Metabolic

🌎Today, August 1st, is #EarthOvershootDay. Today, we owe our planet big time. But what does this mean? Today marks the annual point when our collective global demand for ecological resources and services has exceeded what Earth can regenerate this year. The date on which Earth Overshoot Day falls in a given year fluctuates depending on calculations provided by the Global Footprint Network. In 1971, this date fell on December 25th, meaning our demand for ecological resources outpaced the planet's regenerative capacity by six days. Over the past 53 years, this date has generally fallen earlier in the year. Today, we are operating with a deficit of 153 days. We are deeper in the debt zone, and it's time to pay the planet back. At Metabolic, we understand that transitioning the global economy to a fundamentally sustainable state is difficult. Our interwoven value chains and dependencies on nature are complex. But if we are to successfully make reparations to the home we all share and move the date back to December 31st, we must tackle the problems systemically. The first step involves understanding how the systems we depend on to thrive can exist in harmony with the natural boundaries of our planet. From here, we can continue identifying the leverage points within these systems where small interventions can make big waves. Let's maintain a high ambition and continue to work for nature, not against it. Help us #MoveTheDate by identifying where your company, government, or organization can take these first steps.

The importance of asking the right questions. How do we decide where to focus our attention? How do we design solutions and organizations that provide the best chances for success? Take stock of the foundations of your venture through “14 questions to guide entrepreneurs towards deep and lasting impact”. These 14 questions serve as a simple checklist and set of triggers for anyone looking to maximize the effectiveness of a particular initiative. Entrepreneurs early in their journey can use this test as a frame for thinking about how to design their venture, while those with existing ideas or early ventures can use it to identify where to put some additional focus. Link to questions: https://lnkd.in/dc4SDd4 Niranjana Balram Menon Chris Monaghan Eva Lalakova #systemsthinking #systemicventurebuilding #entrepreneurship

🚫♻️We don't like recycling! But we love to reuse, repair, and share. These are far more impactful actions you can take. That's why, in 2022, we launched the Repair Cafe in Amsterdam Oud-Noord, teaching our neighbors how to inject new life into their old clothes, broken electronics, rusty bikes, and tired furniture. 🤝 We've grown a passionate community, hosted numerous workshops, and set up two more repair cafes in other neighborhoods. The best part is the human connection. We've bonded with volunteers through collective problem-solving and heard amazing stories from the local community. Many visitors have expressed that gaining access to repair tools and skills has shifted their perspective, making them happier to keep and fix items instead of buying new ones. 👗 The Metabolic annual clothing swap has reached new heights of professionalism with a runway show, rockstar DJ, and complete repair services. We plan to continue this annual tradition every summer and winter, making it easy to find perfect wardrobe additions while having a blast. These efforts drive our work towards a circular textile future, exploring synergies and addressing multiple leverage points for lasting change. Curious to learn more? Reach out to Dora Chi Xu. She would love to hear from you. #circulareconomy #repaircafe #sustainability #metabolic

Gemeente Utrecht is on a mission to become fully circular by 2050. Last year, our Material Flow Analysis (MFA) mapped the municipality's material flows. We identified key areas where the municipality of Utrecht can make a big impact: recycling, construction, and healthcare. By improving recycling processes, using innovative construction methods, and promoting sustainable practices in healthcare, Utrecht can reduce CO2 emissions and rely less on new raw materials. Based on the MFA, we collaborated with the Municipality of Utrecht to create a local vision for a circular economy. This aims to not only support the environment but also boost the local economy. Learn more about the project: https://lnkd.in/dVjegjZq Discover how cities can embrace circularity and reduce their environmental footprint: https://lnkd.in/dVjegjZq Toni Kuhlmann, Valerie Gies, Gerard Roemers, Liesbeth Sträter #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #UrbanMetabolism #Utrecht #MFA

Integrating nature and biodiversity into your business strategy! As the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (#CSRD) reshapes the corporate landscape, it's crucial for businesses to understand their impact on nature and biodiversity. In our blog article, we decode the CSRD and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (#ESRS), specifically standards E3 and E4. This provides essential guidance for businesses to navigate these requirements. Dive into how your company can align with these environmental standards to enhance your sustainability efforts and pave the road to becoming a nature-positive business. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dF4bb2pi #nature #biodiversity #corporateresponsibility

