Need to Know
28 : 09 : 21

The Netherlands – Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Ilja Schamlé is exploring the potential of self-sustaining eco-systems with a tomato plant-powered energy server. Her project, Warm Earth, examines how technology could enter a symbiotic relationship with nature. In the self-contained server system renewable energy derived from tomato vines runs a cloud server, with heat generated by the computer providing optimal growing temperature for the plants.

While this project offers a promising insight into the future of sustainable energy, the world’s current internet usage is too high for such a system to work. ‘The pace of the internet is extreme compared to the pace of plants, how they grow and how the bacteria breaks down and releases electrons,’ says Schamlé. ‘Combining these two systems accentuates the excessiveness of our online behaviour and its electricity use.’

In the future, there will be an even greater need for systems that simultaneously cater for our digital habits while also preserving nature. Elsewhere, we previously spoke to designers Monika Seyfried and Cyrus Clarke about their research into data-storing plants.

US – Expanding from its roots as a financial aid start-up, Mos is introducing a debit card aimed at students. As part of a partnership with Blue Ridge Bank, the Mos card offers zero overdraft or late fees, as well as requiring no minimum balance. Students who sign up for a debit card can also use the platform’s scholarship and grant matching tool to ensure they have access to as much financial support as possible.

By creating the card, Mos is approaching student financial aid in a holistic way – simultaneously allowing Gen Z to manage their money while providing support from trusted scholarship providers. ‘The goal is not to just become a student bank. The goal is to be like a financial super-app,’ says Amira Yahyaoui, founder and CEO of Mos. ‘I understand the frustration of not being allowed in [to college] because you can’t afford it.’

Fintech disruptor Twig recently spoke to LS:N Global about how it wants to become the bank for Generation Z, and how the circular economy will transform young people’s perception of wealth.

The impact of Covid-19 has prompted global employees to rethink their expectations of work. According to a study by Edelman, this is particularly apparent in the Global South.

The research reveals that a majority (88%) of workers in India now expect more of their employers than they did three years ago, with 81% in Brazil saying the same. Globally, six in 10 study respondents said they chose their employer based on beliefs, which included refusing to work at a company because of disagreement on social issues. This mindset is being driven by Chinese employees, with 87% expressing this belief, showing how the Post-growth attitudes we forecast in 2018 are manifesting in China.

As people continue move from choosing jobs based on income to jobs based on values, there is a growing need for employers to respond and create workplaces with a focus on equitable and inclusive practices.