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Could this app change your habits to cut carbon?
CategoriesSustainable News

Could this app change your habits to cut carbon?

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 2022 mitigation of climate change report estimated that changes to individual “lifestyles and behaviour” could reduce global carbon emissions by 40 to 70 per cent by 2050. Helping to make that a reality is the One Small Step behaviour change app.

One Small Step uses proven psychology to support and encourage individual behaviour shifts that, when added together with thousands of others, equate to significant reductions in carbon emissions. The app helps users track their expenditures, travel, food choices, energy use, and waste production. And for every friend that a user helps to sign up, One Small Step also plants a tree.

After establishing a baseline for their behaviour, the app lets users track how different choices impact carbon emissions and receive personalised suggestions for ways to make their habits more eco-friendly. As users record shifts in behaviour and buying habits, the app also provides vetted alternatives for some of the most commonly used products.

The company’s goal is to work with 100,000 users of the app to prevent one million tonnes of carbon pollution from entering the atmosphere, as a first step in harnessing the power of community action. The company also challenges users to try to reduce their carbon footprint to two tonnes of CO2 per year, which is the UN’s 2050 goal for individuals. With the average American having a carbon footprint of over 14 tonnes, any reduction in that figure, when multiplied by millions of others doing the same, adds up to a substantial climate impact. Currently available in the USA and Australia, the company plans to expand access to the app to other countries.

There’s certainly work to be done by heavy-polluting industries to cut their emissions, but individuals also have the power to contribute to positive environmental changes. Springwise has spotted a countertop appliance that lets you compost easily in your kitchen and a platform that helps individual employees make their company more sustainable.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Buying up threatened land to protect forests
CategoriesSustainable News

Buying up threatened land to protect forests

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Recent research into the productivity of mature trees as carbon sinks found that the average age of peak net primary productivity ranged from 35 to 75 years. As a result, the many millions of trees being planted as part of reforestation efforts are not going to be fully effective at helping to mitigate climate change for several decades. Reforestation should therefore not be seen as a panacea for climate change, especially if it normalises people to the destruction of forests on the mistaken belief that we can ‘bring them back’ at will.

This is the argument of Green Sanctuaries, which is focusing its attention on preserving the forests that are still intact. The French organisation connects financial supporters with forests and communities needing support. It oversees projects around the world, including forest ecosystems in Ecuador, Zimbabwe, and Namibia that are especially important to the world’s biodiversity. Companies can get involved by donating money, time, and equipment. Individuals can contribute financially via a one-off or regular monthly donation.

The Green Sanctuaries team includes a global network of ‘forest watchers’ – biodiversity experts who identify the most precious plots of forested land in private hands. Once a parcel of land is confirmed as at risk, Green Sanctuaries tries to buy or long-term lease as much of it as possible. Once ownership has been transferred, the organisation works closely with local communities to design and implement long-term management strategies that include water access, creation of conservation jobs, and the opening up of the forest to research projects. In some areas, the Green Sanctuaries team also helps local and Indigenous communities protect the land from neighbouring pollutants, such as runoff from industrial farms.

The world’s forests are such rich spaces for biodiversity that in just one of Green Sanctuaries’ projects, a 3,500-hectare habitat, protects more than 100,000 species of insects, around 200 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 550 species of birds, while providing critical habitat space for the endangered tapir.

From creating a database of the world’s forests to using forest products as new food sources, innovations in Springwise’s library highlight the diversity of the projects working to save some of the world’s most important carbon sinks.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Local sanctuaries for wildlife and biodiversity
CategoriesSustainable News

Local sanctuaries for wildlife and biodiversity

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Many efforts at nature restoration are focused on regions like the Amazon rainforest. But according to German organisation Artenglück, for those living in Europe, there is much conservation work to be done closer to home.

Wildflower meadows, for example, are important habitats that provide food and refuge for pollinators and other insects, while supporting birds, bats, and mammals. However, they face challenges. For example, in 2021, Germany was referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union by the EU Commission for failing to sufficiently protect flower-rich grasslands in protected sites.

