Our work is not only to create high-quality, functional, beautiful and non-toxic learning furniture. But also to innovate within this space. To create new paradigms for how educational environments and experiences are thought about, and how those are tied to ethical and environmental practices.
We are therefore delighted to be recognized as A New Innovator and Environmental Leader by Canadian Business and the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship, who joined forces on a first-of-its-kind recognition program.
According to their award criteria: ‘New Innovators are companies that pursue inclusive innovation that brings new or improved products and services to market, or improves their operational effectiveness. New Innovators also pay attention to the impact of their operations, from GHG emissions and resource efficiency to living wages, creating a meaningfully diverse and equitable team and culture, and ethical supply chain management.’
This is how they defined their criteria for becoming A New innovator: ‘What makes an innovative company today?’ This question inspired a meeting between CB and the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E), an independent, non-partisan policy institute, in the spring of 2021. Amid a global pandemic, escalating environmental crises and surging demands to redress racial and gender inequities, we felt a need to identify businesses that measure success differently. We wanted a meaningful benchmark for ventures that prioritize creativity, social impact, sustainability and inclusivity as much as market share and profit margins. Thus was born the New Innovators List, a new annual ranking of Canadian companies forging a more progressive path forward. You’ll get to know our inaugural cohort in the pages that follow.
We fully identify with prioritizing these areas; as we hold ourselves to the highest standards of environmental responsibility and sustainability. Always putting the environment and people above profits. Our key features support others to also make informed environmentally conscious choices.
Thank you to Canadian Business and the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship for recognizing Natural Pod as A New Innovator and Environmental Leader.