Sustainable Technology Innovations
Sustainable technology innovations help reduce the environmental impact of businesses. From recycling to energy storage, eco-friendly construction practices and electric vehicles are just some of the innovations to consider when trying to minimize your environmental footprint.
Carbon capture and storage technology represents one of the key innovations to foster sustainability. It can be implemented at high emission sites such as power plants or cement manufacturing facilities to help lower greenhouse gas emissions by safely capturing carbon dioxide and storing it for later release.
Recycling
Recycling is a sustainable technology innovation that reduces environmental impacts of waste while simultaneously encouraging renewable materials use. Recycling can also replace non-renewable materials with renewable ones while simultaneously minimizing energy consumption and water pollution.
Remanufacturing recycled materials requires less energy and saves non-renewable resources such as paper and metal; in fact, producing one recycled can of aluminum takes 95% less energy.
Environmental innovation includes Fairphone, a modular smartphone designed with fair work practices and recycling in mind. Such innovation is critical to reaching environmental sustainability, helping reduce electronic waste that ends up in landfills.
Waste-to-energy conversion
Waste-to-energy technology converts non-recyclable waste materials into renewable electricity, heat and fuel resources that reduce our reliance on fossil fuels – helping achieve sustainable development goals more easily while simultaneously minimizing landfilling and optimizing resource use.
There are various Waste to Energy technologies, such as incineration, pyrolysis and gasification. Gasification is a thermal WtE method which utilizes high temperatures without combustion to transform biomass into syngas that is then burned to generate power for electricity production or used directly as an alternative fuel source. Gasification has the advantage of being significantly safer than incineration as its emissions are drastically reduced.
This technology is widely recognized as an effective solution for climate change and can drastically lower greenhouse gas emissions by eliminating landfill waste. Furthermore, this process generates power for homes and businesses as well as recover metals.
Green architecture
Green architecture is an approach to architecture that emphasizes using renewable energy and natural materials in building construction, water conservation, recycled products and eco-friendly materials.
Originating in the 1960s, young environmentalists adopted the concept of green buildings. They wanted to live in buildings which produced their own energy, water and food while using biodegradable materials in construction.
Today’s architects are increasingly adopting green technologies into their designs, such as solar panels and green walls. Car chargers may even be installed to enable people to drive electric vehicles – this helps cut carbon emissions, energy costs, waste creation and helps the environment as a result of reduced waste production. Green technology is even making its way into business systems for inventory tracking and data management purposes.
Energy storage
Energy storage technologies like batteries play a crucial role in providing homes and businesses with green energy when the sun doesn’t shine or winds don’t blow – as well as supporting ecological conservation, making these innovations powerful sustainable technologies.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems are an exemplary sustainable tech advancement that reduce carbon emissions from power plants, cement plants, vehicles and ships by sequestering it underground and storing it safely – thus moving us one step closer towards zero-carbon future.
Energy efficiency
Tech innovation has become an invaluable asset for providers looking to reduce carbon emissions or use eco-friendly materials, with everything from energy saving algorithms and IoT devices easing their path toward meeting sustainability goals. That is pretty amazing!
Renewable energy sources offer numerous advantages over fossil fuels. First and foremost, they do not emit greenhouse gasses, while they can also be used to store energy for later. Energy storage technology enables long-term use by converting electricity to heat or cold. Companies using cheaper sources of power such as hydro, geothermal, and wind can benefit from using such renewables with longer battery life or using them in tandem with one another for greater efficiency across industries – known as “spillover effects”. This process increases sustainability practices while simultaneously increasing efficiency – encouraging research and investment into other technology fields that would otherwise remain isolated.
