Spotted: Although we are seeing some progress towards climate goals in certain areas of the economy – such as mobility and electricity generation – industries that require very high process temperatures remain difficult to decarbonise, and are overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels like natural gas.
Now, Estonian cleantech startup Efenco has come up with a creative solution to reduce emissions from industries that require temperatures above 300 degrees Celsius. This novel technology can be applied to natural-gas-powered processes in the short term, but will also improve the efficiency of combustion processes run on hydrogen – a clean fuel that is tipped to play an important role in industry as the world moves away from fossil fuels.
The company, whose name is a shortened version of efficient energy conversion, has created High Energy Ray Ceramic (HERC) technology that makes high-temperature combustion of gassy fuels more efficient. Using a patented cold plasma technique, the company’s ceramic chip recycles heat from typical industrial heating systems to produce higher temperatures with fewer emissions.
Plasma is a high-energy state that enhances chemical reactions. In the case of commercial heating for steel, pulp, and paper manufacturing – as well as district heating and cement production – the HERC technology has the potential to eventually improve the combustion efficiency of natural gas by 40 per cent and hydrogen by up to 75 per cent. So far, however, the HERC prototype has demonstrated an 18 per cent combustion efficiency gain.
No external source of energy is required to make the HERC chips work, and they can be easily installed into existing gas boilers. No additional machinery or expertise is needed.
Overall, use of the HERC chips can make significant reductions both in terms of fuel costs and carbon emissions. Efenco currently has six partnerships in place and is working towards the elimination of 77 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030 through the installation and use of its technology. Having recently raised €4.5 million in funding, the company plans to continue advancing the development of the chips and begin designing a version for domestic and small-scale use.
Improving efficiency and usefulness while reducing environmental harm is the focus of many technologies, with Springwise’s database including examples of a high-performance magnet that does not use any rare earth elements and a nano aerogel that cuts refrigeration emissions.
Spotted: The global loss of crops due to untreatable pest damage and plant disease is estimated to be between 20 and 40 per cent. With extreme weather exacerbating difficult growing conditions, the recent emergence of a treatment-resistant wheat fungal disease is additional bad news for cereal farmers. Data science company Fermata has an artificial-intelligence-powered (AI) solution that helps growers spot disease early and track plant changes over time.
Called Croptimus, the data platform is available as a subscription service that includes installation and management support. After the initial installation, the algorithms need two to three weeks to adjust and learn what the farm team wants to track, with data and imagery then available in real-time online.
As well as reducing labour costs, the system helps reduce pesticide use by up to 25 per cent. Automated alerts let growers know when a pest or change in growing conditions is identified. Chemical applications can be applied directly to the affected areas, with no guesswork needed to determine how far a disease has spread.
The cameras use ethernet cables for power, and each camera visually covers 400 square metres of land, and Fermata provides custom quotes and designs for each plot’s specifications. Right now, the AI monitors problems that affect fruits, leafy greens, and medicinal crops. These include powdery mildew, spider mites, and aphids, and the technology is being trained on additional diseases and insects, as well as an increasing number of crops.
The use of data in agriculture is constantly improving, with Springwise spotting innovations that include the use of weather data to speed up insurance payments in the event of drought or flooding, and a modelling system that predicts frost in microclimates where high value crops are growing.
Spotted:Small power refers to unfixed electrical equipment, products, and appliances, commonly plugged into the electricity network. In an office environment, there may be thousands of these devices left turned on 24/7, and they can account for up to 40 per cent of energy usage. Yet, it is not practical to go around turning these devices on and off all the time.
To lower the energy usage of small power, startup measurable.energy has developed a smart socket designed specifically for commercial use that incorporates machine learning to automatically measure and eliminate small power waste. The sockets work like a normal socket but contain software that can automatically identify devices plugged into the sockets, monitor their energy use, report granular real-time data, and automatically turn devices on or off to avoid wasted energy.
The sockets can measure the exact usage of small power energy per socket, showing when and where energy is in use or wasted. Organisations can then use this data to decide the best way to cut back on energy usage.
On its website, measurable.energy emphasises that its hardware and software is designed to help individuals and businesses adjust their behaviour to use more renewable energy. The company writes that their solution, “pays back within two years and allows businesses to reduce electricity bills by at least 20 per cent.”
Nowadays, it seems like just about every appliance and device has smart capabilities. When used correctly, many of these can help people save energy and money. Some recent smart devices Springwise has spotted include a smart cooking pot that helps users save energy, and a self-powered smart pillow that monitors sleep.