To provide a boost for nature, Artenglück creates meadows and other habitats that can be adopted by individuals and companies. The organisation provides bespoke conservation habitats within 30 kilometres of a desired location, working with farmers and foresters to plant and maintain perennial flowering meadows, mixed forests, and habitats specifically tailored to field bird species.  

Companies and individuals can choose from wildflower habitats of 30, 60, or 100 square metres. Forest habitat spaces are also available in various sizes, and for birds that nest in agricultural fields, Artenglück provides small corridors of plantings that enable the adult birds to take off and land to access their nests. Importantly, the wildflower meadows are placed on marginal land so as not to compete with food production. 

Artenglück’s service is available across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and the company works with organisations interested in creating ecologically healthy plantings on corporate private land. 

Other innovations in Springwise’s library working to conserve and regenerate the world’s biodiversity include regenerative grazing techniques and funding indigenous forest stewardship.

Written By: Keely Khoury and Matthew Hempstead

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Long-term, environmental-scale decisions made easy
CategoriesSustainable News

Long-term, environmental-scale decisions made easy

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The increasing pace of global warming means that more and more businesses need to take climate into account in their long-term planning. Upstream Tech’s climate modelling software is designed to empower organisations to better manage the risk to, and supply of, natural resources and to act at scale with confidence.

The startup offers two main platforms that quantify decision-making in environmental resource management. ‘HydroForecast’ helps companies better manage their water resources, using neural network models to forecast short-term and seasonal streamflow, along with long-term climatological outlooks. It can be used to minimise spill, optimise reservoir operations, and aid in dam safety and emergency preparedness, while also informing policy decisions, supply management, and energy trading.

Lens is a web-based, remote monitoring platform that improves access to high-resolution satellite, aerial, and environmental data, enabling better monitoring and protection of land around the world. The platform also provides users with tools to analyse this wealth of data to determine site conditions and easily generate reports.

Investment fund Engie New Ventures recently announced that it had invested an unspecified amount in Upstream Tech. Engie stated the investment will enable extensive partnership opportunities and will unlock Upstream Tech’s access to new geographies and use cases across its product portfolio.

Satellite data is being leveraged in a growing number of innovations aimed at environmental management. These include using satellites to predict the next extreme weather event and using satellites to prevent wildfires through better resource allocation.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Helping brands embrace the eco-fashion revolution
CategoriesSustainable News

Helping brands embrace the eco-fashion revolution

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and Organisation Environmental Footprint (EF) methods are “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based methods to quantify the environmental impacts of products (goods or services) and organisations.” These indicators assess everything that goes into the making of a product, from material extraction, water use, and production emissions to distribution transport costs, reuse and recycling options, and more. Pulling together so much information is time-intensive and complicated by the lack of data uniformity across industries and throughout supply chains. 

French company L’Empreinte recognised that challenge and designed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform called PEFtrust for companies to use to track the environmental footprint of their footwear and apparel products. The platform provides four different modules for companies to work through, beginning with an initial assessment of their products. The proprietary algorithm provides compliance assessments for single products or for hundreds of thousands at a time, making it possible for brands to comply with current regulations and provide the necessary data to support their emissions targets and achievements.  

For companies already providing green products, the PEFtrust team can help to further improve their ecodesigns as well as connect businesses with certified suppliers. Each PEF score contains 16 measures that companies can work to improve, and the platform provides regulatory compliant product labels that can be embedded directly onto consumer-facing websites. Data management is made as simple as possible, with the SaaS platform capable of integrating with an organisation’s existing IT reporting tools. 

Reports range from individual product-level detail to overall organisation-level Scope 3 emissions. The different levels of detail enable managers and teams at all points of a product’s life cycle to input information necessary for the analysis and to contribute to overall supply chain improvements, encompassing everything from raw material processing to cutting and finishing. The L’Empreinte team is continuously strengthening its platform via faster artificial intelligence (AI) recommendations for ecodesign improvements and including more materials and processes in its evaluations. 

