Making excellence a habit
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Welcome to December’s digest of sustainability news for BSI members. For the final time this year, we’re catching up on key developments in the world of sustainability, breaking news, data and analysis drawn from across the globe. Like making leather from fish, transforming food waste with flies, and drilling for energy into the centre of the earth.
Carbon eye in the sky
Can we track carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and emission reductions from space? It looks like it. Satellites can observe the entire planet, even down to individual power plants. So, there’s no place to hide when it comes to verifying (or refuting) reported CO2 emission reductions.
Flying high on hydrogen
Rolls-Royce has now run an aircraft engine on hydrogen. This aviation energy first is a step forward in decarbonising air travel. The green hydrogen used came from the European Marine Energy Centre, generated using renewable energy at their hydrogen production and tidal test facility on Eday in the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland.
Giving invasive fish the boot
How about solving two problems with one fish? Inversa, a sustainable Florida-based fashion brand, has done just that. They are producing a new type of sustainable leather made from lionfish, a species that is highly invasive and puts extreme stress on local coral reefs.
Turning the tide on tiles
Staying close to the sea, Scalite is a new interior stone product made from fish scales, which serves as a sustainable alternative to ceramic-based tiles. And that is a good thing since tiles are a significant contributor to ozone depletion and global warming, whilst fish scales usually go to waste.
Soldiers against food waste
Black soldier flies are in the front line of a project in Rwanda that is using the flies, specifically their larvae, to convert food waste into affordable animal feed and fertiliser. It’s an idea that could help lower the price of food and boost the income of small farmers.
Speedier solar hits the roof
New solar shingles can be installed on roofs in the same way as traditional roof shingles, saving both time and money on solar roof installation. The GAF Timberline Solar shingles can be nailed down in packs, just like everyday non-solar shingles. So, it takes days instead of weeks to install a GAF solar roof.
Rooftop hydrogen power
Staying up on the roof, KU Leuven researchers in Belgium have created a rooftop hydrogen panel that directly converts water vapor from the air into hydrogen gas, with the help of sunlight. This can then fuel a combined heat and power unit (e.g. fuel cells) or a hydrogen boiler.
Energy from the centre of the earth
A hot idea: blast a hole 10 miles down into the earth’s mantle to make steam from its 1000 degree-plus temperatures. Then use that steam to power the turbines of decommissioned coal and oil-powered power stations. That’s what Quaise Energy are betting will unleash clean energy at huge scale.
To discover more about how BSI is supporting businesses to meet the challenges of climate change and net zero, why not visit our standards, knowledge and best practice in sustainability page here.
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