Operational carbon is usually what we think of when energy costs are discussed. That is, carbon emissions that come from the energy used to power our homes, cars, etc. over their lifetime. Your home’s energy efficiency comes into play here. Generally, operational carbon emissions can be modeled and predicted, so you can compare one appliance or building product against another. Often, a label will show how much energy a certain appliance is likely to draw over a lifetime of operation, or how much a well insulated house will reduce your energy needs annually. But embodied carbon takes this modeling to a whole ’nother level.
Embodied carbon is the carbon footprint of a product, process, or service starting with the extraction of raw materials through the manufacturing process to market (cradle to gate) and then beyond to delivery and installation (cradle to site). Operational carbon is often considered separately, but adding the carbon embodied in a product’s end-of-life disposal (cradle to grave) or reuse or recycling (cradle-to-cradle) gives a complete lifecycle analysis. In other words, embodied carbon represents the total amount of greenhouse gases (including CO2) emitted during extraction, transportation, manufacture, delivery and deployment, and then end-of-life. Looking at both the embodied carbon and the operational carbon give you the true “carbon cost” of your product or project.
Let’s picture a new countertop for your kitchen. The embodied carbon of that countertop that you will enjoy in your home comprises the energy that goes into mining the stone, transporting the raw material from the mine to a facility for processing, its processing and preparation (cutting, strengthening, and polishing), transporting to a wholesaler, and then to your home where we include the energy emissions of cutting to size and setting it up in your kitchen. And finally its end-of-life, which hopefully includes reuse or recycling wherever possible.
Embodied carbon hides in your home
For homes, the biggest sources of embodied carbon are typically in materials. Many common materials used in construction, such as concrete, stone, steel, and lumber, tend to be high in embodied carbon either due to energy-intensive extraction or manufacturing processes. Even products made from rapidly renewable materials, or by a manufacturer that uses renewable energy, may waste a lot of water, or raw or finished materials. Or the product must travel overseas, or lasts only a short time before it heads for the landfill and must be replaced.
An exception to looking for the lowest carbon equation would be if the building materials are used for carbon sequestration. For instance, natural renewable materials such as wood from sustainable forests, or wool, or bamboo will hold carbon safely within the walls and furnishings of your home, while the natural source is replenished and continues to grow and pull more carbon from the atmosphere.
To reduce the embodied carbon in your home, as the saying goes, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. The most accurate analysis of the embodied carbon in extraction, transportation, and manufacturing is going to come from the product manufacturer. Eco-conscious companies often use environmental product declarations (EPDs) and post the data on their websites. These look beyond carbon and account for multiple environmental impacts. Further, they provide a lifecycle assessment (LCA), and include both embodied carbon through end-of-life and operational carbon.
Experts can help
Many software tools exist to help conduct LCAs. One of the best free tools out there is the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3). This tool can technically be used by anyone, but it is most efficient if used between your architectural, engineering, and construction professionals along with a trained sustainability professional or firm. Increasingly, the emphasis shifts to embodied carbon as building codes call for increased energy efficiency, and more homes and utility grids are powered by renewable energy—thus significantly lowering the carbon footprint of operational carbon emissions.
By looking at these issues, weighing pros and cons, we can help reduce the embodied carbon and thereby the total lifecycle carbon in our homes. Particularly in new construction and all-electric homes, just a few adjustments in key areas—insulation, cladding, and concrete—can make strides toward meeting our collective climate change commitments and averting the worst of the climate change catastrophes to come.
The Author: Sustainability Consultant Arnaldo Perez-Negron is an environmentalist and social entrepreneur based in the Tampa Bay area.
Buildings account for at least 39% of energy-related global carbon emissions on an annual basis. At least one-quarter of these emissions result from embodied carbon, or the carbon emissions associated with building materials and construction. The solutions for addressing embodied carbon in buildings have not been widely studied in the United States, leaving a significant knowledge gap for engineers, architects, contractors, policymakers, and building owners. Further, there is little information about the cost-effectiveness of reducing embodied carbon in buildings.
RMI’s new report, Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings: Low-Cost, High-Value Opportunities, helps fill this knowledge gap. The report demonstrates low- or no-cost options to reduce embodied carbon in buildings and provides design and construction strategies that can help limit a project’s embodied carbon. The case studies showcased in the report show an embodied carbon savings potential of 19% to 46% at cost premiums of less than 1%. Current practice indicates that we can achieve these reductions by specifying and substituting material alternatives with lower embodied carbon during the design and specification process. Far greater reductions are possible through a whole-building design approach.
