Home :: Bio-based Global Summit. Bio-based Materials business support | InCrops | Knowledge. Innovation. Enterprise. The main bioplastic types manufactured in the UK are starch and cellulose based, while a wide range of other biopolymers are also available in the UK through suppliers from the EU and worldwide. The East of England boasts major capacity in the processing of hemp, flax and other fibre crops. Bast fibres, such as flax, kenaf, and hemp, are most commonly used in the automotive industry, whereas wood plastic composites are useful in construction. Biopolymers have extensive and growing applications. Uses range from packaging and catering, to sports goods and casing for consumer products, such as PCs, mobile phones and power tools. There are huge market opportunities for bio-based materials. It is estimated that over 90% of the annual global plastic production (270 million tons) could be substituted by bioplastics. However, in 2012, bioplastics made up about 1% of the global plastics market.
Automotive and marineThe built environmentCatering and packaging Automotive and marine. Designing for sustainability: what are the challenges behind green materials? | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional. Learning to surf in California's frigid breakers, Todd Copeland, a design guru at the Patagonia clothing company, concluded that wet suits weren't cutting it. Sure, a traditional Neoprene suit could keep him warm, but the suit's material could be synthesised only from non-renewable, energy-intensive resources such as petroleum or kiln-baked limestone.
In spring 2008, Copeland blogged about the need for a truly green alternative. And, later that summer, his cry found its way to Yulex, an Arizona-based company working to resurrect a low-energy, low-toxin recipe for rubber from guayule, a desert shrub native to North America. Research on the plant peaked during the second world war but was then was shelved. Yulex had restarted the work around 2000 and was making hypo-allergenic surgical gloves, but was seeking a new market.
This serendipitous match between designer and material maker is, unfortunately, a rare exception. Sales of green materials are surging Ford's shift didn't come quickly. AkzoNobel – backing renewable raw materials | Guardian Sustainable Business | Guardian Professional. AkzoNobel has found biological substitutes for many of its fossil-derived raw materials.
Photograph: AkzoNobel Paint and chemicals company AkzoNobel is moving away from fossil-sourced materials in its products, and using biomass alternatives. First, the company took a detailed look at its product lines to identify the chemical components and processes involved. This highlighted the materials and businesses within the company's value chain that are most susceptible to fluctuations in oil and gas supply. It then found biological substitutes. The company has been building partnerships and hopes to get sufficient volumes to secure a future market. Solvay, from Belgium, and start-ups Solazyme and Zeachem, for instance. It is negotiating deals that may reduce CO2 emissions across the company by up to 800 kilotonnes by 2020, it says. As well as expanding the market for biomass and helping emerging businesses gain access to finance, the strategy will help secure AkzoNobel's raw material supply.
Bio-based Materials and Chemicals | Lux Research. Coverage Areas The ability to create industrial materials from biomass is revolutionizing the chemical, consumer product, packaging, cosmetic, nutriceutical, and food and beverage industries. As companies seek to commercialize alternatives to petrochemicals, they can stumble on issues ranging from the economic (performance and cost) to the deeply technical (creation and use of genetically-modified organisms).
Developers must deal with regulators’ and consumers’ strong views, while developing strategies for manufacturing, scale up, partnerships, and intellectual property. In these areas and more, Lux Research’s on-going coverage of the Bio-based Materials and Chemicals space helps companies: Recently Profiled Companies Intermediates: Ethylene and propyleneLactic and acrylic acidSuccinic and fumaric acidAdipic acidMuconic acidFood-grade polymers End Use: Next steps. Bio-based Material : Dictionary of Sustainable Management. FAQs: Biomaterials and Sustainability — Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative. What are biobased materials? We define a “biomaterial” or a “biobased material” as any material made from current living organisms (as opposed to non-renewable fossil fuels that are made from prehistoric plants), including agricultural crops and residues, trees, and algae. “Sustainable biomaterials” are those that are (1) sourced from sustainably grown and harvested cropland or forests, (2) manufactured without hazardous inputs and impacts, (3) healthy and safe for the environment during use, and (4) designed to be reutilized at the end of their intended use such as via recycling or composting.
Top What are biopolymers? Biopolymers are macromolecules derived from plants, trees, bacteria, algae, or other sources that are long chains of molecules linked together through a chemical bond. They are generally able to perform the functions of traditional petroleum-based plastics. Biopolymers exist in nature as cellulose (in cotton, wood, wheat, etc.), proteins, starches, and polyesters. No. Avertissement de redirection. Eight Types of Product-Service System Eight Ways to Sustainability Experiences from Suspronet.pdf. Pub.iges.or.jp/modules/envirolib/upload/469/attach/report08.pdf. China’s policies and instruments for developing the circular economy | GreenEcoNet. China’s circular economy has seen three development stages in less than 20 years. Between 1998 and 2000, the concept was first introduced and theoretical studies conducted in higher education institutions. The second stage from 2001 to 2005 saw the advent of clean production in enterprises and eco-industrial parks, at a time when the government’s environmental protection department had begun to increase.
