Using Biomimicry as a Lever for Business Innovation and Resilience

Since the dawn of time, humans have drawn inspiration from nature. From replicating natural shapes and structures to mimicking natural biological processes and even entire ecosystems, the natural world is an endless source of ideas. This is precisely the essence of biomimicry. 

 The Wright brothers' revolutionary approach to aviation at the start of the 20th century is a classic example of biomimicry. By studying how pigeons maintained balance in flight through wing twisting, they developed "wing-warping," a system that allowed pilots to control aircraft roll by mimicking this bird behavior. This biomimetic approach enabled the first controlled, powered flight. 

While biomimicry has famously led to groundbreaking inventions like this one, its potential extends far beyond aircraft design. Nature's ingenuity can inspire organizations to innovate in profound ways, fostering creativity, adaptability and sustainable performance. In this article, we will see how biomimicry can drive business innovation and resilience, and act as a powerful tool for building next generation organizations. 

Biomimicry Principles   

Before exploring the benefits of biomimicry in fostering business resilience and innovation, let’s first delve into what biomimicry truly entails.

Biomimicry offers a new perspective on how we view and value nature. It shifts the focus from extracting resources to learning from the natural world. Janine Benyus, a biologist and one of the leading thinkers behind the concept of biomimicry, identified nine principles of nature’s designs that can be applied to organizations. According to Benyus (2002), nature:

1. Runs on sunlight
2. Uses only the energy it needs
3. Fits form to function
4. Recycles everything
5. Rewards cooperation
6. Banks on diversity
7. Demands local expertise
8. Curbs excesses from within
9. Taps the power of limits

These principles provide a foundation for understanding how nature can inspire innovative approaches in organizations. By embracing nature’s lessons, the possibilities for creativity and problem-solving are boundless.

In 2014, Lurie-Luke conducted a study analyzing 109 published works in the field of biomimicry to understand its most common business applications. Her research categorized innovations based on their source of inspiration:

1. How things are created in nature (materials)
2. How organisms sense their environment (sensors)
3. How they move in their environment (biomechanics and kinetics)
4. How they behave and function (processes)

The chart below illustrates the distribution of these sources of inspiration, as well as their actual applications, ranging from conceptual ideas to research, prototypes, and products. 

 Now that we have established the principles and areas of application for biomimicry, let’s have a look at some real-life examples of its use in business innovation and how it can help organizations build resilience. 

Biomimicry and Business Innovation 

 Humans have long looked to nature for innovative solutions, with examples dating back to ancient Greece. According to legend, Daedalus and his son Icarus, trapped on an island, attempted to mimic the flight of birds to escape (Ovid, 2004). While today’s focus is more on business innovation than escaping prisons, nature continues to inspire groundbreaking advancements. Let’s explore a few compelling examples of biomimicry in action:

The Lotus Effect – STO Lotusan Paint

The founder of Lotusan Paint sought to develop a product that could create self-cleaning surfaces for buildings. Inspired by nature, they studied lotus leaves, known for their water-repellent properties due to their unique microscopic structure. By mimicking this design, they developed a paint that helps buildings stay clean longer, reducing maintenance costs significantly. Click here to learn more about Lotusan Paint.

Whale-Inspired Turbines – WhalePower Corporation

 This turbine and fan manufacturer was looking for a way to improve their turbines’ efficiency. While studying natural shapes, they realized that humpback whales had some bumps (tubercles) on their flippers, which help improve movement efficiency. By incorporating similar structures into their turbine blades, the company achieved a 20% increase in efficiency and lower cut-in speeds. You can learn more about their journey here. 

African Termites and Building Ventilation – Eastgate Centre

 The Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe faced a significant challenge: creating a naturally cooled building in a hot climate without relying on air conditioning. Inspiration came from an unlikely source—termite mounds. Termites build sophisticated ventilation systems to regulate temperature. By mimicking this natural design, the Eastgate Centre created a ventilation system with chimneys that draw in cool air at night and expel hot air during the day. This approach reduced the building’s energy use for ventilation by 90% compared to traditional buildings in the region. Here you can find more information about this architectural advance. 

How Biomimicry Builds Resilience 

Besides driving business innovation, biomimicry can also enhance organizational resilience by mimicking nature's adaptive strategies. By definition, it thus supports “the maintenance of positive adjustment under challenging conditions such that the organization emerges from those conditions strengthened and more resourceful” (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2007). 

