Newsletter #2 – January 2021
Hello and Welcome to the New Year Edition of the LeapFrog Design Newsletter!
We have some fun and exciting tidbits to share with you this month as we embrace the new beginnings that accompany the slow lengthening of daylight hours. Yes, longer days are on the way and along with them, the promise of spring, good weather, and the return of park picnics, patio parties, and socially distanced soirees. But until then, I can share some winter delights with you around the warm glow of your favorite digital window 📱💻🖥😁.
Many of you are still getting to know us so I thought the beginning of the year would be a good moment to shed a little light on the heart of our company, and our name, LeapFrog Design. Leapfrogging, in the field of design, is the kind of innovation that goes beyond incremental improvements, gracefully "leaping" into radically transformative new products, services, and business models that disrupt industries, create new markets, and shift conceptual paradigms.
When we apply the term leapfrogging to environmental technologies like ours, a social dimension is also integrated. As a distilled concept, leapfrogging is about sailing over technological generations and incrementalism. When these leapfrog technologies enter the markets of developing countries, they have the ability to sidestep much of the pollution that accompanies the earlier stages of technological development. By "skipping inferior, less efficient, more expensive or more polluting technologies and industries" we speed our collective approach toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals - creating a more equitable and sustainable world for future generations.
This is why we are not only dedicated to serving our customers here in the US (which you can read about in our recent article series) but we also have strong partnerships around the world. One way we maintain those relations is with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Sustainable Cities and Landscape (APRU SCL) research Hub. We also work closely with the Container-Based Sanitation Alliance (CBSA)- an international organization dedicated to "safe sanitation for everyone, everywhere." You can learn more about our participation and leadership in the APRU SCL research Hub and our work with the CBSA from a recent essay we published.
We know that leading in leaps and bounds means continuing to grow as a team. So, to stay at the leading edge of transformative innovation we also turn our efforts inward, continually striving to learn new skills and strategies to improve how we create, listen, and engage with the world. The company co-founders (Adam DeHeer and Nicholas Sund) were recently certified in Leading for Creativity by IDEO and our Project Manager Dayna Hansberger is certified in Human-Centered Design, also by IDEO. 2020 certainly provided us lots of opportunities for growth, and we are committed to challenging the status quo again and again as we look to the horizon of possibility that 2021 presents.
Next month we'll be sharing some updates on our Research and Development outcomes, manufacturing partnerships, and new financial support - stay tuned and Happy New Year!
- Adam DeHeer
Onsite Water Reuse Article Series
Three-part series highlighting the progress & future of onsite water reuse
Last month, we shared our insights from the past year—uncovering the challenges of water scarcity and drought and the promise of onsite water reuse. This month, we’re wrapping up this series with a view to the future and the remaining challenges and opportunities that lie on the path to truly sustainable onsite water reuse.
Read Part 1: Water Scarcity and the Promise of Reuse; Part 2: Onsite Water Reuse for Homes; and Part 3: The Future of Onsite Reuse.
LeapFrog Design returned to the virtual APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference to deliver a presentation to Container-Based Sanitation Alliance (CBSA) members highlighting our journey to innovative water reuse. Learn More.
In Part 2 of our Water Reuse Series, we explore ways in which homeowners & the housing industry are responding to rising fees and water restrictions, and pioneering new approaches to onsite reuse. Read Part 2.
In Part 3 of our Water Reuse Series, we focus on the future of the onsite water reuse innovation curve, highlighting the policies, challenges, and opportunities that will shape the next stage of these solutions. Read Part 3.
