About 70 per cent of textiles used by outdoor and sportswear manufacturers worldwide is made in Taiwan. Taiwan’s 24 million island inhabitants get through 2.85 billion cups of coffee a year – 780,000 a day – which leaves behind tonnes of coffee ground. Textile industrialist Jason Chen, who founded fabric manufacturing firm Singtex in 1989, decided to make good use of this combination. In 2005, when Chen was having a coffee break after a hike, his wife called him a “stinky man” and suggested that he make use of the coffee grounds, known for their deodorising properties. This inspired Chen to turn coffee ground into fabric that’s sustainable and deodorising. “For making a cup of coffee, 99.8 per cent of coffee becomes ground,” says Chen, who collects more than 600kg of leftover coffee grounds from coffee chains and convenience shops a day to produce high-quality sportswear fabrics.

Chen invested more than €1.8m into his innovation until S Café was established in 2009 – and it became an instant success. S Café’s first client was Timberland in the UK, which applied the new material to its shoes, jackets and polo shirts as it’s UV resistant and three times better at absorbing odour than its cotton counterparts. Now more than 110 brands buy S Café, the fabric that makes up 35 per cent of Chen’s businesses. Singtex works with local fabric mills and its own dyeing factory, which cut 50 per cent of carbon emissions from production. Chen has also extended his environmental values to his team: they now help farmers with their harvests and take part in conserving one of Taiwan’s largest wetlands.

“When you consider that two thirds of humans will soon be city dwellers, having to choose between an urban residence and the ability to grow your herbs and vegetables no longer makes sense,” says property developer Alex Spiegel. That’s why his company Windmill Development worked with Curated Properties to create The Plant.

This apartment block in the busy, restaurant filled area of Queen West – scheduled for completion in 2020 – will go above and beyond providing its residents with a conventional rooftop garden: it will build edible gardens in and around every one of its apartments. Toronto-based studios Kohn Shnier and SMV Architects have designed large balconies and terraces for each flat, as well as planter boxes and a leafy façade that welcomes butterflies and birds.

A communal greenhouse will help buds get through tough weather and an onsite cistern will be on hand for irrigation. Residents will also be able to cook and enjoy all the fruits of the harvest in the condo’s communal kitchen. “Food is a great socialiser,” says Spiegel. “We look forward to seeing how the community develops and grows alongside the plants in the years to come.” With street-level shopfronts to be rented out to independent retailers and ample office space on the second floor to be reserved for creative businesses, The Plant will extend its branches to the neighbourhood around it too.

Walking past the elaborate window decorations in Paris’ Galeries Lafayette you’d be forgiven for missing the secret garden on its roof – the first rooftop farm in the city’s centre. The plants here grow on a cloth made of lambswool and hemp that’s hung vertically on walls. “This set-up saves transporting rich yet heavy soil to the city and rooftops from rural areas,” says Yohan Hubert, founder of Sous les Fraises, which patented this ingenious material that mimics the nutritious microsystem plants need to grow. Hubert calls it a “membrane vertical hydrobiologique” system. That’s one to get your head around.

The vertical set-up gives Hubert’s clients and partners more freedom in designing their rooftops. “It could be a garden, a café or a small park that supplies edible plants,” says Hubert, who launched this vertical system 15 years ago in Grenoble as a hobby to bring more leafy greens to the city. Despite having no experience in research or agricultural corporation, he co-founded the firm with an architect just over two years ago. “No one dared to try out the prototype in Paris as they had not seen anything like this before,” he says. “But now the farm above Galeries Lafayette is a good example to show people how it works. ”Sous Les Fraises has since equipped a number of urban farms, including Le Jardin Perché, which has grown more than 22,000 plants for its opening on top of the department store BHV Marais. And chef Claude Colliot is already looking forward to harvesting its ingredients for his neighbouring restaurant.

New York’s City Harvest is a non-profit organisation that pioneered food rescue in 1982.

What led to the foundation of City Harvest?
Helen verDuin Palit, City Harvest’s first executive director, had been working at a soup kitchen and saw how difficult it was to feed all the people who came in for lunch. While eating at a nearby restaurant she asked the chef what he did with the leftovers. When he told her they were discarded, Helen said that the soup kitchen could really use the food. The next day the chef donated 100kg of cooked potatoes: the smart and simple idea of food rescue was born. Over the next 34 years, City Harvest grew to include 22 trucks, 160 staff and thousands of volunteers.