Two key areas where these principles are particularly impactful are decentralized network structures and resource efficiency through circular design. Let's explore how these natural strategies translate into practical organizational solutions.

Decentralized Network Structures

 Frédéric Laloux, is the author of one of the most influential management books of the last decade: Reinventing Organizations (2016). In this work, Laloux presents innovative principles that foster adaptability and resilience in organizations. One key principle is adopting a self-management approach, where decision-making is decentralized.

He uses the analogy of a forest to explain decentralized systems:

“Imagine an ecosystem like a forest. Forests are hugely complex systems. For some reason, this year, winter comes much earlier than expected. Imagine the five biggest trees saying, "Okay, everybody, freeze! We have an emergency. Don't do anything until we have thought [it] through. Once we have a brilliant plan, we'll let you know what to do." Yet, by the time they come up with their plan, spring has already arrived and it is too late. In reality, in a forest, the whole system – trees, moss, fungi, insects – immediately adapts as one and responds to deal with the situation.” F. Laloux, 2020

A notable example of a decentralized organization is Morning Star, a Californian ketchup producer (Gino et al, 2013). Without a fixed hierarchy or organizational chart, Morning Star operates in a flexible structure that adapts to the organization's needs. This system resembles natural models, such as ant colonies or neural networks, which can continue functioning even when parts of the system are disrupted, making them remarkably resilient.

Resource Efficiency and Circular Design

 In nature, waste does not exist. Resources are endlessly recycled and repurposed, a principle increasingly embraced by organizations aiming for sustainability and resilience.

One standout example is Kalundborg Industrial Park in Denmark. Inspired by ecosystems, Kalundborg has created a symbiotic network of stakeholders who share and reuse waste materials. This innovative system not only resolves waste management issues but also strengthens the resilience of participating businesses by reducing their dependence on external suppliers and mitigating the impact of material cost fluctuations.

To learn more about their experience, follow this link.   

Common Challenges 

Adopting biomimicry principles can be challenging for organizations. Learning from others who have implemented such systems is key to navigating potential hurdles. Here are a few common challenges and strategies to overcome them:

Resistance to Change

As with any organizational change, stakeholders (employees, management, investors, clients…) may have trouble accepting a new way of working. It is unlikely that everyone will be fully on board, even when the benefits are clear. Effective communication is essential in addressing this challenge. By clearly explaining the reasons for the changes, outlining the steps involved, and setting realistic expectations for the outcomes—such as increased innovation or resilience—organizations can build trust and motivate stakeholders.

Also read: Jon Barnes’ strategies for a successful organizational transformation

Technical Feasibility

Another challenge lies in the technical feasibility of implementing nature-inspired solutions. The complexity of natural systems often makes them difficult to replicate, and organizations may encounter significant engineering obstacles. Specialized expertise is crucial to overcoming these difficulties, whether the focus is on product innovations or organizational changes. 

Frameworks like Teal organizations, which emphasize wholeness and adaptability, can provide a structured approach to implementing biomimicry principles in the workplace. Tools like Talkspirit can also support these efforts by offering practical solutions to help organizations transition smoothly to new governance models.

You will find more information about how management practices can enhance business innovation and resilience in this interview with Frédéric Laloux:

Conclusion

Biomimicry offers organizations a proven framework for sustainable innovation, drawing on nature’s billion-year-tested strategies to address modern business challenges. By using biomimicry principles, organizations can develop innovative products, optimize processes, and improve resilience, making them better equipped to adapt to a constantly changing environment. 

Organizations can learn a lot from nature’s structures and systems, as several alternative organizational models have shown. If you want to learn more about these models and how they can help your organization, download our white paper “The Ultimate Guide to Organizational Models” 👇

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References 

Benyus, J. (2002). Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature. New York, NY: Harper Perennial. 

Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing organizations (Vol. 58). Brussels: Nelson Parker.

Lurie-Luke, E. (2014). Product and technology innovation: What can biomimicry inspire? Biotechnology Advances, 32, 1494–1505

Ovid. Methamorphoses: a new verse translation. 1st ed. London: Penguin Classics; 2004. 

Vogus, T. & Sutcliffe, K. (2007). Organizational Resilience: Towards a Theory and Research Agenda. In 2007 IEEE international conference on systems, man and cybernetics (pp. 3418-3422). IEEE.