This report was developed to help building owners, designers, contractors, and policymakers understand the low-cost and no-cost solutions for reducing embodied carbon in buildings. To accomplish that, we studied three building types and considered design strategies that can reduce embodied carbon at any stage of a project’s design and construction phases. The report quantifies the construction cost difference associated with low-embodied-carbon solutions and points to next-generation solutions that could drive even greater reductions.
Top categories of building materials for reducing embodied carbon.
Critical Materials Driving Embodied Carbon in US Buildings
In order to tackle embodied carbon in buildings, we first need to understand the carbon impact of the industries driving embodied carbon emissions. A building’s structure and substructure typically constitute the largest source of its up-front embodied carbon, up to 80% depending on building type. However, because of the relatively rapid renovation cycle of building interiors associated with tenancy and turnover, the total embodied carbon associated with interiors can account for a similar amount of emissions over the lifetime of a building. Our report focuses primarily on structural materials, metals (including steel and aluminum), cement, and timber. Each of these materials has a different embodied carbon content but is critical to our consideration of structural systems in this context.
Proven Solutions and Strategies to Reduce Embodied Carbon
Today, there are many solutions that can be leveraged to limit embodied carbon in new buildings. The totality of low-embodied-carbon solutions includes a long list of offerings that span a wide range of complexity.
Most simply, low-embodied-carbon solutions for buildings can be broken down into three main categories: whole-building design, one-for-one material substitution, and specification. In general, whole-building design solutions can drive the greatest embodied carbon savings. However, material substitution and specification can also result in substantial embodied carbon savings, especially when these solutions target carbon-intensive materials such as concrete and steel. Furthermore, these categories are not mutually exclusive — they can be combined or performed in parallel to drive deeper embodied carbon savings.
The following graphic demonstrates embodied carbon best practices that can be implemented throughout the building design and construction process.
Case Studies in the Economics of Low-Embodied-Carbon Buildings
One core objective of the report is to answer the question: How much can we reduce embodied carbon in new buildings at no additional cost?
In short, this study shows that embodied carbon can be reduced by 19% to 46% in mid-rise commercial office, multifamily, and tilt-up-style buildings by leveraging low- and no-cost measures. Together, these measures increased overall project costs by less than 1%, which is within the margin of error for most construction project budgets.
Skanska, one of the world’s leading sustainable construction firms, provided cost data from three actual projects in the Pacific Northwest and conducted an analysis under the guidance of RMI to generate the results of this study.
These case studies lead us to a few powerful observations. Even though the strategies employed do not include comprehensive, whole-building design strategies, they still yielded reductions of up to 46% in up-front embodied carbon through specification and material substitution measures. Given that these conclusions are based on three case studies in the Pacific Northwest, we can note them as strong anecdotal evidence, rather than broadly applicable conclusions.
Given the fact that we were not able to redesign building structural systems, we were unable to draw deep conclusions about the cost, carbon, and material impacts of whole-building design solutions, such as substituting more structural steel and concrete with wood. Given this scope, our key findings are:
Optimizing the ready-mix concrete design can lead to significant embodied carbon reductions (14% to 33%) at no cost, or with a possible cost reduction in some cases.
Rebar contributed up to 10% of total project embodied carbon in two case study buildings, but rebar’s up-front embodied carbon can be cut in half with minimal cost impact to the overall projects. These results may vary by location, as rebar with high recycled material content may not be available at a low cost premium in other regions.
Insulation material selection can be a significant factor in project-level embodied carbon, with insulation making up approximately 20% of one building’s baseline embodied carbon content. Insulation products utilizing hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) or other foaming agents with low global warming potential can reduce embodied carbon impacts significantly, and several emerging plant-based products have the potential to store more carbon than is emitted in their production.
Glazing remains a critical challenge for reducing embodied carbon, between the significant amount of heat required for glass production and the high-embodied-carbon materials often used for framing. Products available today can cut embodied carbon in glazing by approximately 25%, but at a 10% cost premium.
For some finish materials such as flooring, carpet tiles, ceiling tiles, and paint, embodied carbon reductions of more than 50% are possible at no up-front cost premium. In some locales, carbon-sequestering materials may even be available.
