Reuters Events Sustainable Business’ Post

Human activities have thrown the earth’s carbon cycle out of balance. 🌱 Our planet naturally absorbs and emits approximately 100 billion tons of carbon dioxide through this natural cycle every year. This total dwarfs humanity’s contribution, amounting to ten times as much CO2 as produced through human activities. 🌏 So, what’s the problem? The problem is that humanity's extra chunk of carbon emissions has tipped out of equilibrium in what was once a balanced cycle. We are adding carbon to the air faster than the planet’s sinks can absorb it. Learn more about this process and carbon sequestration here 👉 https://lnkd.in/g4WAdHtg #EuropeanGreenDeal #BiologicalOrganisms #MineralNutrition #NewZealandGrowers #GrowBetter #RegenerativeAgriculture

This research paper delves into the environmental impact of industrial laundry operations, shedding light on critical insights for sustainability. 🧺💧 📊 A comprehensive Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and Assessment (LCA) for an Italian industrial laundry, examining every step of the process. 🔍 Key findings include: - The washing phase, ironing phase, and drying phase are the most impactful stages. - Detergents and washing products play a significant role in environmental impact. - Most of the impacts fall into the categories of: Global warming, human health, fine particulate formation, carcinogenic human toxicity, non- carcinogenic human toxicity, fossil resource scarcity. - Renewable energy technology, like solar PV panels, can make a substantial positive difference.

Why #Carbon Footprint Is Increasing? The increasing carbon footprint of our planet is a pressing concern, significantly impacting the environment and human well-being. While natural causes contribute, human activities remain the dominant force behind rising #greenhousegas (#GHG) #emissions. Here, we explore the primary factors fueling this surge: 1️⃣ Population Growth: A burgeoning global population drives the need for more goods and services, leading to increased industrial activity. This surge, especially in nations like China and the United States, contributes substantial CO2 emissions, intensifying the problem. 2️⃣ Energy Consumption: As the population grows, the demand for energy escalates. Our reliance on electricity, primarily from thermal power plants burning fossil fuels, significantly adds to the expanding carbon footprint. 3️⃣ #Transportation: Modern transportation, powered by fossil fuels, contributes significantly to carbon emissions. Vehicles, railways, aircraft, and ships release substantial CO2 into the atmosphere, amplifying environmental impacts. 4️⃣ #Agriculture and Cattle Farming: Increasing food demand drives agricultural expansion, often leading to deforestation. Clearing forests for agriculture and grazing releases stored carbon dioxide, contributing to greenhouse gas concentrations. Agricultural practices like fertilizer use can also indirectly contribute to emissions. 5️⃣ #Industrialization: Industrial activities, especially in energy production, steel manufacturing, oil refineries, and chemical industries, contribute nearly half of global greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil fuel combustion and industrial waste gases significantly add to the surging carbon footprint. Understanding these contributors is pivotal in formulating effective strategies to curb emissions and mitigate the impact on our environment. #CarbonFootprint #GreenhouseGas #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalImpact #EmissionsFactors #GlobalWarming #Sustainability #PopulationGrowth #EnergyConsumption #CattleFarming #Deforestation #FossilFuels #Sustainability #ClimateAction #NetZero #Decarbonization Follow me (Harshal) for exciting #ESG and #Zerocarbon trivia. If you find this post useful, please repost 🔁 so more people can learn from it.

It may be that the next coming years are our last chance to save our planet. However the hopes of a green future are becoming ever more attainable. Researchers are working tirelessly to develop novel technologies to defend our planet, while striking a balance with modern living and consumerism. Enzymes are such an audacious technology willing to offer us a lifeline in their potential to decrease CO2 emissions, reduce the carbon demand associated with chemical synthesis, reduce chemical usage and decrease the economic losses associated with global warming. Using enzymatic solutions will help against climate change significantly and will even be of benefit to the health of the planet and its biodiversity. Biosynth is proud to support green chemistry and work with customers looking to work sustainably. We have expanded our enzyme repertoire to provide sustainable enzyme products and solutions for industrial applications and offer the development of customized enzyme and biocatalysis solutions for your target application. Visit our enzyme webpage for more information on our smart enzyme solutions and biocatalysis services. https://lnkd.in/eqcmJH52 Read our slider below delving into the desperate need for a solution to climate change and how enzymes can achieve this. #enzymes #enzymesolutions #biocatalysis #greenchemistry #climatechange #globalwarming #sustainability

📣 Prof Isabel Sá-Correia (Instituto Superior Técnico/iBB - Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences ) has published a new opinion article in Jornal i: https://lnkd.in/dB7WS7Pr. "Microbial oils: an alternative to accelerate the energy transition and waste recovery?" Several bacteria can collect large amounts of lipids, resulting in a fatty acid profile similar to that of vegetable oils utilized in biodiesel generation. Following the #United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), a clear message emerges: it is no longer feasible to ignore the serious global issue, best exemplified by the climate changes, and a fossil-fuel-based economy. The world is still extremely dependent on oil, on oil, coal, and gas for mobility (aircraft, merchant and passenger ships, trucks and cars), industrial activity, and air conditioning, which are responsible for the great bulk of global greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, there is a urgent need to change this using more sustainable options. See more details: https://lnkd.in/dB7WS7Pr

