Our thinking

Reinventing sustainability

2 December, 2022

At the start of the year, we took a look at The Economist’s predictions for emerging technologies to watch and reflected on the representation of sustainability-focused technologies. Now, almost a year on, Time’s list of the best inventions of the year seems to have confirmed our expectations: 2022 has been a good year for sustainability solutions.

Although there is a dedicated category for sustainability, the broader picture is clear: there are new products and services that will help deliver sustainability solutions across all industries and sectors. From robots delivering precision agriculture to upcycled paint, solar roofing shingles to rentable home gyms, the list showcases some of the exciting progress being done to improve sustainability outcomes and reduce negative impacts. Meanwhile, with the list also featuring some of the more unusual inventions like bad weather travel insurance, teddies that hug back and burrito tape (the answer to the problem you didn’t know you had), it certainly makes for an interesting read.

Necessity is the mother of invention and the need for technologies to help address the climate crisis and other sustainability issues is clear. Technology alone won’t solve our issues though. We ultimately need to change our consumption habits and reshape our institutions to serve the needs of everyone. But it’s promising to see that important progress is being made through technology too.

By Patrick Bapty