4Revs
co-creative ecosystem

4Revshelping humanity solve its main survival
challenges in one generation (2020-2050)
Vision 1: Discover and help implement new solutions to humanity’s main survival challenges
Vision 2: Support sustainability innovation in sponsor corporations
Vision 3: Empower social innovators and entrepreneurs and help them scale-up

What is 4Revs?
4Revs (= 4 Revolutions) is a unique, co-creative ecosystem which aims to help humanity solve its four main survival challenges(food/water/resource/energy & climate change) in one generation – between 2020-2050.

We will partner with corporations, social ventures, sustainability practitioners and entrepreneurs, educators, public and civil organizations
and creative minds on all six continents to inspire and implement next generation initiatives in each of the 4Revs.

What makes the 4Revs Co-creative Ecosystem unique and valuable?

Social Innovators and sustainability
practitioners on six continents discover
4Revs seeds and inspiration for
revolutionary innovation

Corporations and public institutions
meet their innovation needs, create
new partnerships and build capacity(R&D + HR)

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The 4 Survival Challenges

The Challenges

Food
Agriculture
Protein supply

Water
Water Tech
Water management

How do we provide food, and reducefood waste, to support a population of
8.6 (2030) – 11.2 (2100) billion people
on Earth?

How do we manage water resources
sustainably to avoid severe water
stress (projected by the MIT to affect52% of global population in 2050).

How do we manage both natural andmineral resources sustainably toenable a continued and sustainablesupply.

How do we conduct agriculture
sustainably to produce healthy foodand protect both humans and theecosystem as a whole?

How do we help spread new watertechnologies
andmanagement
systems in order for them be usefuland effective in all parts of the world?

How do we create circular economic
and social systems that minimize
waste and pollution of the Earth’s
ecosystems?

How do we secure a sufficient andsustainable supply of protein?

The Opportunities

Resources
Circular Systems
Ecosystem Usage

EnergyClimate change
Greenhouse Gasses
How do we secure sufficient energy
supply for a growing population
without compromising human healthor contributing to severe climatechange?
How do we rapidly decarbonize theeconomy and society as a whole?

How do we manage land and key
ecosystems sustainably?

How do we manage and adapt tofuture changes caused by climatechange?

Some examples:
1. Food waste reducing systems & tech
2. Sustainable agricultural practices
3. Sustainable aquaculture
4. Plant-based or insect-based protein
5. Indigenous knowledge and plants
6. Healthier food- and lifestyles

Some examples:
1. Water shed management
2. Water conserving technologies
3. Better water management systems
4. Cheaper and sustainably
operated desalination systems
5. Filtration systems and technologies

Some examples:
1. Sustainable forestry practices
2. Urban mining (circularity)
3. Innovation around plastic use andtechnology (including lifestyles)
4. Resource alliances and consortiums
5. Ecosystem restoration

Some examples:
1. Renewable energy supplies
2. Utilization of CO2 as a resource
3. Energy conserving lifestyles,
systems and technologies
4. Climate adaptation measures incities and agriculture

Eating is about much more thansurvival; it is a social and politicalactivity with a multitude of underexploited local ideas and traditions.

Water is the great paradox of ourhuman survival - essential, abundant,
and still so fragile and difficult to use.
Closely linked to both energy and food.

Cyclical and sustainable resource use
is closely related to all agricultural andindustrial activity while also being
inextricably linked to lifestyle changes.

Human health and the continuation oflife on Earth are critically influenced by
the way we produce and consume
energy and minimize climate disruption.
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The 4Revs Global TeamA local2global network of young sustainability practitioners/social innovators/next generation leaders, presently with 500 people
in 37 countries. NELIS provides the global secretariat for 4Revs (based in Tokyo, Japan) and regional 4Revs program managers.
www.nelisglobal.org
Social venture from Colombia, active in 6 Latin American countries. Utilizes an online network of around 600,000 “creativeminds” in 92 countries to respond to innovation challenges/calls for innovation in the social and environmental spheres.
https://socialab.com/co/en
As Technology Partner, Salesforce.com Japan will help build the 4Revs IT platform including 4Revs case study database.
A boutique consulting firm in Tokyo specializing in product development/design thinking/creativity techniques. mct will be
helping (pro-bono) with the research gatherings and global summit + will be the business partner for individual, co-creative
tools.
www.mctinc.jp

Program Managers and Research Team
USA/North America Colombia/South America Finland/Nordics
Katie Conlon
Lucas Sanchez Martinez
Jovin Hurry

