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Business model design

Lifecycle Assessment

Earth Day and Understanding What Cannot Be Understood

This pandemic is not what we imagined. Perhaps you wished for clear blue waters in the canals of Venice, carless streets in NYC, clear skies and low pollution in LA, Mumbai, and Shanghai. But not this way, caused by an invisible virus. As I walk the empty perfect streets of NYC, I’m reminded of one of my favorite science fiction novels, The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1971 Read More

Circular Startups that Begin with the Business Model

Circular Models: How European Startups are Shaping the Future of the Circular Economy, Business-Model-First. Next week’s Supply Chain Meetup in NYC is focused on Circular Economy ventures, and I’ll be introducing leading-edge circular startups that I’ve met and interacted with across the EU. https://www.meetup.com/The-NewYork-SupplyChain-Meetup/events/267955933/ While NYC’s startup ecosystem leads in many sectors, we’re a bit behind when it comes to circular startups, Sustainable Development Goals, and imagining a future with Read More

Healthy Materials: Waste and Circular Economies at Healthy Materials Symposium

This deeply inspiring group of humans approach circular economies and waste with a combination of no-nonsense Nordic-ness and dreamy design. This is the now of sustainable design: Waste & Circular Economies Kate Daly, Executive Director, Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners Lasse Lind, Architect, Partner, Head of Consulting, GXN Seetal Solanki, Founder and Director, Ma-tt-er Moderator: Jen Van Der Meer Assistant Professor, Strategic Design & Management, Parsons Read More

Venture Lab Inaugural Cohort

I’ve been working on a social impact curriculum and program at Parsons The New School. We asked student venture teams to apply to a course called Venture Lab, designed for launching potentially scalable ventures. We’ll also be studying the larger question of entrepreneurship inclusion, and how young ventures can develop, validate, and articulate their social impact vision. Looking forward to Spring’s cohort! VENTURE LAB 2017 – 2018 PARTICIPANTS by Adam Chagani on December Read More

Business Model Myths in the Circular Economy

Today at 11 EST I’ll be giving an online talk for the virtual Circular Economy “Dif” Festival put on by the Ellen MacCarthur Foundation. What was planned to be a thorough analysis of common business model mis-conceptions has changed in light of recent events. We will discuss: Equitable outcomes. Ray Anderson. Circular economy. Business model myths. People-centered capitalism. Business model innovation as the strongest tool for survival and resilience   Business Read More

Designing for Climate Action

Join me and my students from SVA’s Products of Design Program at Design for Climate Action @svaPoD for an evening of open innovation. Inspire a group of students who have the skills we need to start pushing the right levers of change (systems thinking, design, programming, communications, everything that I should have learned in grad school). Wednesday, September 30th, in NYC.   Get Tickets Here ($10).  Event Description: Designing Climate Action Read More

Biofabricate

Looking forward to the multiple disciplines being convened at the Biofabricate conference – and the chance to thread environment impact assessment, health impact, startup ethics, and the precautionary principle. ‘BIOFABRICATE’ is the world’s first summit dedicated to biofabrication for future industrial and consumer products. Biofabrication comprises highly disruptive technologies enabling design and manufacturing to intersect with the building blocks of life. Computers can now read and write with DNA. This Read More

Bodies and Buildings NYU ITP Syllabus for 2014

Bodies and Buildings Fall 2014 Syllabus NYU ITP Instructor: Jen van der Meer jd1159 at nyu dot edu Mondays 6:30 – 9:25 PM 721 Broadway at Waverly Why is it so hard to care for our planet and ourselves? We seem hungover from a century of prosperity and ingenuity, unable to invent economic models that create jobs, improve health, and restore the earth. Eager ITP students are better equipped than Read More