The goal of the presentation was to speak about innovation in the context of competitive strategies. Their point and counterpoint format, Benyus focused on the biomimicry and the examples of nature while Pauli defined how that converts to competitive strategies and potential profit. 

Janine Benyus has authored numerous books on biomimicry. Her most recent is Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Benyus had developed her basic thesis around how human should consciously emulate nature's genius in their designs. In 1998, Benyus co-founded the Biomimicry Guild. Co-presenter, Günter Pauli is the Founder and Director of Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI).

The premise was that the wisdom of the past will not take us to the future. What we know is not enough. Innovation is the foundation of competitive advantage. Innovators and entrepreneurs in collaboration with nature will provide the creative leadership to define a sustainable future.

In a downturn, predators nibble at the market share of the larger, less adaptable corporations and get away with it. Innovation is not necessarily technology, but changing the rules of the game to succeed.

Nature is everyone’s innovation resource with 3.8 billion years of R&D. Nature is an untapped source of solutions. The examples they provided were numerous and diverse.

Pistol shrimp snap their pincers to stun their prey, ejecting a micro burst of water at 100 miles per hour. The friction generated generates tremendous heat in a very tiny area for a micro instant. The Dutch government is investing in mimicking technologies to create pure water for manufacturing chips, medical and pharmaceutical products. Processes like these have the power to reinvent the filtration business.

Fire retardants commonly made from halogens and bromines appear more frequently in all kinds of products. Bromines contribute to contamination of mothers milk and decreasing reproduction in polar bears. Studies on energy generation and absorption within cells reveals that citrus in wine skins can supply an equally effective retardant and provide a huge stimulus for the wine industry.

Whales can regulate their heart rate to 4 beats per minute when they dive without going into shock by electrical nanowires in the blubber. This same principal, applied to the human heart, can replace a $50,000 Pacemaker surgery with simple outpatient procedure.  

By imitating a dessert bug which positions itself to collect condensation from fog and channel droplets into its mouth, a UK firm has created thin films to collect water in the same manner. On a grander scale, towers will be able to screen moisture from the air and channel it into buildings.

Sugar-coated vaccines that can be transported and stored without refrigeration mimic dessert plants which survive intense heat for years without water. Similar techniques can be applied to food. The dollars gained through power savings are significant.

Ant mounds in Zimbabwe can maintain a constant 87 degree temperature. By imitating the air circulation systems within the mounds in Zimbabwe, architects in Japan have created buildings which save 30-40% on heating and cooling costs.

The bottom line is that biotech overlaps about 10% of human patents today. The potential for self-cleaning paints, self-cleaning roofs, solar cells imitating moth eyes or leaves is a real opportunity for innovators who recognize the value of the wisdom and balance of nature.

Benyus and Pauli could have cited many more examples from the 2100 listed in the book. The impact of industries being reinvented by imitating to nature will create new opportunities for those who seek them, and casualties for those who do not.

A selection of these technologies will be profiled in the upcoming book by Janine Benyus and Gunter Pauli, Nature's 100 Best, to be published in October 2008 on the occasion of the IUCN fourth World Conservation Congress.