Why hasn’t the explosive growth in social enterprises led to a better outlook for society? One of the challenges we see is that many social enterprises focus on “less bad” solutions or on addressing the symptoms of a problem rather than the root causes. To help you do so and focus on creating impact, we are sharing our Systemic Venture Framework for the second post of our summer reading list for entrepreneurs. 💡 What is it? This framework helps design, support, assess, and improve ventures that aim to create transformative impact. 🛠️ How it works? The assessment is structured in four sequential pillars based on how a venture is developed: -Understanding the problem -Constructing a solution around the problem -Building an organization -Executing on the mission Take a look and use our Systemic Venture Framework: https://bit.ly/4fqa5RU #systemsthinking #systemicventurebuilding #entrepreneurship

Showcasing practical circular economy solutions in The City of Charlotte! Since 2018, Metabolic has partnered with Charlotte, NC, to pioneer in the circular economy. Our Material Flow Analysis (MFA) revealed that 88% of Charlotte's waste was heading to landfills. To combat this, we developed five circular business models to divert 15% of this waste, create $34 million in revenue, and generate nearly 500 new jobs. Together with the city of Charlotte, we developed five business cases. A standout project is the Innovation Barn, a circular economy hub that showcases practical circular economy solutions. In the Innovation Barn, materials like glass and concrete are repurposed, and surplus food is redistributed. The Barn also has a café with a job training program for the homeless, truly embodying circularity. Discover how Circular Charlotte sets a new standard for sustainable urban development: https://lnkd.in/dSWiztnU Learn more about how we're using MFA to help cities become circular: https://bit.ly/4evZQL9 Liesbeth Sträter Gerard Roemers #circulareconomy #sustainability #circularcharlotte #innovationbarn #greencity #metabolic

What tools do we need to build ventures intent on societal change? Over the next five weeks, our Ventures team will enrich your summer reading with whitepapers and practical tools, providing you with the insights needed to design and initiate ventures that have the potential to transform our economy. To kick things off, dive into our first whitepaper on Systemic Venture Building 👉 https://lnkd.in/d8_wc5tJ! The paper will help you understand: ✅ Why a new approach to entrepreneurship is crucial for addressing modern challenges. ✅ How you can implement these strategies in your own venture. Did you find this useful? Check out Metabolic Ventures for more resources: https://lnkd.in/dgcyTz4n #systemsthinking #systemicventurebuilding #entrepreneurship Chris Monaghan Niranjana Balram Menon Eva Lalakova Roeland Koelman

Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission! 🇪🇺 We hope this signifies that the next European Commission will be as ambitious, if not more so, than the last on environmental and sustainability issues. To bring Europe to a fundamentally sustainable state, we must hold onto the green and social principles set out five years ago. The policies that are part of the European Green Deal have been vital in stimulating more biodiversity protection and climate change action. For example, the Nature Restoration Law and Fit-for-55 are having a massive positive impact. We are moving in the right direction, but we are not there yet. We still see many challenges to fully embedding systems thinking in the policy-making process. This is why, earlier this year, we co-founded the Systems Transformation Hub: a pioneering partnership of organizations that helps bring systems thinking and action to European policy-making. Alongside our co-founders The Club of Rome, Climate-KIC, Systemiq Ltd., and World Resources Institute Europe, we hope to contribute to a green and social Europe in the next five years with science-driven policies. Read the full collective statement of the leaders of the Hub, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Kirsten Dunlop, Eva Gladek, Janez Potocnik, and Stientje van Veldhoven, on the reappointment of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission: https://lnkd.in/e29w_QNt #EU #SystemsTransformation

For the past two years, sustainability has been front and center for HEMA. Yesterday, HEMA released their latest sustainability report! We’re happy to celebrate their milestone and honored to be part of their sustainability journey. Our work with HEMA began by assessing the carbon footprint of the entire organization, including over 30,000 products. Using these insights, HEMA set bold, transparent, science-based targets and committed to reducing their carbon footprint by over 50% by 2030. Taking the next step, HEMA is now expanding its scope by utilizing Metabolic’s leading software platform for corporate nature and biodiversity assessments, Link.  Check it out ➜ https://lnkd.in/g5Uc3zpx Link is Metabolic’s easy-to-use software solution for companies to measure, report, and improve nature-related impacts and risks. With the support of Metabolic and Link, HEMA is now well-positioned to meet Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (#CSRD) requirements and achieve their ambitious sustainability targets. If you’re curious, check out HEMA’s sustainability report: https://bit.ly/3Wxj7VT #CarbonFootprint #Biodiversity #CircularEconomy #ScienceBasedTargets #Link Pieter van Exter Markus Appelman