Bringing clean water to overlooked rural communities
CategoriesSustainable News

Bringing clean water to overlooked rural communities

Spotted: Today, around two billion people around the world lack reliable access to clean drinking water. And while there are a large number of programmes aimed at expanding access to water in urban areas, improving rural water supply can be more expensive and difficult to deliver, and so often takes a back seat. Now, however, Chilean startup Remote Waters is focusing precisely on this type of outlying region.

The company specialises in supplying small-scale modular water treatment and desalination systems made for remote, rural, and off-grid areas. The company sources water that is unfit for consumption (like brackish water or ocean water) and devises a bespoke, solar-powered membrane filtration system to render it potable.

Once purified, the water is transferred to a pressurised water system or an elevated water tank to facilitate delivery. The system can be operated and monitored remotely, which lowers maintenance costs and speeds problem detection. It is available for lease as well as sale.

The company is currently in partnership discussions with several large companies to explore possible funding streams. Remote Waters founder and CEO Pablo Cassorla told Springwise that the company hopes to “Franchise our brand in different countries of [Latin America], increasing our clean water availability capacity in communities.”

‘Availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ is a key UN Sustainable Development Goal (Goal 6). Recent innovations helping to meet this goal include solar nanogrids to supply water and power and digital water treatment technology.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Bringing sustainable aquaculture to your doorstep
CategoriesSustainable News

Bringing sustainable aquaculture to your doorstep

Spotted: Seafood is the world’s largest traded food commodity, with more than 3 billion people relying on it as an important source of protein. Conventional seafood production, however, has a big impact on the environment, with overfishing and pollution proving extremely harmful to global marine ecosystems. Now, one company is hoping to regenerate the seafood supply chain by creating a sustainable seafood delivery service. 

Inspired by the principles of the Slow Food movement, the founders of Seatopia are cultivating a more environmentally friendly and transparent supply chain, partnering with artisan aquaculture farms. The company then delivers high-quality, sustainably farmed seafood from these trusted farms to customers’ doorstep. The sushi-grade fish can either be eaten raw or cooked, depending on the customer’s preference. 

Orders arrive in 100 per cent compostable insulated boxes packed with dry ice. Seatopia’s vacuum seal freezer bags, labels, gel packs, boxes, cardboard, and packing tape are made using bio-based resins – and are also recyclable or compostable. 

Seatopia wants to ensure it has a net positive impact on our oceans, while providing its members with delicious seafood. As such, it only sources from farms that raise fish from non-GMO eggs, using feed like sustainable microalgae-based oils and mycelium proteins. The fish are also all raised in lightly populated environments free from antibiotics. 

As well as supporting regenerative aquacultural practices that reduce strain on wild fish populations, Seatopia also supports important environmental initiatives, like the Seaforestation project, which plants kelp in degraded marine ecosystems to improve carbon sequestration and provide essential habitats and food sources for ocean life. 

Like many areas in the food industry, seafood cultivation is not short of environmental problems. Springwise has spotted many innovations looking to improve it, however, including artificial intelligence (AI) that could transform fishing and the use of zooplankton as a sustainable aquaculture feed.

Written By: Anam Alam and Matilda Cox

Reference

Bringing off-grid solar to new sectors
CategoriesSustainable News

Bringing off-grid solar to new sectors

Spotted: According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Chile is a “world-class destination for solar and wind energy developers,” in large part because of the country’s energy planning, which has helped to boost project development, especially in terms of electricity transmission. However, even in a country with such a good record, there are renewable energy applications where connecting to the grid is difficult.

With more than 50 per cent of Chile’s exports coming from mining, particularly for lithium and copper – two key components in green energy technologies – sustainable energy technology company CleanLight has created a way for heavy industry to reduce its emissions by using off-grid renewably powered lighting solutions. 

With mines often located far from stable grid connections, reliable lighting and communication access have long been a challenge. CleanLight is meeting this need through Solar Towers that provide communications, lighting, and surveillance capabilities, while also providing a mobile solar generator named SolBox.

The SolBox is available in various sizes, from a 1,500-watt system with two panels up to a 9,600-watt Plus Pro system that uses eight panels. For industrial users, the eight-panel SolBox supports the most onerous power demands from construction projects to large buildings.

The technology also has domestic uses. Depending on a home’s size and power consumption, a SolBox could save owners anywhere from 40 to 80 per cent on their monthly electric bill. 

CleanLight has sold 550 Solar Towers and provides a fleet of 150 towers for rent. With distribution agreements in place with large chain stores throughout Latin America, the company is in the middle of expansion across the region. A recent partnership with British Columbia company RE Royalties Ltd in the form of a loan and royalty acquisition is financing CleanLight’s expansion into North and Central America.   

Bringing solar to the people through improvements in accessibility is the focus of a number of innovations in Springwise’s database, including solar panels that work in the shade and a rent-to-own solar panel service.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Bringing zero-waste circularity to the UAE 
CategoriesSustainable News

Bringing zero-waste circularity to the UAE 

Spotted: As economic growth and consumption rise, so does the amount of waste produced. Statista estimates that, by 2050, the world will be producing 3.4 billion metric tonnes of municipal solid waste each year, a 70 per cent increase compared with 2016 figures. Polygreen, which operates as a network of companies to provide integrated and multi-faceted circular economy solutions, is one leading organisation tackling our growing waste problem with creative zero-waste schemes and innovative partnerships. 

For instance, Polygreen recently entered into a strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre Tadweer, to bring zero-waste, circular economy, and sustainable waste management principles to the Middle East. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two partners will focus on sharing knowledge and best practices for high-profile global events such as COP28, United Nations events, and the Delphi Economic Forum, as well as explore the application of Polygreen’s ‘Just Go Zero’ model in Abu Dhabi. 

