Lifesaving changes: From demining Angola to calming traffic in Japan

1. Canada

The idea for a sustainable home furnishings company came to engineer Felix Böck after he had just given a seminar on sustainability in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a waiter threw away his chopsticks at a sushi restaurant. “Suddenly, I understood that I had to show people how circular economy works instead of just talking about it,” Mr. Böck said. He began his startup, called ChopValue, creating coasters and cutting boards from disposed chopsticks, which are usually made of bamboo. Since then, the company has grown to a staff of 35 people; the team collects