Innovation

From laser labels to ‘plastic’ derived from sugar cane, three environmentally-friendly alternatives to plastic packaging

Author Mark Stevenson has travelled the world, from Brazilian favelas to a shed in the English home counties, meeting remarkable innovators

The first project of its kind in Asia, towers covered in thousands of plants and trees are under construction in China. The architect wants to build more across Chinese cities to help offset pollution

Science is shrugging off its lab coat. Here are our top five science projects you can get involved in

From architecture to healthcare; we look at new ways in which 3D printing is helping society to progress

A Museum of Tomorrow is at the centre of a £1.36bn facelift of Rio de Janeiro’s once-dingy port district

With many of the world's refugees finding themselves in 'temporary' settlements for decades, researcher Marlen de la Chaux argues that fostering entrepreneurial initiatives in camps could combat [...]

Rather than waiting around to see what happens at the Paris climate talks in December, a group of European creatives got together and came up with some low-tech solutions to the world's [...]

Three international science organisations have announced that 2016 will be the International Year of Global Understanding, aiming to show “how to translate scientific insight into more [...]

Between the established circles of ‘old power’ and the thriving yet young dynamism of ‘new power’, it may seem society is caught in stalemate in enacting real change. But as Noa Gafni shows, the [...]

From Guernsey to the Seychelles, island communities are working to reinvent themselves. Lucy Purdy explores the new social and economic systems being developed offshore

For a long time the progress of renewable energy has been hampered by its transient nature: neither the sun nor wind is ‘on’ 24/7. But now Elon Musk’s new energy storage invention is set to [...]

A London-based surf brand wants to tackle increasing levels of plastic waste along the UK coastline by transforming it into beachwear

Five innovative programmes are aiming to diffuse the “ticking time bomb” of Africa’s youth employment crisis

Forum for the Future’s major new digital hub, launching tomorrow in Singapore, is designed to unlock powerful new tools for sustainable innovation

The government-backed Newton Fund will foster economic growth in developing countries through innovative partnerships and research collaborations

A new project, the first of its kind globally, will see rubbish otherwise bound for landfill turned into clean aviation fuel

Is it possible to ‘hack’ your own happiness? Helen Parnham investigates how emerging technologies can improve wellbeing

A paralysed man in Poland is slowly learning to walk again thanks to a breakthrough medical procedure

Hydrogen-powered cars are set to become an increasingly common sight on UK roads by the 2020s as new models are announced and infrastructure investment plans revealed