Polygreen has already had success in implementing the Just Go Zero initiative on the Greek island of Tilos, turning the island into a zero-waste destination wherein 100 per cent of municipal solid waste is now diverted from landfill. As well as engaging with local stakeholders to achieve this fully circular zero-waste economy, Polygreen focused on resident education to encourage essential behavioural change in terms of how waste is sorted at home.

Specially designed vehicles collect and weigh the litter from every household and business on the island, and with the Tilos Just Go Zero app, locals receive important information about the programme and can track how much rubbish they have recycled in real-time. Waste is then sent to the Centre for Circular Innovation instead of landfill, where it is sorted for either recycling, reuse, compost, or turned into alternative fuel. The goal is to use similar methodology to accomplish equally impressive results in Abu Dhabi. 

Other circular economy innovations recently spotted by Springwise include on-demand data that makes recycling easy, a scheme that lets residents in South Africa exchange recycling for digital currency, and a new approach to circular packaging.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Bringing the Outside In: Using Biophilic Design Principles to Transform Commercial Interiors
CategoriesArchitecture

Bringing the Outside In: Using Biophilic Design Principles to Transform Commercial Interiors

Modernism was all about clean lines, raw surfaces, and celebrating the uncompromising rationality of the machine. The vision of LeCorbusier was revolutionary in its time, and caught on in ways he would likely not have expected. Today, most of the public spaces we move through, from offices and schools to hospitals and transport hubs, owe something to the modern movement and its penchant for no-frills design.

Not everyone is happy with this state of affairs. Today, there is a renewed interest in the textures, patterns, and curves, the very features of classical architecture that modernists once avoided. Design-thinkers have learned that natural forms, from the vein patterns in leaves to the curves of the human body, are based on fractals rather than grids. As human beings, we find fractals pleasing to the eye and emotionally restorative. Right angles, in contrast, are harsh and even exhausting. This is why so many people describe modern spaces as feeling grim, sterile, or anxiety provoking.

Wall art by Inpro

For architects that are looking to warm a space with natural forms, bringing in some of that fractal energy people literally crave, the experts at Inpro are providing new, high-tech solutions. They create high-end, digital artwork optimized for spaces such as offices, schools, hospitals and more, bringing vitality to spaces that would otherwise be merely functional 

Through their critical design research into art and biophilia, and from the inspiration that guides it, Inpro is looking to make art “work” for the occupants in any commercial building. How art, working through digital imagery or printed on an architectural product, can bring a brand, an idea or even a feeling to life.

Nick Cotter, Creative Director at Inpro, says: “The right image can have a calming effect, especially in healthcare environments where patients might be experiencing anxiety, fear or pain. Images of nature offer serenity in an otherwise sterile space, while bright and colorful artwork can stimulate interest and put smiles on faces.” Studies have shown that looking at images of nature is healing, much like spending time in nature. Art, then, is a crucial component of any healthcare space. 

As the company explains in their Imaging Products brochure, “North Americans spend nearly 90% of their time indoors. . . Whether it be promoting healing in healthcare, productivity in office environments, stimulating creativity in education, triggering brand recognition in hospitality or reinforcing positive transactions in retail and restaurant, the use of imagery, pattern and color can have an influence. . . these influences are seen even in our sleep, diet and mood.”

Inpro offers six product types for people looking to bring art and photo prints into their office, including Aspex® Printed Wall Protection, a printed, protective wallcovering that can be applied directly to the wall at virtually any size, and printed wall art, which hangs on the wall just like a painting. The brand also produces printed signage, which allows art to be integrated in creative ways throughout the space, durable wall panels that can be used in high traffic spaces like elevator interiors, and printed window shades, which can turn any office into a room with a view. Made from fiberglass, polyester, vinyl, and acrylic, these high-tech Solar Shades help to block glare and unwanted heat while still allowing a degree of natural light.

Elevator interior with prestige gold trim and Aspex panels showcasing local artwork.

Each of these products is durable and super high resolution. Furthermore, they are fully customizable. Inpro works with clients to select imagery suited to their brand. If no stock images fit the bill, the brand can help facilitate collaborations between clients and local artists to curate unique artwork for their space. In 2023, Inpro is also launching curated art galleries that can be printed on products based on moods, including categories like “comfort”, “focus”, “restore”, “inspire” and “energize”.

 The key is to think about your design needs, choose a theme, and stick to it. Like a real natural landscape, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and artworks function better when they are placed in harmonious relation to one another. Through the careful selection of Inpro products, shades can be integrated with wall coverings, art, and signage, creating a fully integrated space.

Personalized dorm room window shades by Inpro

“Adding imagery throughout your spaces brings continuity throughout your building and how people experience it,” Dan Roller, Product Manager at Inpro, explains. “For example, use an overall nature theme and create variations on each floor to help people remember different locations and change up the scenery.” This type of cohesiveness will strengthen your brand, whatever industry you are in, and elevate the experience of clients or other visitors to your professional space.

If biophilia isn’t your thing, Inpro can also create graphics that have a more streamlined, minimalist look. The key thing to remember is that with new digital imaging and printing techniques, the possibilities are endless when it comes to wall coverings. One is not limited to solid colors or patterned wallpaper. Any image you can think of can find a place on your walls, your signs or your window treatments.

Coordinated window shades and wall art by Inpro

Art is no longer something that hangs on the wall – an ornament for spectators to gaze at – but something that is ultimately functional, helping spaces work better for everyone. This sounds like something even LeCorbusier would approve of.

To learn more about Inpro’s extensive range of architectural products, check out their website and their brand profile on Architizer, or download their visual inspiration guide here.

Reference