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Innovation

Imitating nature

NBC News, 17 June 2014

Innovation: a considerable part of an organisation's success, and of its right to exist, rests on its capacity to innovate. A product life cycle spanning decades is long gone, and cycles keep getting shorter. That is driven mainly by new technologies — 4D printing, sensors, robots — and by the continuously shifting needs of the market (sustainability, environmental awareness, scarcity of raw materials) and of the customer (fewer in number, less materialistic, and looking for freedom).

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Design spiral

The design spiral, built on natural design principles, helps you reach new ideas for products and designs quickly and relatively cheaply. Biological designs are brought into view, after which you can develop the methods you discover into a product or design that fits you. Entering into partnerships often lets you develop faster as well. Your idea, or your wish to innovate, is what sits at the centre. The design spiral is a method for innovating quickly, so that you can then impress the market in a natural way.

Product innovation

The best-known biomimicry design is of course the bullet train, based on the shape of the kingfisher's head. But there are thousands of examples. What they all have in common is that they are energy-efficient, can be built in ways that work with nature, and save a great deal of R&D time. Many of these designs can also be built using less material, with savings of 20 to 30 per cent.

Sustainability Illustrated, 12 April 2014

Process innovation

Biomimicry process innovation soon comes round to swarm intelligence: the flow of a group of often simple organisms making optimal choices without any leadership. Everyday life offers plenty of examples of biomimicry process design too. How do you suppose drones learned to fly as a group, or crowd movement came to be predicted? By developing from behavioural processes — the counterpart to lean.

Alfonso Iniguez, 20 September 2016

Our approach

In designing and shaping we work with the design spiral combined with the Biologically Inspired Design (BID) model. Alongside that we use the DesignLens from Biomimicry 3.8 as a frame of reference. Besides bringing the methodology, we think along with you and provide the knowledge about possible biological solutions. We also put you in contact with the right scientist about the precise requirements for the design. And finally we test the outcome for you, to make certain the design meets the requirements set at the start.

Examples

We have been active at a range of companies for some years now. Solutions we have developed include:

  • Food industry: the production lines had reached maximum capacity. A small adjustment to the filling machine, using the shape of the kingfisher's beak, raised capacity by 15 to 20 per cent.
  • Logistics company: drivers' routes were reworked using ant routing. The saving came to 23 per cent of kilometres driven, which made an extra driver and vehicle unnecessary.
  • Packaging company: waste from packaging materials across the chain was reduced by taking organic materials (mycelium) into use.

Would you like to know more about us and our approach? Do get in touch.

Other services

Alongside consultancy we also offer masterclasses and programmes in the field of innovation:

In-company masterclasses on innovation and train-the-trainer formats. Together we put together a programme that fits. Do get in touch for more information.

Upcoming programmes

The current schedule comes straight from the Biomimicry Centre calendar.

  • Biomimicry Natuurgids

    Start
    18 September 2026
    Course days
    7
    CPE credits
    21

    € 995,00 incl. btw

    Sign up
    Day programme 7
    1. Day 1 18 September 2026 Inleiding Biomimicry, Biologie en Ecologie.
    2. Day 2 2 October 2026 Natuurlijke intelligentie: fractals, structuren en patronen in de natuur.
    3. Day 3 16 October 2026 Bomen, schimmels en materialen.
    4. Day 4 30 October 2026 Vogels, planten en insecten.
    5. Day 5 13 November 2026 Zoogdieren, amfibieën en bodemleven.
    6. Day 6 27 November 2026 Natuur in en langs het water.
    7. Day 7 Examen: het verzorgen van een biomimicry-wandeling met publiek. Individueel op afspraak, datum in overleg met de docent.

  • Sustainability Business Development Manager

    Start
    23 September 2026
    Course days
    6
    CPE credits
    42

    € 5.450,00 excl. btw

    Sign up
    Day programme 6
    1. Day 1 23 September 2026 Introductie NI-Businessmodel, biomimicry en circulaire economie.
    2. Day 2 7 October 2026 Sustainable businessmodellen, waardecreatie en impactanalyse.
    3. Day 3 21 October 2026 Natuurlijke designprincipes en biomimicry in product- en procesinnovatie.
    4. Day 4 4 November 2026 Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), footprintanalyse en duurzaam inkopen.
    5. Day 5 18 November 2026 Energiebeheer, circulaire ketens en regeneratieve bedrijfsvoering.
    6. Day 6 2 December 2026 Examen

  • LCA & Footprint Analyse

    Start
    30 September 2026
    Course days
    6
    CPE credits
    42

    € 5.450,00 excl. btw

    Sign up
    Day programme 6
    1. Day 1 30 September 2026 Introductie footprint- en LCA-denken: impact en methodieken.
    2. Day 2 14 October 2026 CO₂-footprint en GHG-protocol: scope 1, 2 en 3, dataverzameling en berekeningen.
    3. Day 3 28 October 2026 Life Cycle Assessment: doel en scope, systeemgrenzen en Life Cycle Inventory (LCI).
    4. Day 4 11 November 2026 LCA-berekeningen en interpretatie: impactcategorieën, MKI, scenario’s en onzekerheden.
    5. Day 5 25 November 2026 Van analyse naar sturing: reductiestrategieën, rapportage en besluitvorming.
    6. Day 6 9 December 2026 Examen

  • Biomimicry Sustainable Community Manager

    Start
    20 January 2027
    Course days
    6
    CPE credits
    42

    € 5.450,00 excl. btw

    Sign up
    Day programme 6
    1. Day 1 20 January 2027 Biomimicry en ecosystemen: de natuur als leidraad voor samenwerking.
    2. Day 2 3 February 2027 Stakeholdermanagement en gedeelde waardecreatie.
    3. Day 3 17 February 2027 Netwerk- en alliantiedynamieken: werken als een ecosysteem.
    4. Day 4 3 March 2027 Co-creatie en innovatie: biomimicry als katalysator voor samenwerking.
    5. Day 5 17 March 2027 Governance en besluitvorming: natuurlijke principes in samenwerking.
    6. Day 6 31 March 2027 Examen

  • Biomimicry Business Change Manager

    Start
    29 January 2027
    Course days
    6
    CPE credits
    42

    € 5.450,00 excl. btw

    Sign up
    Day programme 6
    1. Day 1 29 January 2027 Biomimicry en verandermanagement: natuurlijke principes als basis voor transitie.
    2. Day 2 12 February 2027 Organisatiemodellen en toekomstbestendigheid: van statisch naar adaptief.
    3. Day 3 26 February 2027 Leiderschap en weerstand: veerkracht ontwikkelen in organisaties.
    4. Day 4 12 March 2027 Cultuurverandering en natuurlijke patronen: duurzame gedragsverandering faciliteren.
    5. Day 5 26 March 2027 Samenwerking en cocreatie: biomimicry als katalysator voor synergie.
    6. Day 6 9 April 2027 Examen

  • Biomimicry Product Development Manager

    Start
    23 April 2027
    Course days
    6
    CPE credits
    42

    € 5.450,00 excl. btw

    Sign up
    Day programme 6
    1. Day 1 23 April 2027 Biomimicry Life’s Principles en de designspiraal.
    2. Day 2 7 May 2027 Biologically Inspired Design-model en 4-Box.
    3. Day 3 21 May 2027 Gulden snede en ontwerpdimensies.
    4. Day 4 4 June 2027 Vormgeving en lichtgewicht structuren.
    5. Day 5 18 June 2027 Cradle-to-cradle en Stad van de toekomst.
    6. Day 6 2 July 2027 Examen

Source: Biomimicry Centre calendar.

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