Fast Company Premium

Unparalleled
Business
Journalism

AIMEE RAWLINS
Senior Editor, Fast Company

Over the past few months, reporters and editors at Fast Company have been putting together a robust list of some of the most innovative solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. Today, we are announcing the honorees of Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards, which highlight more than 500 creative approaches to everything from climate change to food to housing. I encourage you to dig into all of these inspiring stories; here are five to get you started.

These egg whites were made in a lab

Kristin Toussaint looked at Onego Bio, which uses precision fermentation to make an animal-free egg white that’s identical to the real thing. Because its properties are exactly the same as eggs from hens, it can be used in a variety of products including confections, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals—with an environmental impact that’s up to 90% lower.

Inside the Swedish housing complex that can pick up and move

Lack of housing is an issue around the world, and designing, permitting, and building can add years to the process. Nate Berg talked to one Swedish company that came up with a clever alternative: a modular building that has a temporary permit and can be disassembled and moved elsewhere when the permit expires.

Volcanic rock dust can suck carbon dioxide out of the air

Talib Visram wrote about Lithos Carbon, which recycles basalt dust (a by-product of quarrying) and spreads it over cropland. When rainwater mixes with the dust, it triggers a chemical reaction that captures CO2. Lithos says it’s on track to sequester 10,000 metric tons this year—and at a fraction of the cost of other methods.

This company maps supply chains to identify forced labor

Ethical issues can hide deep in a supply chain, so Sourcemap came up with a way to track raw materials and identify where forced labor is happening. Kristin Toussaint talked to the company about a software product it launched in 2022, which helps businesses comply with laws around the world that ban forced labor and remove those materials from its supply chain.

This portable device can make anyone an x-ray technician

David Salazar talked with OXOS Medical, which developed a handheld x-ray that delivers 80% less radiation than existing products. Its MC2 comes preloaded with resources and algorithms that make it easy to identify medical issues, even in rural areas where staffing is limited.

Check out these articles and let me know what you think of them: You can find me on Twitter at @aimeerawlins or follow me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/aimeerawlins.

Join Fast Company now and get access to these exclusive subscriber-only stories.

JOIN FAST COMPANY PREMIUM