How would nature do it?

Anjan Prakash jumped with joy when she learnt that an academic background in science is not a requisite in pursuing a course on biomimicry — sustainable innovation inspired by nature. “There's a saying that goes don't ask what you want from life, ask what life wants from you,” she says. “And life had communicated to me... I knew what I wanted to do!” This was in 2014. Anjan was 38 then. She had a roaring career as the co-founder of an advertising production house in Mumbai. And she was thrilled about the opportunity to “immerse in nature”.

Five years on, Anjan, in the midst of pursuing a master's degree in biomimicry at the Arizona State University, is among the cohort of 18 selected from across the world to be groomed as biomimicry professionals. The articulation of 'biomimicry' has existed for centuries, but scientist Janine Benyus was the one to popularise the term through her 1997 book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. The discipline has been drawing the attention of designers, engineers, organisations and business owners only in the last few years.

Nature = great problem solver

At the heart of biomimicry is the belief that humans can create designs, processes and organisations taking into account all life, just as nature does. Given that human practises are not in harmony, rather, at odds with the planet's resources, it's time for a course correction, says Anjan. “No matter which species you take on Earth, they all have the same purpose — protect the specie, procreate and progress,” she says. “If you look at how the human species has been functioning, it is clear that we aren't really protecting ourself. We are depleting the very sources that feed us, the very trees that provide us oxygen and the very water that makes life possible.”

So she's on a mission to “inspire people to be good leaders and create buiness organisations that are healthy because they emulate a healthy ecosystem”. Rattling off examples of organisations and people who've successfully looked at nature to solve problems, she points out that when Japan's famous Shinkansen Bullet Train was in its initial runs, it would create huge booming sounds each time it would enter or emerge from a tunnel. This sound was significantly higher than permissible noise levels and unhealthy for residents in the vicinity. So Eiji Nakatsu, the Shinkansen's chief engineer and an avid bird watcher, turned to nature. “He modelled the front-end of the train to that of a kingfisher, which dives into the water to fish without creating a murmur or a single splash,” says Anjan. “This not only resulted in a quieter train, but used 15 per cent less electricity while increasing the train's speed by 10 per cent!”

Step in the right direction

The value of biomimicry doesn't come from interventions in solving specific problems. It works best if imbibed at the very outset of product or process design. “The first thing is to ask if intervention is required at all, and if so, then are we designing correctly,” says Anjan, adding organisations need to ask why they are designing, for whom and for what purpose “becuase in nature, everything has a function and a purpose”.

Anjan, who calls herself a biomimicry communicator, is also quick to point out that imbibing biomimicry doesn't imply a speedy path to sustainability. “We might not be 100 per cent sustainable right now, but it's a step in the right direction,” she says, cognizant of the responsibility that comes with her calling. “When you are a part of a discipline that is growing, there is excitement, anxiety and a lot of responsibility. I can't make mistakes and I want to make sure what am saying is correct.”

The Bangalore-born, Mumbai resident is confident that as more and more companies look to go back to nature, success stories will gradually emerge and serve as models for others to follow suit. “If we could devote 200-300 years to industrial revolution and were willing to see the outcome of that, I think it's fine to give disciplines like this, where the intention and integrity is right, time to emerge.”