Read the Report to Learn More
The Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings report includes detailed information about each of the three building case studies, sections exploring related topics such as tenant fit-outs and building reuse, and further analysis of our key conclusions. Download the report to learn more about opportunities for reducing embodied carbon in buildings, and why embodied carbon needs to be addressed now to drive the most impact.
Following the recent news about an avocado alternative called Ecovado, here is a roundup of 10 innovations that aim to reduce the carbon impact of the food industry and our diets.
The global food system, including the actions that take food from farm to plate such as transportation and production, is estimated to contribute 30 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, with over half of those a result of livestock agriculture.
In the past few years, designers have come up with numerous ideas for reducing food-related emissions as part of the global effort to slow climate change.
These innovations include developing alternatives to meat and other energy and resource-intensive foods, as well as creating more sustainable food production processes.
Read on for 10 designs that seek to decarbonise the food industry:
Ecovado by Arina Shokouhi
Central Saint Martins graduate Arina Shokouhi invented an avocado alternative named Ecovado, designed to break people away from purchasing the resource-intensive imported food.
“Avocados are one of the most unsustainable crops to export because of their delicate, easy-to-bruise nature, and the plantation-style monoculture farms required to meet the global demand for avocados are driving the deforestation of some of the most diverse landscapes in the world,” said Shokouhi.
The alternative contains a green, creamy, avocado-like foodstuff that is made from a combination of ingredients local to its country. It is packaged in a replica avocado skin formed from wax.
Find out more about Ecovado ›
Air Meat by Air Protein
Californian startup Air Protein has created a meat alternative titled Air Meat, made from microbes that turn recycled carbon dioxide into protein. The product aims to replicate the flavour and texture of real meat products.
With beef generating 70 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions for every kilogram produced, Air Meat was developed in an attempt to tackle the negative climate impact of the agricultural industry.
Find out more about Air Meat ›
Solein by Solar Foods
Solein is a protein-rich food made from electricity, air and water laced with bacteria. It was created by food-tech startup Solar Foods in collaboration with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Lappeenranta University of Technology.
The food does not require land or large quantities of water to produce, both of which contribute significantly to the agricultural industry’s emissions, with the company claiming it has potential to “remove the climate impact of food systems on the planet”.
“Solein does not reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere directly, but the indirect effect is that we need about one-tenth of the land compared to photosynthesis,” Solar Foods CEO Pasi Vainikka explained in an interview last year with Dezeen.
Find out more about Solein ›
Spira by Rob Russell
Rob Russell, a 2019 product design graduate of the University of Leeds, designed this countertop Spira device that can harvest microalgae daily. The device can produce two tablespoons of fresh, nutrient-dense spirulina each day.
This small amount constitutes a recommended daily serving, which the designer suggests adding to sauces, smoothies or salads.
“Home-cultivated spirulina combats the four contributors of food-related greenhouse-gas emissions – production, transport, cooking and waste disposal,” said Russell.
Find out more about Spira ›
Lab-grown meat by Eat Just
In 2020, the Singapore Food Agency deemed Eat Just’s lab-grown, cultured chicken safe for human consumption. The US startup’s product is known as a clean meat, meaning it does not consist of dead animals but instead uses cells harvested from live animals that are grown and cultured into meat.
East Just explained that the cultured chicken has an “extremely low and significantly cleaner” microbiological content when compared to real chicken, which can contain bacteria from the gut, skin and feet of the poultry.
Find out more about Eat Just’s lab-grown meat ›
Dissolvable ramen packaging by Holly Grounds
Product design student Holly Grounds developed an edible, flavourless biofilm that is seasoned with herbs and flavourings to replace the multiple plastic sachets which typically accompany packets of instant noodles.
The dissolvable ramen packaging is made from a handful of ingredients including potato starch, glycerin and water. The biofilm seals the noodles and prevents the food from becoming stale but dissolves in less than a minute when put into contact with water.
Find out more about Grounds’ dissolvable ramen packaging ›
Strøm by Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempre
Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres of studio Doppelgänger designed a collection of carbon water filters that are developed without fossil fuels and from their own kitchen waste.
The four-item range includes a substitute for Brita filter cartridges, purifying sticks and a self-cleaning pitcher and carafe. Traditional water filters are comprised of activated carbon within plastic cartridges typically derived from non-renewable energy sources.
“While carbon filtration immobilises harmful contaminants, the plastic cartridge’s only function is to hold the activated carbon,” Lempres told Dezeen. “Meanwhile, sourcing, manufacturing and injection-moulding the polypropylene are the largest contributors to the filter’s impact.”
