In the Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood of California, one neighborhood was designed and built to protect homes from wildfires. Included in the design were certain regulations, like regulating weeds, brush, and mulch, and installing noncombustible siding and roofs. Because of climate change, the strength and frequency of wildfires have increased across the state, prompting residents, firefighting professionals, and legislators to become more resilience- and prevention-oriented.

Did you know that the main ingredient in most chewing gum is a synthetic rubber, which resembles a close relationship to plastic? "It's called polyisobutylene," explains Anna Bullus, a British designer, "the same stuff you find in the inner tube of bicycle wheels." After realizing this, Anna decided to embark on a mission to recycle used chewing gum as a means of cleaning up the streets. What resulted was a way to create everyday products that include at least 20% gum, while simultaneously saving institutions money on what otherwise would have gone toward cleanup efforts.

Bringing in bio-manufactured materials can make existing commercial supply chains more sustainable. The German company AMSilk has created a plastic-free alternative to synthetic and farmed silk. By growing biodegradable silk proteins and selling the plastic-free, bio-manufactured material to other companies, AMSilk has implemented sustainable practices across multiple consumer sectors.

At a factory in Mumbai, clever design and “resilient architecture” join together to form the “Concrete Void,” a space designed to hold water during India’s monsoon season. Rather than trying to keep the water out, the architect designed the factory such that this Concrete Void, positioned below the higher level of the factory, holds water in the rainy season. In the off-season, it functions as an amphitheater space for workers to gather. As climate change becomes more of a threat, more types of this resilient architecture are expected to be created.

A new cafe in Mumbai is made entirely of cardboard to showcase the material's structural stability and dynamism, as well as its environmental sustainability. Everything from walls to chairs, and tables to lampshades, has been crafted from cardboard. The architecture firm is just one of many around the world experimenting with cardboard.