【TED演讲稿】大自然能教会我们什么是可持续经营

TED演讲者：Erin Meezan / 艾琳·米赞

演讲标题：What nature can teach us about sustainable business / 大自然能教会我们什么是可持续经营

内容概要：

From glue alternatives inspired by gecko's feet to factories that produce a net benefit to the environment, Interface's VP and chief sustainability officer Erin Meezan explains how we can look to nature to learn how to make business more sustainable. Detailing the innovative solutions this fresh approach has unlocked for her company, she invites us to imagine what we can redesign in our own lives, with nature in mind.

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【1】Director: Alright, whenever you're ready.

导演:好了,你什么时候准备好了 我们就开始。

【2】Erin Meezan: There's so much debate right now about what companies and countries should be doing on climate.

艾琳.米赞: 现在有很多争论 关于企业和国家 应该在气候问题上做些什么。

【3】Nature is actually the best benchmark.

大自然实际上是最好的基准。

【4】Why don't we just follow what it would do?

为什么我们不跟着做它会做的事呢?

【5】Nature has 3.8 billion years of R and D under its belt.

大自然有38亿年的研发历史。

【6】So, you know, there's certainly something nature has that maybe humans always don't.

所以,你知道,大自然肯定有一些东西 是人类永远不具备的。

【7】Nature can do complex chemistry, really interesting engineering.

大自然可以进行复杂的化学反应, 这是非常有趣的工程。

【8】And so how can we look to nature and really harness what we know works to provide solutions for business to be more sustainable?

所以我们该如何看待大自然 并真正利用我们所知道的方法, 为企业提供更可持续发展的解决方案呢?

【9】This is a carpet tile that we make.

这是我们做的瓷砖地毯。

【10】We operate in the building and construction space, which is close to 40 percent of global carbon emissions.

我们在建筑和建筑领域开展业务, 这一领域的碳排放量 占全球碳排放量的近40%。

【11】So in that space, we're putting a lot of materials, like flooring, into buildings.

所以在这个空间里, 我们把很多材料,比如地板, 放进建筑物里。

【12】When we started on sustainability as a company, most of these products had a significant impact on the planet.

当我们作为一家公司 开始致力于可持续发展时, 大多数产品都对地球产生了重大影响。

【13】We wasted a lot of resources, we recycled nothing, and they had a carbon footprint that we had never even measured or understood.

我们浪费了很多资源, 什么也没有回收, 而这些碳足迹 我们从来没有测量过或了解过。

【14】Interface became inspired to take the company in a more sustainable direction.

Interface受到启发, 使公司朝着更可持续的方向发展。

【15】We took our product design team out in the forest and asked: How would nature design a floor?

我们把我们的产品设计团队 带到森林里,问: 大自然会如何设计地板?

【16】What lessons could nature give us about moving away from adhesives in our business?

大自然会给我们上什么样的课 关于不再在我们业务中使用粘合剂?

【17】And that led to an exploration of gecko's feet that allowed us to design an innovation that took the company off glue and really helped us build a whole new business by being inspired by nature.

这导致了对壁虎脚的探索, 这让我们能够设计出一种创新, 让公司摆脱胶水的束缚, 真正帮助我们建立了一个全新的业务, 受到大自然的启发。

【18】We did things to reduce waste.

我们采取措施减少浪费。

【19】We've swapped out less sustainable materials for recycled and bio-based materials.

我们取代了不太可持续的材料 转而使用可回收的和生物基的材料。

【20】And so over 20 years, we've been able to innovate and create something that actually stores more carbon than it emits, has a net benefit to the environment.

所以在过去的20年里, 我们已经能够创新和创造一些东西, 实际上能够储存比排放更多的碳, 对环境有净效益。

【21】We really challenged ourselves to say, what's beyond that?

我们继续挑战自己,问自己, 除此之外还有什么?

【22】Could we create a factory that has a positive impact, and what might that look like?

我们能否创建一个 具有积极影响的工厂, 它会是什么样子?

【23】Nature, for example, harvests and collects and purifies rainwater.

例如,大自然可以收集和净化雨水。

【24】So what we've done in some of our factory locations is install rainwater collection devices to be able to take that rainwater out, use that in our manufacturing operations.

所以,我们在一些工厂 安装了雨水收集设备, 将雨水收集出来, 用于我们的生产操作。

【25】Nature stores carbon.

大自然存储碳。

【26】And so we have opportunities onsite through planting, possibly removal of parking lots, possibly by establishing green roofs, to store carbon on-site and in the buildings within our company.

所以我们有机会在现场种植, 可能移除停车场, 可能建立绿色屋顶, 就地储存碳, 在我们公司的建筑中。

【27】And I'm really excited now that it's not just Interface trying to figure this out.

我现在真的很兴奋, 因为不仅仅是Interface 在尝试解决这个问题。

【28】Other companies started to hear us talking about it and got really interested in it.

其他公司开始听到我们的讨论, 并对它产生了兴趣。

【29】We could share the work that we had done, and other companies could accelerate their learning, but also they committed to share what they were doing.

我们可以分享我们所做的工作, 其他公司可以加快他们的学习, 但他们也承诺分享他们正在做的事情。

【30】And we're hopeful that this will continue to pick up momentum.

我们希望这一势头会继续加快。

【31】I think the question for everybody is: What's your carbon-negative carpet tile?

我想每个人的问题是: 什么是你的碳负极瓷砖?

【32】It goes from the idea of a sustainable carpet tile to a sustainable building to a sustainable city.

从可持续的地砖 可持续的建筑再到可持续的城市。

【33】If we're going to meaningfully address global warming, we have to imagine not just these products alone, but the collective effort of what we can do together to have a positive impact on the environment.

如果我们想要有意义地 解决全球变暖问题, 我们不仅要想象这些产品本身, 还要想象我们共同的努力, 为环境带来积极的影响。