Find out more about Strøm ›
Zero by PriestmanGoode
Multi-disciplinary design practice PriestmanGoode developed a concept for an incentive-based food delivery system that could encourage consumers to use and return bioplastic containers to takeaway restaurants.
The concept was created to discourage the use of single-use plastic for fast food boxes and bags. If put into widespread production, the containers and bag would be constructed from sustainable materials such as cocoa bean shells, mycelium and pineapple husks.
The boxes would have a bento-style stacking system, removing the need for individual lids as boxes would be placed on top of the other.
Find out more about Zero ›
An Egg Without a Chicken by Annie Larkins
Around 36 million eggs are eaten per day in the UK alone, produced by highly intensive farming processes.
Central Saint Martins graduate Annie Larkins developed an unusually shaped alternative to chicken eggs made from pea protein, salt and algae-derived acid.
The designer altered the shape of the egg alternative, creating elongated and cubic forms, but looked to replicate the food’s white, yolk and shell, all of which were created from plant-based ingredients.
“Human desire to consume meat and animal products runs deep in cultures globally, and having an alternative that allows for an easy switch to plant-based products seems like a good thing to me,” said Larkins.
Find out more about An Egg Without a Chicken ›
3D-printed food products by Elzelinde van Doleweerd
Elzelinde van Doleweerd collaborated with a China-based technology company to develop food products 3D-printed from leftover food. The innovation was a result of Van Doleweerd’s final project during her industrial design degree at the Eindhoven University of Technology.
The designer began exploring 3D-printed food after learning that one-third of food produced worldwide is wasted. She used mashed, ground and sieved fruit peels, bread and rice to create the mixture, which is then printed to create 2D geometric patterns and 3D shapes.
Find out more about Van Doleweerd’s 3D-printed food products ›
Spotted: As just about everyone is aware, owning a smartphone is now a necessity. Smartphones are vital not only for communication, but for conducting business, farming, shopping, and banking. Yet new smartphones can be expensive, pushing them out of reach for many. According to some reports, the global average cost of a smartphone is around 26 per cent of the average monthly income, and in some regions, the average person would have to spend over half of their monthly income to buy a smartphone.
South African telecomms company Vodacom is hoping to make smartphones accessible to everyone with their ‘Good as New’ programme. Good as New offers used Apple iphones for sale at a fraction of the cost of a new model. The phones come complete with a standard 12-month warranty, and the devices are approved for resale. The programme involves the refurbishment and recycling of 200,000 phones by 2025, reducing e-waste as well as cost.
Vodacom also plans to expand the number and type of phones it revamps and resells, bringing in additional pre-owned products at lower price points. The company points out that the COVID-19 pandemic forced individuals to find creative ways to continue working and learning, making affordable access to smartphones even more vital. Digital access is also a particularly important issue in South Africa, which has some of the least affordable mobile phone prices in the world.
Smartphones are a lifeline for many – especially those in regions that are poorly served by land-based communications. Springwise has seen some exciting innovations in the use of mobile technology, including an app that lets micro-merchants turn their phone into a point-of-sale system, and a platform that connects smallholder farmers with the marketplace, helping them earn more.
Spotted: Materials science company LifeLabs has developed a new generation of thermally efficient textiles. Wearers of the company’s CoolLife t-shirts experience a continual reduction of body temperature by three degrees Fahrenheit. The fabric is recycled, engineered polyethylene, a material that is transparent to infrared wavelengths, allowing heat to easily flow away from the wearer.
Wearing the company’s CoolLife or WarmLife clothing can help to reduce reliance on cooling and heating systems, both of which contribute significant amounts of emissions. Continuous cooling of three degrees of body heat can make a huge difference throughout the day and night, making it easier to target the use of HVAC systems for limited amounts of time and at the most efficient rates. Indeed, LifeLabs suggests setting the thermostat two degrees warmer in the summer and two degrees cooler in the winter – this, the company claims, can save up to 153 pounds of carbon dioxide per person per year.
The brand’s in-house technology saves water, heat, steam, chemicals, and plastic through its dedicated sustainability processes that track the energy footprint of every article of clothing. The clothing is 74 per cent recycled content by fabric weight, and manufacturing improvements have reduced water consumption by 70 per cent. For packaging, the company uses reusable fabric garment bags and other environmentally friendly materials.
From cooperation amongst brands to leverage recycling technology at scale to collections embedded with climate change data, the fashion industry innovations Springwise is spotting are helping to make sustainability the norm.
