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SDGs x Innovation Sparker

Living in a linear economy

We live in a ‘throw-away’ culture. From the clothes we wear to the containers we use, many of us throw away items after using them for just a short period of time. This linear practice of ‘take-make-waste’ is causing a multitude of problems around the world today. For example, plastic waste litters the land and pollutes the sea, endangering various kinds of animal life. Electronic waste releases toxic chemicals and contaminates our environments. Even food waste produces harmful greenhouse gasses and exacerbates the issue of climate change.

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Moving beyond waste

From linear to circular

The Zero Waste movement has been spreading rapidly throughout the world. As such, more and more people are adopting “zero waste lifestyles” as a way to break the unsustainable production and consumption patterns that characterize modern society. 

What if we applied the concepts of circularity and zero waste to the context of Sophia University? What if we not only reduced but, more importantly, entirely eliminated the waste that we produce on campus?

Towards a circular campus

In our desire to spark innovative collaboration among stakeholders on the challenge of making Sophia University a more sustainable campus, we hosted the SDGs x Innovation Sparker on October 29th in English and 30th in Japanese. The event was made possible through the generous support of the Sophia Student Challenge Support Grant. Each day consisted of a keynote presentation, a Design Thinking workshop, and an idea competition that targeted the following Sustainable Development Goals:

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Achieving zero waste at Sophia University
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The Design Challenge

How might we circulate resources and prevent "waste" from being generated on Yotsuya Campus?

What We Did

Meet the Speakers & Judges

English Event: October 29th (Sat)

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Kelsie Stewart

Loftwork Sustainable Executive /

FabCafe CCO (Chief Community Officer)

Kelsie joined Loftwork and FabCafe in 2017 and oversees the FabCafe Global network. In FabCafes across Asia, Europe and America, Kelsie strategizes and aligns Fab synergies to empower everyone to take the initiative to make and share their ideas with local and global communities. Kelsie is also the Tokyo organizer for the Global Goals Jam (GGJ), a two-day designathon and community which aims to create short term solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. Kelsie has organized sustainability and design thinking workshops in Tokyo, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

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Editor in Chief

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Assistant Manager

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Programming Editor

Magdalena Ionescu

Takeshi Ito

Morgan L. Thomas

Associate Professor

Reitaku University

Professor

Faculty of Liberal Arts​

Associate Professor

Faculty of Science and Technology

Japanese Event: October 30th (Sun)

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Takako Ohyama

Circular Design Consulting / Organizational and Community Development Towards Circularity

After working in New York for a newspaper company, managing overseas strategy in EdTech, and working in the editing & writing business, Ohyama returned to Japan in 2015. Realizing the need to address food safety and environmental issues in Japan, she began conducting various projects and workshops on food loss as part of the 100BANCH Project. Ohyama founded fog inc., a design consulting company in 2019. In October 2021, Ohyama opened "élab," a facility with a kitchen and a living lab in Tokyo as a way to practice circularity in daily life.

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Agata Kapturkiewicz

Akemi Ori

Risa Takamatsu

Professor

Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies

Assistant Professor

Faculty of Economics

Staff Member

Office of Sustainability Promotion

Meet the Organizers

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Faculty of Science and Technology

3rd Year

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SPSF Faculty of Global Studies

3rd Year

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SPSF Faculty of Global Studies

3rd Year

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Faculty of

Liberal Arts

4th Year

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SPSF Faculty of Global Studies

3rd Year

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Creative Designer & Educator 

Giuli Nagai

Mana Short

Maria Sjøblom Bjørndalen

Hana Saeki

Tomohiro Loeer

Haruka Oizumi

Testimonials from Event Participants

"The SDGs x Innovation Sparker event was the first workshop I’ve ever gone to in my life, and I loved how I was able to interact with new people, collaborate, and exchange ideas. Each person and group brought their own creative ideas and skills through the workshop, allowing me to gain new insights and different perspectives towards innovation. The workshop overall was an amazing opportunity for me to learn new things about SDGs and innovation, and build connections with new people"
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