🍃 Young people are moving here for the waste initiative.

Did you know?

Going all in on zero waste has created identity and attractiveness to a small rural town in Japan. A real life example of the power of high sustainability ambitions for cities.

Kamikatsu has just over 1,400 residents, half are over the age of 65 and yet, they’ve done something big ambitious cities haven’t:

They’ve redesigned their entire relationship with waste.

Here’s what they’ve built:

→ A Zero Waste Centre that separates recycling into 45 categories.
→ A community thrift store made entirely from upcycled materials.
→ A shared identity designed around sustainable living.

And young people want to be part of it - they are moving there!

It’s not extravagant.

But it’s deeply intentional.

And that’s exactly what makes it remarkable.

The big idea:

Kamikatsu didn’t innovate with high tech tools or global budgets.

They innovated by asking better questions.

And that’s what more businesses need to do especially when sustainability is still seen as a cost or box to tick.

That’s what I focus on in the video below.

If you want your sustainability strategy to land inside the business, you need to reframe it around what the business already values:

→ Talent retention
→ Innovation
→ Risk management
→ Operational excellence

When you do that, sustainability stops being a side project and starts becoming a serious strategy.

Click here to watch the video.

📌Weekly reflection:

Where are you still designing by default?

What would change if you started with why?

If you’re ready to shift how sustainability is seen and supported in your organisation, let’s talk.

Just reply and tell me:

👉What’s one belief you’d love to change faster inside your company?

I’ll personally read every message.

If I can help, I’ll respond directly.

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 Best,
Jasper