Belgium/EU
Noemi Salantiu

UK/Europe
Puja Thiel

India/East Asia
Shravan Shankar

Nigeria /Africa
Felix Iziomoh

Each program managers leads a team of 2-3 researchers scanning the horizon for 4Revs cases/ventures/products & services/new lifestyle. The entire
research team (around 25-28 people) gets the chance to interact with and inspire innovation in the sponsoring corporations through the “thematiccommunities” on the IT platform built in collaboration with Salesforce.com. Researchers may also have the opportunity to provide short courses/training
through Next Leaders’ University.
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Project Outline

4Revs Year One (April 2020-March 2021)
Year One: 2020.4～2021.3① 4Revs Research Project
Action-oriented research project, which engages young social innovators andsustainability practitioners on all six continents to find the most inspiring andtruly revolutionary examples of implemented innovation – seeds - on the 4Revs.
A global, open, R&D project with instant learning and business insights.

Discover
Learn for R&D
Train intrapreneurs
Engage new partners② 4Revs Global Summit
4Revs Global Summit hosted by NELIS in Tokyo where young leaders andinnovators from six continents and participate in workshops, hackathons and cocreative sessions with staff from sponsoring corporations.
③ 4Revs Intelligence
The most important, recent scientific data on the 4Revs, filtered and presented
on the 4Revs IT platform + hints relating to the most important conferences
worldwide.
④ Next Leaders University（NLU)
Short, intensive learning modules on Next Leaders’ University (NLU) to help train
a new generation of “sustainability intrapreneurs”.

Innovate w. global network
Develop new opportunities
Build agile, collaborative
ecosystem
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Project Outline

How 4Revs will evolve – our 30-year roadmap
2020

April: project launch / Global 4Revs & NELIS Summit / Throughout year: Research gatherings and workshops / March 2021: Wrap-up
Ongoing: Utilize short, intensive learning modules through Next Leaders’ University for in-house training and networking.

2021

April: launch of open track innovation challenges / regional bootcamps / completion of innovation challenges.

2022

Four regional 4Revs Summits (Americas/Europe/Asia/Africa) w. local ecosystem building and innovation partnerships.

2025

4Revs is a functioning co-creative ecosystem, delivering truly inventive, new approaches to solving humanity’s key issues
while also providing a continuous stream of insights and opportunities for sustainable business.
Companies in the 4Revs ecosystem may join forces to set up a 4Revs Investment Fund.

2030

4Revs is recognized worldwide for its contribution to the SDGs and other key global initiatives for sustainability.
At the same time, 4Revs is supporting many next generation entrepreneurs and innovators worldwide.

2040

Revolutionary innovation to solve the four survival challenges is spreading across the world giving us hope for the future andfundamentally reshaping the economy and business.

2050

Key trends in the four survival challenges have been put on a significantly more sustainable course and 4Revs is seen as amajor local2global contributor to this great transition.
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Project Outline

Year One (2020) : Co-Creative Research and Global 4Revs Summit① ４Revs research project② 4Revs Global Summit

The 4Revs Global Team will engage young social innovators,
sustainability practitioners, and creative minds on all six continents
to uncover the most revolutionary, inspiring, next generation
business and lifestyle initiatives relating to the 4Revs.

NELIS will organize a global summit in Tokyo with 4Revs as main
theme. Social innovators and practitioners as well as 4Revs
sponsors from all corners of the world will join for an intriguing
two-day program.

What is gained by joining (output):

What is gained by joining (output):

Access to research project database / final report (December2020) / information on and/or contact links topeople/organizations behind initiatives.

Plenary sessions and in-depth workshops on the 4Revs /research insights presented directly by 4Revs research team /sustainability talks “pitch day” with social entrepreneurs

Participation in four 4Revs research gatherings, workshops,
and Report launch meeting, December 2020 (in Tokyo w.
global streaming).

Networking opportunity with social innovators andsustainability practitioners from six continents + withparticipants from other 4Revs sponsor corporations.

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Project Outline

Year One (2020) : 4Revs Intelligence and Next Leaders’ University③ ４Revs Intelligence④ Next Leaders’ University (Learning Platform)

The most important, recent scientific data on the 4Revs, filteredand presented on the 4Revs IT platform + hints relating to the mostimportant conferences worldwide.

Next Leaders’ University (NLU) will provide around 30 12 min. online courses(in English) on key sustainability topics, taught by practitioners in the NELIS
network in 2020, adding new courses each year. 4Revs sponsors companies get
a license to utilize these teaching modules for in-house training, with orwithout facilitation by NELIS members. Each year, additional short courses will
be added.

What is gained (output):
Continuous access to relevant intelligence (recent andimportant scientific data and reports) and information on themost important, relevant international events andconferences relating to the 4Revs.