As well as reducing emissions in apparel production processes, Springwise’s library includes examples, such as circular polycotton and plant-based fur, of innovations changing the materials being used within the fashion industry.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Could this system cut the carbon cost of air-con?
CategoriesSustainable News

Could this system cut the carbon cost of air-con?

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Climate change has led to more frequent and severe heatwaves, and the increasing need to stay cool indoors is, in turn, speeding up global heating. Researchers have calculated that air conditioning is responsible for around 3.9 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and startup Blue Frontier Inc. has developed an ultra-efficient, sustainable air conditioning (AC) technology to tackle this climate footprint.

The company’s AC system is designed to replace the energy-intensive Packaged Rooftop Units used to cool commercial buildings. The system uses a liquid saltwater solution as a ‘desiccant’, which is a substance that removes moisture – like the silica bead packets used when shipping products to prevent damp.

First, air is passed over a thin layer of the dessicant, which absorbs moisture. The dried air is then split into two streams. The first air stream gets directed over a thin layer of water, which absorbs the air’s energy (heat) to leave it cooler. This cooler, now-humid, air cools a metal surface, before being funnelled outside. Finally, the cool metal sucks heat out of the second (still dry) air stream, which is then blown into the building. As well as cooling down the building, the system also dehumidifies it to improve indoor air quality and create a healthier indoor environment.

The dessicant will periodically need to release water and be ‘recharged’ for the system to keep working. Typically, this would require fossil-fuel-powered heating, but Blue Frontier instead uses a heat pump. This recharging can occur at night when electricity is cheaper and grid demand is lower.

Depending on weather or usage, the system reduces electricity use by 50 to 90 per cent and reduces peak electricity demand. The company points out that its AC system also enables the replacement of traditional ACs with an ‘HVAC-as-a-service’ business model that’s designed to speed up market adoption by removing the need for large capital investments.

Luckily, recognition of the huge energy footprints of heating and cooling systems is leading to a wave of innovations. These include more viable heat pumps and the use of geothermal energy.

Written By: Lisa Magloff and Matilda Cox

Reference

Super-strong nanofibres made from emissions
CategoriesSustainable News

Super-strong nanofibres made from emissions

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: We must rapidly decarbonise existing global systems, and capture carbon already emitted, to prevent global warming from exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold outlined in the Paris Agreement. But the scale of the problem is huge: to meet this target, 10 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide needs to be captured every year by 2050.

Scientists at the US Department of Energy, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Columbia University may have found a good use for this captured CO2 – carbon nanofibres, which are versatile materials that can be used in everything from batteries and sensors to wound dressings and filtration technology. 

The technique the team has developed uses a combination of thermochemical and electrochemical reactions to turn captured CO2 and water into nanofibres. In breaking the nanofibre production up into two parts, the researchers made it possible for the method to require only relatively low pressures and temperatures. 

To begin, the scientists worked backwards from the idea that carbon monoxide (CO) is far more useful for producing carbon nanotubes than CO2. So, they began working out how to efficiently convert CO2 to CO and went from there. Electrocatalysts work to break CO2 and H2O into CO and H2.  

In the next step, an iron-cobalt thermocatalyst helps to form the carbon nanofibres. Previous direct strategies, which convert CO2 directly into nanofibres using heat, require temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees Celsius. As the thermocatalyst is dealing with CO, however, the researchers were able to produce nanofibres at temperatures of 400 degrees Celsius. 

The nanofibres have a wide range of uses, but the researchers point to their potential in strengthening cement and concrete, where the carbon could be stored for a minimum of 50 years. 

Carbon capture technologies are on the rise, as innovators work to mitigate the impact of global warming. Springwise has also spotted this company that captures carbon straight into concrete as well as this ultra-fast CO2 direct air capture material.

Written By: Archie Cox

Reference

Can coal be converted into sustainable protein?
CategoriesSustainable News

Can coal be converted into sustainable protein?

