With so many innovative new materials being launched every year — take Ecovative's sustainable styrofoam substitute, for example—it would be difficult for any product designer or manufacturer to be aware of them all as they create their own new products. That's where Material Short Stories comes in. The company offers a service-cum-publication geared toward manufacturers, agencies and designers that suggests five new materials that could be incorporated in any new product design.

Clients begin by sending German Material Short Stories a visual of their product or concept via e-mail. The company then brainstorms on the concept and its user experience, factoring in branding and sustainability issues, and comes up with a list of new materials that could make sense. From there, it zeroes in on five innovative materials that could best be used to improve the product concept, and it sketches and summarizes those—including references and design recommendations—in a neat little booklet. Within a few days, clients get that booklet sent to them along with a 1-gigabyte USB card including a digital summary for use in presentations. The cost is EUR 600 plus VAT and shipping.

Given all the sustainability-related innovation these days, there will clearly be increasing need for someone to help connect those on the product side with the fast-changing world of materials. One to emulate on a niche basis—or, to tap for help with your own next design? (Related: Library of green building materials.)

Website: www.material-short-stories.com
Contact: info@material-short-stories.com

Spotted by: Cagla Pakel

If the energy people expend dancing and working out can power cellphones, lights and other electrical appliances, why not apply the same concept to all the energy spent by millions of people every day simply walking along city sidewalks? That's exactly the premise behind Pavegen slabs, which can be inserted among regular sidewalk sections to capture the kinetic energy people spend just walking.

Each rubber slab from UK-based Pavegen Systems gets depressed by about 5 mm each time it gets stepped on. Using just that small movement, it can convert the kinetic energy used into electricity, which is then stored in the slab. Specifically, 5 percent of the energy harvested is used to make the slab's LED glow, making it clear to users that their energy has been captured. The rest can be used to power pedestrian lighting, information displays and many other applications. Pavegen's patent-protected technology has also been used to harvest energy from users' footsteps on stairs; custom branding is available.

Following recent tests in East London, Pavegen is now seeking both investors and additional testing sites for its eco-iconic innovation. One to get in on early...?

Website: www.pavegensystems.com
Contact: hello@pavegen.co.uk

Spotted by: James Graemer

Games have long been used as an educational tool, and not just for kids. Canadian Akoha, for example, encourages players to be more kind. Now, along similar lines, Play Rethink invites users to redesign everyday objects to make them more sustainable.

Play Rethink ("The Eco-Design Game") is an effort from London-based Rethink Games to help people think—or rethink—how to make everyday objects and services more socially and environmentally friendly. Each game includes a multicoloured wheel and 98 drawing cards along with an eco-strategies key card and an instruction sheet with activities. With each spin of the wheel, players get a card asking them to rethink a particular everyday object, such as a chair or a vacuum cleaner. They then describe their idea for a more sustainable approach by drawing it on the card. Ideas players are particularly proud of can be uploaded onto the Play Rethink website, where others can rate, comment and be inspired by them. What's more, each month Rethink Games selects one idea to serve as the project of the month, and it's currently working on setting up partnerships with organizations that can help develop those ideas further. Play Rethink is sold online and through select London retailers. Pricing is GBP 24.95, with refill card packs available for GBP 5.95 each. Corporate workshops to help promote innovation are also available.

Facilitating the idea generation process is all very good and well, of course; what will make this really interesting, however, is a way to turn the best ideas into reality. RedesignMe found a way to do that through partnerships with manufacturers, and it also took the critical step of paying the Generation C(ash) consumers whose ideas got used. Play Rethink may be a game, but it's also another way to tap into the global brain. Who will help pave the way toward some real results? (Related: iPhone game gets kids into the (hidden) park.)

Website: www.playrethink.com
Contact: info@rethinkgames.com

Spotted by: Estee Chaikin

If ever there was a compelling reason for a school to build sustainably, it's the one faced by Vermont's Putney School not long ago. Namely, warmer winters resulting from global climate change had reduced the cold-weather sports opportunities the private boarding school traditionally relied on, leaving it with a sudden need for gym space for the first time. Its solution? A net-zero field house that's on track to be one of only five platinum LEED-certified school buildings in the nation.

By definition, net-zero energy buildings generate as much energy as they consume over the course of a year, and that's at the heart of the Putney School's 16,800-square-foot athletics building, which opened its doors last fall. Designed by Maclay Architects, the super-insulated, super-energy-efficient building uses the sun for its heating and electricity needs. Specifically, 16 sun-tracking photovoltaic solar panels power the building, feeding excess energy during sunny months back into the grid and earning the school 6 cents per kilowatt-hour as they do. In the winter, the building draws energy out again, but in an average year, it's expected to do better than break even on its energy use. Other green features of the USD 6 million field house, include low-water fixtures and composting toilets, a white reflective roof and local materials such as site-harvested wood.

“We want to show the world that net-zero energy technology for public buildings exists right now,” explains Putney School Director Emily Jones. “It’s time to move net-zero energy buildings from the theoretical realm into reality.” Indeed, we couldn't have said it better ourselves. An eco-iconic innovation to emulate at the earliest opportunity—particularly for schools with sustainability on the curriculum. (Related: Green school with an entrepreneurial bent.)

Website: www.putneyfieldhouse.org
Contact: info@putneyschool.org

Spotted by: Rick Noyes

Solar energy may offer myriad compelling benefits, but its use in homes is still far from widespread. California developer Comstock Homes is now developing what it calls the nation's first single-builder solar-powered community, however, just 10 miles from downtown LA.

Comstock's Villages at Heritage Springs will include more than 500 residences set on 54 landscaped acres in Southern California's Santa Fe Springs. A variety of sizes, styles and floor plans will be available, ranging from 1,390 square feet to 2,166 square feet, two-story townhomes to three-story houses with optional loft. Regardless of the size, energy efficiency will be at the heart of each Villages home, with features such as double-pane, low-emissivity (Low-E) windows; energy-efficient lighting, heating and air-conditioning; cool roof tiles; and a tankless water heater. Perhaps even more significant, however, is that all homes will feature SunPower solar roof tiles to power their lights, appliances, TV and other electronic devices, allowing them to exceed the National Energy Standard by 50 percent, Comstock says. With a wireless monitoring system for energy-use tracking, the SunPower system can save consumers up to 60 percent on their electric bills, including credits for extra energy production. The development is expected to be finished next year, according to CoolerPlanet, with single-family home prices ranging from USD 500,000 to USD 750,000.

There is another large, solar-powered development in California already, CoolerPlanet points out—a 650-home community from Lennar Corp. in Roseville. Either way, with all the many reasons to decrease dependence on fossil fuels, both provide a large-scale example of the possibilities. A model to be emulated in sunny places around the world! (Related: Thin, flexible solar paneling — Solar panels, measured and designed remotely — Solar panels shaped like clay roof tiles — Free plans for eco homes.)

Website: www.villagesatsantafesprings.com
Contact: www.villagesatsantafesprings.com/contactus.html

Spotted by: Jim Stewart