Brilliant Sustainability and innovative ideas that could save the planet.

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17 Mar 2024

What Is Sustainability?

The ability to use something without destroying it is what we mean when we talk about sustainability. Our social, economic, and environmental systems are all included. Sustainability is fundamentally about figuring out how to feed the world's population while protecting the resources for the next generations. There are numerous strategies that businesses can employ to attain sustainability.

The deliberate goal of sustainable innovation is to provide goods that benefit businesses and consumers while having as little negative influence as possible on the environment. Every sustainable development is built upon these three fundamental components.

Innovation for Sustainability and the Circular Economy

Sustainable innovations are based on the ideas of a circular economy, which aims to reduce waste and consumption through resource efficiency and innovation.

Creating solar-storing glass, employing lithium-ion batteries, moving away from fossil fuels, implementing new technologies and procedures to reduce food waste, installing solar panels, and locating usable window space are a few examples of sustainable innovations.

some brilliant ideas in the field of sustainability have been innovated in recent years which are protective of our well-being and the environment at large which are outlined below.

Scientists in California continued to work on an earlier breakthrough in which a nuclear fusion reaction that released more energy than it used was produced, successfully replicating the process – known as ignition –at least three times. If the technology matures and is mastered, this could provide the world with a near-limitless source of clean power and potentially provide an important solution to the global warming crisis. This year, scientists unveiled several interesting sustainability innovations, ranging from plant-based lighting to hemp-powered electric vehicle batteries.

Plant-based lighting

A novel light-emitting plant that can be charged by an LED. Image: MIT

A group of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created a plant that emits light and can be powered by an LED. Their formula: the utilization of specialized nanoparticles inserted in plant leaves. The plants charge for 10 seconds, and for several minutes after that, they shine brightly. They are rechargeable multiple times. This is a significant step towards using the renewable chemical energy of live flora to create ambient light because it can produce light that is ten times brighter than the first generation of glowing plants that the MIT research group developed in 2017.

Hemp-powered EV batteries

Weed-V batteries? Image: Energy Tech

Electric car batteries may include hemp, a super plant with rapid growth that locks carbon and is used to manufacture food, building materials, clothes, and auto parts. Bemp Research Corp, a Texas-based startup, has created a lithium-ion battery material substitute that they anticipate going into commercial production by 2026. Bemp is courting investors to generate money for the development and commercialization of their lithium-sulfur (LiS) battery technology, known as "Boron Carbide made from hemp," or B4C-hemp. Hemp could offer a less carbon-intensive option to mining for EV energy.

Data centre with a pool heater

Since 2019, 65 swimming pools have closed in the UK, with increased energy costs being given as the cause of the closures. Could Britain's swimming pools be saved by heat-emitting data centres? A British business called Deep Green created a data centre the size of a washing machine that can generate enough heat to bring a public swimming pool up to 30°C. The idea, which took five years to develop, warms the pool water by pumping hot oil into a heat exchanger. The computing systems of the recreation centre are housed in the data

3D-printed steak

Israel’s premier tries 3D printed steak. Image: Steakholder Foods on Tiktok

Reusable bin liners The TOM bag is a circular waste bag that will not be sent to the landfill once it reaches its end of lifespan. Australia-based cleaning services provider BIC implemented the TOMbag in the City of Sydney's central business district, saving 33,000 single-use plastic bin liners and preventing 1,000kg of waste from entering landfills annually. Israel's Steakholder Foods partnered with Singapore's Umami Meats to 3D-print fish fillets. The nascent cell-based meat industry aims to meet the flavor parity of conventional meat but without the traditional costs to animals and the environment. In a demonstration of the process uploaded to TikTok, Israel Premier Benjamin Netanyahu described the 3D-printed meat as "Future McDonald's”.

Shellmets

The Shellmet. Image: Koshi Chemical

The "Shellmet" bicycle helmet is constructed from recycled plastic and ground-up scallop shells, mimicking their ribbed structure. Developed by Osaka-based Koushi Chemical Industry Co and advertising agency TBWA\Hakuhodo, the Shellmet adds 30 per cent more strength to the hardhat’s structure compared to a conventional flat helmet design, according to its makers. Warning about credibility: an advertising agency, which may not have the best reputation when it comes to climate innovation, contributed to the idea for this innovation.

Solar farming

Agrivoltaic farming. Image: Chemitek

In agrivoltaic farming, crops are grown in the shadowed area beneath solar panels. Allowing solar farms and agriculture to coexist rather than compete for space, improves land-use efficiency. The correct crops do best in shaded areas because they are shielded from heat stress and moisture loss.

Trucking on ammonia

Amogy’s ammonia-powered semi truck. Image: Amogy

Changing from diesel to ammonia: The US-based company Amogy has developed an ammonia-powered, zero-emission semi-truck that could be a feasible, sustainable solution for the heavy-duty trucking industry, which contributes 23% of transportation-related emissions. The technique permits the on-board conversion of ammonia to hydrogen, which is fed directly into a fuel cell to power the vehicle.

Facekinis

The facekini was popular in China in 2023. Image: The Guardian

Though not a new invention, facekinis soared in popularity in China in 2023 amid record-breaking temperatures. This summer, when the temperature soared above 35°C, people wore hats with built-in fans along with full-face masks with holes for their eyes and nose.

Squeezable glass

Squeezable glass mosaic bottles create exciting new bottling designs

The US-based innovation company Clowd Foundry created squeezable bottles made of glass, aluminium, and other rigid materials that function just as well as plastic bottles. The concept intends to reduce plastic use in the bottling business.