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: It’s well-established that the food we eat has a huge impact on the planet, with food production generating over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. But, do you ever consider the impact of what we feed our livestock? For instance, feed production accounts for between 50 and 85 per cent of the climate change impact of pigs and poultry. And often, countries must rely on imports for quality feed, including China, which has been heavily dependent on imported soy – raising concerns over supply and food security in the country.

Now, however, researchers at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences believe they have a more sustainable and affordable alternative protein source: coal.

The team, led by Professor Wu Xin, converted coal into methanol via coal gasification, and this methanol was then fermented using a type of yeast called Pichia Pastoris to create single-cell proteins. This particular yeast strain is optimised for growth in methanol, achieving a methanol-to-protein conversion rate of 92 per cent the theoretical value. According to Professor Wu Xin, this makes the novel process far more efficient at producing crude protein than any other process in the food chain at the moment.

The proteins produced contain a holistic profile of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, which makes the resource a viable substitute for foodstuffs like fishmeal, soybeans, meat, and skimmed milk powder. For the future, the team aims to continue refining the process and use of methanol to make protein, hoping to make it even cheaper and more efficient.

There’s a lot of room for improvement in the global food system, and luckily innovators are rising to the challenge. Springwise has also spotted this AI-driven approach to making tastier alternatives to meat as well as these compact urban farms that tackle food insecurity.

Written By: Archie Cox 

Reference

Greener lubricants to decarbonise heavy industry
CategoriesSustainable News

Greener lubricants to decarbonise heavy industry

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: As renewable energy infrastructure expands, so do the maintenance requirements. And, similarly, the growth of e-commerce requires ever-faster production and distribution networks. Facilitating that growth are new machines, including robots, capable of technical tasks older ones are not. As materials technology develops, heavy machinery is increasingly smart, connected, and made from more environmentally healthy components.  

A crucial aspect of many industrial machines is the lubricant that allows the pieces to move at incredibly high speeds and temperatures. When contaminants get in the oil, machines can fail, jeopardising worker safety and causing production costs to skyrocket. Dutch industrial lubricant manufacturer Fluitec provides new-generation lubricants and management systems. The company’s lubricants are designed to withstand the new workloads of cutting-edge machinery, and the management systems provide laboratory-level quality analysis on the plant floor as well as in the field. 

Fluitec’s Fill4Life programme is a circular method of improving the life span of a lubricant while reducing a company’s carbon emissions. Rather than the linear model of adding new oil to a machine and then disposing of the old, Fill4Life uses Fluitec’s turbine oil and healthier, greener additives to significantly prolong the life of a machine and the lubricant that allows it to run. Fill4Life is customisable and can reduce every machine’s CO2 footprint by 85 per cent and save a company at least 50 per cent of its previous expenditure on oils.  

Fluitec also provides the Ruler V Antioxidant Monitoring solution to analyse and predict the longevity of the lubricants currently in a machine. The monitor works in full sunlight and includes dictation capability and a camera for fast, accurate reports from the field. And with a small Membrane Patch Colorimetry (MPC) test, Fluitec provides a visual inspection of a lubricant’s health in under two seconds. The system stores the data for trend analysis and pre-emptive maintenance to help reduce machine failure.  

Fluitec is a carbon-negative company and claims to be the only one of its kind to attain B Corp certification.  

From electricity-powered paving vehicles to industrial waste materials replacing cement, innovations in Springwise’s library are working to help decarbonise heavy industry as quickly as possible.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Top five uses for banana waste
CategoriesSustainable News

Top five uses for banana waste

By Zarkon Group,

The world throws away a vast quantity of banana peels each year, and Discarded Spirits is putting some of this material to good use with its banana peel rum. In the final instalment of our special series of articles for Discarded Spirits, we look at a snapshot of the creative ways innovators around the world are using banana waste.

