders wanted to reduce the need for harmful ice-melting products. They developed a design to reduce ice buildup on airplane wings after studying the structures of mint leaves, cicada wings and pine needles.
Ray of Hope Prize
The Ray of Hope Prize identifies the top nature-inspired startups in the world and fosters their growth by providing sustainable business training, communications support, and opportunities for non-dilutive funding—the top being a $100,000 equity-free prize.
Biomimicry Launchpad
The Biomimicry Launchpad is an accelerator program that supports early-stage entrepreneurs working to bring nature-inspired innovations to market. The Launchpad provides entrepreneurs with resources to launch and grow biomimicry businesses, accelerates the development and commercialization of biomimicry innovations, and helps create new sustainability entrepreneurs.
Design for Decomposition
Design for Decomposition launched in December 2021 as a two-year, multi-million dollar project dedicated to demonstrating scalable new pathways for the ~92 million tonnes of fashion waste discarded annually by embracing true decomposition—the way leaves break down into soil—that builds healthy ecosystems.
The initiative originated from the 2020 Nature of Fashion report, which identified decomposition as a critical part of nature’s material cycles missing from current industrial thinking, and design for decomposition as the quickest route to a regenerative and equitable fashion industry.
Biomimicry Global Design Challenge
The Biomimicry Global Design Challenge (BGDC) was an annual program that gave scientists, inventors and designers the opportunity to apply biomimicry to create solutions to problems of climate change. Whether emulating the functions of a healthy forest floor to support cost-effective reforestation, or creating a rock-like aggregate that sequesters carbon in concrete (modeled on the formation of shells and coral reefs), the design challenge teams created solutions to man-made problems by learning from nature. Participants received access to training, mentoring, and other resources. Finalists were invited to join the Biomimicry Launchpad to get support to bring their design to market. The Challenge was discontinued in 2021.

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