Source: BioScience

NLU also provides the opportunity to utilize longer and/or customized teachingmodules with face-to-face facilitation by the course creator (for a separate fee– see 4Revs Appendix)

9Project Outline

Ongoing: Individual 4Revs service offers – co-creative tools
By joining the 4Revs co-creative ecosystem, sponsor corporations can, at any time, work with the 4Revs secretariat and global team to utilize the four service
offers/co-creative tools provided by the 4Revs co-creative ecosystem (for a separate fee).

The co-creative tools can help yourorganization to:①

Learn and innovate around specificsustainability topics and R&D
challenges➁ Connect directly with the 4Revs
global talent pool and build a customized innovation ecosystem

NB: For details on each individual service offer, see
4Revs Appendix

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Project Outline

Companies that have joined Year One Program (from April 2020)
As of March 1st, 2020:
8 PILLAR SPONSORS (main sponsors – max. 10 in Year One):
Panasonic, Toshiba, Marubeni (trading, food, energy, forestry, lifestyle products), NEC, Tokyo Gas, Unisys (IT), Salesforce.com,
Mizuho Financial Group (expected)
14 COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Suntory (food and beverages), Marui Group (Department Stores & Finance), SG Holdings (transportation), Fuji Film,
Teijin (chemicals and materials), Sumitomo Mitsui banking Corporation (SMBC), Gakken (education and elderly care),
Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences (food, life science), Marelli (automotive parts), Amita Holdings (recycling), Taneya Group(confectionery), Epson, Kao (personal articles/toiletries), Brother Industries (sewing machines, printers)

4Revs Ambassadors (4-8 staff per company)

Co-Creative Ecosystem

Sustainable Innovation Community
in sponsoring corporations

Linking young social innovators, sustainability
practitioners and entrepreneurs from all six continents
with corporations and organizations worldwide to uncover
seeds of the future/co-create/develop transformative
solutions/enable a sustainable future

Staff in corporations serving as 4Revs Ambassadors becomesustainability innovation leaders in your company/organization
and are encouraged to set up a cross-functional Sustainable
Innovation Community in-house to provide momentum andgalvanize the ideas and passion also of other staff members

11Organizational Details
4Revs is a project led by NELIS – Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability, a non-profit organization established in 2015 in Shiga, Japan.

Name of organization:

NELIS –Next Leaders’ Initiative for Sustainability

Form of legal registration:“IppanShadanHojin” (Japanese non-profit organization), January 30, 2015
Registered non-profit organization (Nigeria), June 5th, 2018
Registered legal entity (Singapore), November 2018
Registered non-profit organization (Uganda), October 2019

Founders:

Peter David Pedersen (executive director), resident of Japan
Tatsuo Akimura, head of OmihachimanChamber of Commerce,
Omihachiman, Shiga, Japan
Masahito Yamamoto, CEO of the TaneyaGroup, Omihachiman, Shiga, Japan

Address:
Website:E-mail contact:615-1 Kitanosho-machi, Omi-Hachiman-shi, Shiga-ken, Japan
www.nelisglobal.org
pdp@pdplab.jp (Peter David Pedersen) or your local 4Revs contact person
124 Revs Appendix

We need 4 Revolutions to Survive

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Data/megatrends

The 4 Survival Challenges towards 2030-2050
FOOD-

World population is projected to grow to around 10 billion people in 2050
In 2019, the global hunger population stands at more than 820 million people
1/3 of all food produced globally is wasted (Top 3 wasters: USA, Japan, UK)
Commercial fisheries in the entire Asia-Pacific region may become impossible by 2048

WATER

-

In 2019, around 2 billion do not have access to running water at home
52 percent of global population may face water stress by 2050
Water supply in large parts of Asia is threatened by rapid melting of Himalayan
glaciers, possibly affecting more than 2 billion people later this century-

By 2050, plastic in the oceans may weigh more than the total weight of fish
Reforestation efforts are severely threatened by population increases andmore affluent lifestyles (requiring more space for meat production and monocultural
agriculture)
Between 1970-2014, a decline of 60% (average) was observed in number of vertebrate animals
across ecosystems

RESOURCES-

ENERGY/
CLIMATE-

Following present trends, the atmosphere may reach 450 ppm CO2 concentration
around 2030 (expected to be a key threshold in limiting runaway global warming)
By 2050, the world can expect 143 million climate refugees, mainly in Asia, Sub-SaharanAfrica, and Latin America. Most will be internally displaced, many will move across borders
CO2 emissions from energy are projected to rise by 100% between 2000-2040
Fossil fuels are expected to make up around 74% of primary energy supply in 2040

Data from UN, WORLD BANK, IEA, WWF, MIT, WEF (Ellen MacArthur Foundation) and other research

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