Is 'global boiling' now a reality? In Ipsos’ latest data dive, we examine people's attitudes towards climate change amid rising global temperatures, severe weather patterns and the era of plastics. #globalboiling #ClimateChange #FutureofEducation #marketingresearch Dive into the details with us: 👉 https://lnkd.in/deDkUNfK 👉 https://lnkd.in/dXPJnCeA

China is peeing in our pool of air quality. One of China’s SEVEN power plants has a bigger carbon footprint than Great Britain (2% of the world’s output) and they are building one new coal plant per week. I’m with Konstantin Kisin (much viewed link in comments). Kill all the cows, shut down the farms, lock down cities, and empty the treasuries – with uncontrolled emissions in Asia and Latin America, our “no carbon section” of the world won’t survive. This column moves beyond the debate over global warming occurring. True or false, most know we are moving forward with plans, anyway. But how to move forward smartly? This requires putting as much of the context in the overall roadmap as possible – what my Okie grandfathers called, “Warts and all.” The best leaders do it, knowing that the “devil is in the details.” An old Hindustani proverb: People do not trip over mountains; they stumble on stones. In workshops over the decades, tools have helped my students. Most had doable tasks, but a percentage had targets they knew were unreachable (see book reference in comments). It was then the focus shifted to creating a “map of the minefield” to back senior management down (or CYA) or minimize the burn part of “crash and burn.” For green energy approaches, I offer the Force Field Diagram (in the banner). About a dozen pages, two per strategy, should cover a lot and be of value. If there is something out there like this, I haven’t seen it. FORCE FIELD DIAGRAM It's a tool to evaluate the pros and cons of a change or decision. (link in comments) TOP OF PAGE ONE The diagram. Driving forces (generic) would be: - Reduction of greenhouse gasses - Ease of creation/installation - Low maintenance - Reasonable costs Restraining forces (again, generic): - Child labor used - Disposal concerns - Environmental damage in process - National Security concerns BOTTOM OF PAGE ONE Footnotes in the chart lead to tabled data/info, drivers in the left column, Restraining on the right. Billions of pounds reduced. Child labor used. Foreign sources that promote instability or terrorism. Whales killed (note: color code text of emerging factors under scrutiny). PAGE TWO Emerging Technologies impacting the restraining factors. - - Who doesn’t want a “map of the minefield?” Another force field diagram.... Driving forces include those who are: - Fact based - Fiscally responsible - Data driven - Analytically wired - Context valuing - National welfare focused Restraining forces: - Greed - Lobbyists - Fanatics (Greta) - Politicians solidifying a political base What about the dismal outlook of the Asia/Latin America countries peeing in the air pool? The answers may be on the second page of each strategy. Tech breakthroughs must render their approaches obsolete. Technology must save us. And our wallets.   Now, if only our agency overseeing all energy policy could pull off an EV drive demonstration…. #globalwarming #airquality #evcars #windpower #solar #nuclear #coal #gas

As populations grow and energy access increases, sustainability is crucial. The expanding global middle class drives demand for homes, transportation, electricity, and consumer goods. The challenge is to meet this demand while minimizing climate change risks through sustainable development—The Dual Challenge.#Meikai #chemicals

Is a tree a carbon dioxide removal technology? In its climate change report the UN IPCC has identified a variety of mechanical and nature-based 'technologies' which, at 'pace and scale' can remove and store atmospheric carbon dioxide. How long does the term 'store' refer to? Ideally 'permanent'. The developing voluntary carbon market (VCM) is rapidly developing as a place where atmospheric carbon tonnes are removed and stored by 'suppliers' and traded by 'brokers' to companies seeking to compensate for their difficult or nigh impossible-to-remove carbon emissions as they work towards achieving net zero. Key characteristics of a 'carbon removal credit' are high-quality, integrity and permanence with the latter being limited to a guaranteed minimum of a 100 years. Yet, these critera are excluding the humble tree as being classed as a lesser-quality technology worthy of commanding a reasonable high price for its ability to absorb a tonne over its lifetime, which can in most cases well exceed 100 years. This young man, a carbon farmer of tomorrow, understands the value of the tree he is planting, expecially as he knows how to care for and nuture it. It is his future source of income. Yet, does a carbon investor trust him? The best way is to build a mutual bond, a vendor-client relationship over a long term and in doing so, this young man will be motivated to do more.. much more. The true value of a tree cannot just be quantified in the CO2 it absorbs, but the other incredible things it can do and deliver above and below ground. Trees are an incredible resource for the carbon circular bioeconomy.

One of my career highlights? Bringing the message of Circle Economy Foundation to the Economist Impact! The message? We urgently must drop our fixation on the #energytransition as a 'fix all' solution for #climate breakdown. We need to reassess our relationship with materials for truly transformational and long-lasting shifts. Globally, we consume over 100 billion tonnes yearly, but we only cycle back 7.2% (Circularity Gap Report 2023). And, material extraction and use:  🗣 account for 70% of global GHG emissions and, 🗣 drive over 90% of total global biodiversity loss and water stress, for example. But there is another way: our Circularity Gap Report 2023 found that circular economy solutions can meet people's needs with one-third fewer #materials than we use today, reversing the overshoot of five #planetary boundaries. Read more in the article (link in comments). Matthew Fraser