But since 2006, China has been facing increasingly serious resource challenges and environmental threats, so the circular economy was soon being presented as an alternative development model by China’s Nation Development and Reform Commission (NRDC). This kick-started the third stage, and from that point onwards, the Chinese government has been taking action in four main areas. First, there have been efforts to establish China’s circular economy “promotion law”. The second area in which China is taking action is by setting goals for resource productivity improvement. Home | Ecologing · Creating Sustainable Value. Cytoplasm seeks efficient routes: slime mold. The slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, is an extremely effective forager capable of creating extensive and highly efficient networks between food sources. This single-celled creature, classified as a protist, oozes its way across surfaces in search of bacteria, fungal spores, and other microbes to feed on.
As it spreads and grows in search of food, it naturally organizes itself into a network of tube-like structures that quickly and efficiently connect its disparate food sources. Physarum maximizes its ability to find food by ‘remembering’ and strengthening the portions of its cytoplasm that connect to active food sources. By rhythmically contracting and expanding its body, Physarum is able to move and grow its body in search of food. When it fails to find food or the food source dries up, Physarum retracts its cytoplasm, leaving behind a trail of slime--essentially marking which pathways are useful and which are dead-ends. Physarum polycephalum Physarum polycephalum Schwein., 1822 Prof. Circular economy conference insights: Urban mining, biomimicry and finance | beasustainable. The Fast Draw: Biomimicry.
Www.lincoln.ac.nz/documents/2328_rr285_s13389.pdf. Using-SmartGrid-Technologies-Modernize-Distribution-Infrastructure-New-York.pdf. Home | SmartGrid.gov. ABB Group - Automation and Power Technologies. About IEEE Smart Grid. What is the Smart Grid? The "smart grid" has come to describe a next-generation electrical power system that is typified by the increased use of communications and information technology in the generation, delivery and consumption of electrical energy. The societies within IEEE help guide the evolution toward the smart grid, by holding several events, publications and standards within their area of focus. On the IEEE Smart Grid Web portal, all these activities and assets converge into a single place where users can explore and understand all the different and particular aspects of the smart grid, and how they are connected to the overarching smart grid framework. "In order for the Smart Grid to be successful, there needs to be a set of well-established standards in place that all industries and organizations involved can utilize.
" Dr. W. Charlton Adams, Jr., Past President IEEE Standards Association IEEE has the expertise to make smart grid a reality. Home | Rapanui. Circular Economy Australia. Liveability | What Can a Back Pack Teach Us About The Circular Economy? - Liveability. The concept of the circular economy has been gaining momentum since the late 1970s. Its origins lie with a number of authors and advocates. According to a recent report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and McKinsey & Company the adoption of a circular economy could generate US$1trillion annually by 2025. (download the report here) So, how does the Circular economy work? This video from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation helps explain the concept. So what happens when you create a backpack from the outset to return to the makers to be repaired, recycled or disassembled and fed back into the system? The Bag by Rapanui The Rapanui Backpack – a positive loop Rapanui makes casualwear for 18–25-year-olds from organic, natural materials in an ethically accredited wind powered factory.
“As a businessman, that’s my primary motivation to work – a better future – so for me the circular economy is one of our most valuable mental tools.” So what does that mean when it comes to Rapanui’s backpack? Energy electricity gas bills heating home green tax. Marcin Moryc Britain may be standing on the threshold of a glorious summer but I'm already thinking about the winter and praying that this it's is as mild as last year because if it's anything like the bitterly cold December and January of 2012 my energy bill is going to go through the roof. The cost of gas and electricity has risen 20% since 2009 and it's not going to stop there.
The cost of heating our homes is so great that the National Grid warned the cost could double to over £2,000 a year by 2020. So what's the reason for this huge increase? The National Grid, which is tasked with keeping Britain's lights on blames plans to close coal-fired power stations and the cost of subsidising wind farms. Ah, the wind farms! So ignoring that well-worn argument I'd like to look at the figures to see whether green taxes on energy companies are really translating into eye-watering electricity bills.
Put like that it's not that big a cost, although it's not insignificant either. British Data Centers Get a Green Tax Break -Green Data Center News. This week, British data centers got an exemption from carbon taxes. If that sounds like a backwards step in the drive for more efficiency, you need to get the full picture. It’s about balancing business and the environment, and it’s likely to boost the public cloud and colocation industry in the UK. Data centers in Britain are liable to pay two carbon taxes. These are “sin taxes” (aka Pigovian taxes), designed to curb harmful activity by putting up the price - in this case the cost of greenhouse gas emissions. All British businesses pay the Climate Change Levy (CCL), which adds around 0.5p (8c) to the price of each kiloWatt hour (kWh) of electricity.