A useful ingredient and a tasty, nutrient-rich snack, the banana is among the world’s most traded and consumed fruits, with well over 100 million tonnes of bananas produced every year. This production causes a lot of waste, both during the harvest and at the consumer level, with the world generating around 3.5 million tonnes of banana peels annually.

Traditionally, this discarded material has mostly gone to landfill, where it contributes to emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. However, a new generation of innovators is looking at banana waste differently, seeing it as a valuable tool in the fight against climate change.

Sustainable, animal-free leather

In India, leather is big business, but the industry has a significant negative impact on the environment. Not only does it lead to toxic chemical pollution, but the production of just one leather bag requires 10,000 litres of water. Fossil-fuel-derived plastic alternatives, meanwhile, are not much better. For Kolkata-based material innovation firm, Atma Leather, banana waste holds the solution to this problem. The company’s leather alternative, called ‘Banofi’, is made up of 50 per cent banana stem waste and 30 per cent natural additives. The remaining 20 per cent is composed of primarily recycled polymers, with the firm continuing to invest in innovation to reduce this remaining reliance on plastic. The material has a significantly lower environmental impact than both animal and synthetic leather, offering a 100 per cent reduction in toxic wastewater and significant reductions in CO2 emissions. Find out more.

Handmade textiles

Beyond the fruit itself, the banana plant also has a ‘pseudo-stem’ – a trunk-like structure made up of a soft central core surrounded by tightly-packed leaf sheaths. With a high cellulose fibre content, it is well-suited to a range of applications. Ugandan organisation TEXFAD teaches people to use banana pseudo-stems and other waste materials to create sustainable, hand-made textile products. This non-formal, hands-on skills training is accredited by the country’s Directorate of Industrial Training and designed to encourage job and wealth creation. In addition, TEXFAD runs a business incubation programme that provides budding businesses with equipped production space, business plan development, and technical support services. There is also an ‘earn while you learn’ option for those in vocational training. The types of handicraft produced under TEXFAD’s banana programme include coasters, glasses cases, rugs, and lampshades, among many others. Find out more.

Biodegradable food packaging

Every year, the world produces 141 million tonnes of plastic packaging, and food packaging is one of the most visible uses of plastic in our daily lives. Now, Australian company Papyrus is converting banana plantation waste into a fine fibre that forms the basis of a range of moulded food packaging products that are commercially viable. The organisation, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, takes rejected banana fruits as well as the stalks, leaves, and pseudo-stems of the banana plant and puts them through a chemical-free process that separates the biomass into organic liquids and raw fibres. The fibres are then refined and moulded into trays, plates, egg cartons, cup holders, and ‘clam shells’ (a type of takeaway box). The banana packaging replaces alternatives made from environmentally damaging materials like plastic and forest-sourced wood. Find out more.

Food, agricultural, and pharmaceutical growth enhancers

UK startup LyteGro highlights that around 30 per cent of the global banana crop is deemed unsuitable for sale in any given year. Seizing this opportunity, the company adds water to the otherwise unsellable bananas and then mixes, heats, and filters the resulting mash, producing Baclyte, a microbial growth enhancer. Highly potent, the mixture enables rapid microbial growth for a huge range of industrial applications. With everything from brewing and distilling to dairy and pharmaceutical production reliant on microbes, Baclyte has the potential to be a highly valuable addition to food and commercial manufacturing processes. This is because faster growth of microbes results in higher yields and accelerated production of the final product. Find out more.

Delicious liquids

Discarded Spirits’ banana peel rum is made using waste from the flavour industry. Discarded works with a flavour house in the Netherlands who would otherwise throw banana peels away once they’re finished with them. The peels are dehydrated and ground before being supplied to Discarded, who then take them and turn them into an extract. The extract is soaked in alcohol and then blended with the rum. The end result is something that tastes like liquid banana bread, in the best way possible! Find out more.

To learn more about how the other Discarded Spirits liquids are made, that also put organic waste to use, read our interview with Discarded Brand Ambassador Sam Trevethyen.

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