What inspired you to join City Harvest six years ago?
My family owned a small deli so I have never experienced hunger. It is unfathomable to me that hunger exists in a state and country with an overabundance of food.

Why is it so important to promote this concept in cities around the world?
A: Hunger is a significant issue in New York and across the country, and food rescue can help combat it. Each year America wastes more than 60 billion kilograms of food, up to 40 per cent of what is produced – enough to fill the Empire State Building 182 times. It seems probable that many thriving cities around the world have a similar situation. It would be helpful to those people and the environment if other countries followed this idea.

How many companies have you partnered with?
We have a database of more than 2,500 food donors, including Pret A Manger and Starbucks. As a  member of Feeding America, City Harvest has access to sources of excess food throughout the country.

What is your goal for 2017?
We want to source more than 26 million kilograms of food – 14 million kilograms of which will be fresh produce – and distribute it free of charge to 500 soup kitchens, food pantries and other community food programmes across New York’s five boroughs. Our goal is to increase the amount of food we Rescue to 36 million kilograms a year by 2022.

This is a marketing communication issued by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd or an entity of the Group (hereinafter "Lombard Odier"). It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful to address such a document. This marketing communication is provided for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to subscribe, to purchase, sell or hold any security or financial instrument. It contains the opinions of Lombard Odier, as at the date of issue. These opinions and the information contained herein do not take into account an individual’s specific circumstances, objectives, or needs. No representation is made that any investment or strategy is suitable or appropriate to individual circumstances or that any investment or strategy constitutes a personal recommendation to any investor. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future. Lombard Odier does not provide tax advice. Therefore you must verify the above and all other information provided in the marketing communication or otherwise review it with your external tax advisors.

Investments are subject to a variety of risks. Before entering into any transaction, an investor should consult his/her investment advisor and, where necessary, obtain independent professional advice in respect of risks, as well as any legal, regulatory, credit, tax, and accounting consequences. The information and analysis contained herein are based on sources considered to be reliable. However, Lombard Odier does not guarantee the timeliness, accuracy, or completeness of the information contained in this document, nor does it accept any liability for any loss or damage resulting from its use. All information and opinions as well as the prices, market valuations and calculations indicated herein may change without notice.

Past performance is no guarantee of current or future returns, and the investor may receive back less than he/she invested. The value of any investment in a currency other than the base currency of a portfolio is subject to foreign exchange rate risk. These rates may fluctuate and adversely affect the value of the investment when it is realised and converted back into the investor’s base currency. The liquidity of an investment is subject to supply and demand. Some products may not have a well-established secondary market or in extreme market conditions may be difficult to value, resulting in price volatility and making it difficult to obtain a price to dispose of the asset.

European Union Members: This marketing communication has been approved for use by Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A., a credit institution authorised and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg and by each of its branches operating in the following territories: Belgium: Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A. Luxembourg • Belgium branch, a credit institution supervised in Belgium by the Banque nationale de Belgique (BNB) and the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA); France: Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A.• Succursale en France, a credit institution supervised in France by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) and by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in respect of its investment services activities; Italy: Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A. • Italian Branch, credit institution governed in Italy by the Italian stock market regulator (Commissione Nazionale per la Società e la Borsa, or CONSOB) and the Bank of Italy; Netherlands: Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A. • Netherlands Branch, a credit institution supervised in the Netherlands by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and by Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM); Spain: Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A. • Sucursal en España, a credit institution supervised in Spain by the Banco de España and the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV); and United Kingdom: Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A. • UK Branch, a credit institution in the UKsubject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (‘PRA’). Details of the extent of our authorisation and regulation by the PRA and regulation by the FCA are available from us on request. UK regulation for the protection of retail clients in the UK and the compensation available under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not apply in respect of any investment or services provided by an overseas person.

In addition, this marketing communication has also been approved for use by the following entities domiciled within the European Union: Gibraltar: Lombard Odier & Cie (Gibraltar) Limited, a firm which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission, Gibraltar (FSC) to conduct banking and investment services business; Spain: Lombard Odier Gestión (España) S.G.I.I.C., S.A.U., an investment management Company authorised and regulated by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).

Switzerland: This marketing communication has been approved for issue by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd, a bank and securities dealer authorised and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

United States: Neither this document nor any copy thereof may be sent, taken into, or distributed in the United States or given to any US person.

This marketing communication may not be reproduced (in whole or in part), transmitted, modified, or used for any public or commercial purpose without the prior written permission of Lombard Odier.

© 2017 Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd – all rights reserved. Ref. LOCH/LOESA – GM – en – 122016.