Larger organisations, which use more than 6000 MegaWatt hour of electricity per year, also fall into the CRC energy efficiency scheme. That amounts to 1.5p per kWh, easily ten percent added to electricity costs for a large user. The government has already accepted this argument in other sectors. Then came the hard part. Collaborative Consumption | Sharing reinvented through technology. Watch Rachel's TED Talk.Collaborative Consumption | Sharing reinvented through technology. Watch Rachel's TED Talk. Certified Products - McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) Cradle To Cradle Products Innovation Institute. Resource-efficient Europe. Brussels, 26 January 2011 Resource-efficient Europe A. More resource efficiency helps European businesses Increased resource efficiency can offer competitive benefits to industry.
While it does of course require additional investment, it also offers new opportunities which EU companies will want to harness. Reduced dependency on raw materials and lower CO2 emissions In the cement industry, significant costs arise from high levels of costed CO2 emissions (60% of which result from the decomposition of raw material and limestone) and high energy costs. Fast pay back The 'Money Back through the Window' project in Hungary examined 262 environmentally beneficial measures from 56 different companies. Cutting input costs In the food and drinks industry, resource efficiency is vital to cut input costs.
One global clothing firm identified waste in its shoe manufacturing process cost it 550 million euro per year. Significant investment is needed … R&D costs Consumers reward resource efficiency B. C. Japan. Circular (Recycling) Economy in China. Consumer Society Is Made To Break. Ours is a consumer society that profits from disposability under the logic that the sooner things break the sooner they can be replaced. Production is artificially inflated through intentionally shoddy products while consumption is stimulated through commercial bombardment. Since the 1930s, manufacturers have been designing their products to be replaced frequently just as fashion designers keep us buying by making last year’s fashions look outdated. This is called planned obsolescence. I first heard about planned obsolescence from the excellent short film, The Story of Stuff.
“Planned obsolescence” may sound like a conspiracy theory but it was once openly discussed as a solution to the Great Depression. And so we grow old in a world surrounded by things whose disposability is prized above all else. Only 15 copies of London's pamphet remain in libraries around the world. By Bernard London Frank V. The new paradox of plenty constitutes a challenge to revolutionize our economic thinking. Www.cniid.org/IMG/pdf/201009_rapport_OP_AdT_Cniid.pdf. Story of Change | The Story Of Stuff Project. Over the past several decades, many environmental and social change efforts have come to reflect the centrality of shopping in our culture, suggesting change can be made—or is even best made—through alterations in our individual consumption patterns.
These efforts—buy Fair Trade or organic, use a reusable bag, screw in a CFL lightbulb—are a great place to start, but they are a terrible place to stop, ignoring the real source of our power: coming together as engaged citizens. In The Story of Change, released in July 2012, Annie Leonard argues that it’s not bad shoppers who are putting our future at risk; it’s bad policies and business practices. If we really want to change the world, we have to move beyond voting with our dollars and come together to demand rules that work. Credits The Story of Change was created and released by The Story of Stuff Project and produced by Free Range Studios.
Show full list of credits. Circular Economy | World Economic Forum - Circular Economy. The Issue In a world of close to 9 billion expected by 2030 – including 3 billion new middle-class consumers – the challenges of expanding supply to meet future demand are unprecedented. Our current ‘take-make-dispose’ approach results in massive waste, and in the fast-moving consumer goods sector about 80% of the US$ 3.2 trillion value is lost irrecoverably each year.
Change is vital, and is needed now. Relying on efficiency gains alone will not be enough to meet global demand: the context calls for systemic changes, and in that respect the switch from a linear to a regenerative circular economy provides credible and quantified perspectives. Within this economic model, designing durable goods to be restorative will keep components and products in use for longer, whilst ensuring that biological materials can re-enter the biosphere at the end of their life will contribute to safeguarding soil productivity. So what can leaders do to catalyse this next Industrial Revolution? Circular Economy. ThinkDif - Disruptive Innovation Festival. Circular economy events 2014: a logbook | Guardian Sustainable Business. Designers shadow staff in London waste sites to inform sustainable design | Sustainable-business | The Guardian.
How can your industry contribute to the circular economy? - interactive | Guardian Sustainable Business. New European circular economy package fails to hit radical note needed | Guardian Sustainable Business. Circular Economy Reports. 10 things you need to know about MP's report on circular economy | Sustainable-business | The Guardian. Home - Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Our vision | Ecologing · Creating Sustainable Value. About us. Sustainable energy for all. Pdf/NovergieDDVABAT.pdf. Nous transformons les déchets en matière | Veolia.
CSD 18 HIGHLIGHTS, Wednesday, 5 May 2010, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America. La Lettre Diplomatique - La revue des Relations internationales et diplomatiques depuis 1988 - Chine. The People's Supermarket | Be Part of Something GOOD!