Upcycling – Eco-Friendly Capitalism

This article is contributed by Tania Ellis, author of The New Pioneers.

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. It reduces the consumption of new raw materials when creating new products, and is contrary to downcycling, which is the other half of the recycling process which involves converting materials and products into new materials of lesser quality.

The UK-based company Worn Again, voted ‘number one eco brand’ by The Independent in 2008, uses the combination of aesthetic and environmental capital by upcycling corporate waste materials into new, design-led products. Read more

Designing Products by Learning from Nature

Are you curious about the idea of biomimicry or nature as mentor? How would designers, architects and engineers learn from nature to design products that are innovative and sustainable?

This article will share more about the concept of biomimicry, and reveal how renowned designer, David Oakey, applies biomimicry in designing carpets for InterfaceFLOR, a pioneer in sustainable manufacturing and business practices.

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature

Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a new discipline that looks at nature as mentor – what we can learn from nature and emulate nature’s forms, processes, patterns and strategies, to seek sustainable solutions.

Janine Benyus’s 1997 book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, is the first book that best describes the idea and applications of biomimicry. She explains how nature has already solved many of the world’s problems, such as: Read more

Horizon Fuel Cells – Reviving the Hydrogen Dream

Fuel cells cannot be called the next big thing. They have been around for a long time and was part of the hype around the possibility of using hydrogen to power everything from cars to phones. Fuel cells work by oxidizing hydrogen and emitting only water as a by-product with zero carbon emissions. However, when faced with the many challenges of large-scale hydrogen production and use, many researchers and businesses failed to overcome them to achieve commercialization and the focus has since shifted to electric vehicles and improving conventional battery technology. What used to be seen as an integral part of our sustainability goals became nothing more than a failed technology, destined to never realize its game-changing potential. One company, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, saw the potential and was determined to overcome the challenges. Read more

Urban Transport Challenges and Solutions

During one of the plenary sessions on Sustainable Mobility at the recent Clean Energy Expo Asia 2011 Conference, Mr Vivek Vaidya, Vice President, Automotive Practice Asia Pacific, Frost & Sullivan, shared his findings on the challenges and constraints faced in tackling the urban transport conundrum. His recommended solutions involve a mix of better public transport, new and innovative mobility solutions and most importantly, a shift in mindset.

People typically prefer private transport to public alternatives, and the reason for this is the difference in perceived comfort levels, says a consumer research study conducted by Mr Vaidya. In his study, consumers were asked to compare public and private transport in four areas – value, speed, comfort and overall impression. The results for value and speed were very close but there was a stark difference in comfort, leading to a higher overall impression for private transport. Read more

How a shopping mall in Singapore goes green

Singapore is well-known for its food and shopping experience, and this potent mix can be found at the ubiquitous shopping malls located at all major town centers in Singapore. In recent years, shopping malls are starting to look almost alike, with the major international and local brands infiltrating the malls and offering similar sales.

Are all shopping malls the same? To differentiate itself from other shopping malls, some malls are trying to target different groups of consumers, while others are starting to brand itself on a particular theme. One recent shopping mall, City Square Mall, developed and managed by City Developments Limited (CDL), decided to focus on the green theme and prides itself as the first eco-mall in Singapore. So how green is this shopping mall?

Green Business Times recently visited the mall for a site tour and to understand more about this unique shopping destination from the mall’s Environmental Officer. City Square Mall is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Kitchener Road, and is opened since September 2009. Read more

Renewables 2011 Global Status Report

Global Renewable Energy now accounts for 16% of final energy consumption in 2009 and for about a quarter of global power capacity from all sources. Despite the recession, there is momentum in the sector with total global investment in renewable power and fuels increasing by 32% over the previous year to $211 billion from $160 billion.

These are the figures stated in the Renewable 2011 Global Status Report (REN21). Produced annually since 2005, the report is targeted at policy makers, industry and other stakeholders.

Main findings of REN21

• In 2009, renewable energy supplied an estimated 16% of global final energy consumption. Fossil fuels made up the lion’s share at 81% with nuclear at 2.8%.
• However, of the 16%, 10% is still accounted for by traditional biomass, primarily used for cooking and heating in rural areas of developing countries. Hydropower accounts for 3.4% with other renewables (wind, solar, modern biomass, geothermal and biofuels) at 2.8% in 2009.
• Total investment in renewable energy reached a record $211 billion in 2010, up from $160 billion in 2009, including asset finance, venture capital, private equity investment, public markets and both corporate and government R&D. China attracted nearly $50 billion, making it the leader, followed by Germany, the United States, Italy and Brazil. India ranked 8th in the world for renewable energy investment which rose to US$3.8 billion mainly for wind power projects ($2.3bn) and $400 million each for solar and biomass power (including waste-to-energy). Read more

Clean Energy Expo Asia 2011 Trade Fair [Photos]

The annual Clean Energy Expo Asia (CEEA) 2011 Trade Fair is held at Suntec Singapore from 1 to 3 Nov. This year’s CEEA Trade Fair hosts about 170 exhibiting companies from 26 countries, with 6 country pavilions from Canada, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Switzerland. Exhibitors showcase clean energy solutions including solar energy, energy efficiency, biomass, biogas, biofuel, and electric vehicles.

Here are some photos of exhibits at the Trade Fair: Read more

Technical factors to consider when implementing solar photovoltaic systems

Solar energy systems are often hailed as one of the more viable renewable energy sources for sunny Singapore. Given that solar module prices are rapidly falling, Singapore will surely reach grid parity in the near future. Grid parity refers to the point where the cost of solar power is equivalent to the cost of electricity generated from conventional fossil fuel power plants. Grid parity could result in an explosion in solar system implementation as consumers and businesses begin to see it as a cost-effective alternative to traditional sources of electricity.

At the Clean Energy Expo Asia 2011 Conference, one of the sessions covered Solar Power Technology with a focus on certain technical considerations that must be factored in when implementing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The session was moderated by Mr Christophe Inglin, Managing Director, Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd, and included speakers, Mr Horst Kruse, Director Sales Photovoltaics Asia, SCHOTT Solar AG, and Dr Jiang Fan, Manger of Technology Centre of Energy Conservation, Singapore Polytechnic. In particular, Mr Kruse focused on the tropicalization of PV modules and Dr Jiang focused on the effect of partial shading. Read more

Clean energy takes center stage this week in Singapore

Clean energy discussions and solutions for the Asian region take center stage this week in Singapore as the annual Clean Energy Expo Asia (CEEA) 2011 Trade Fair and Conference begins today till 3 Nov, and is officially launched by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.

Jointly organised by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) and Koelnmesse, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), CEEA is the leading platform in Singapore that gathers clean energy industry players and government leaders from around the world together to share and discuss knowledge, issues, technologies and innovative solutions that will help shape the future of clean energy in Asia.

CEEA Trade Fair and Conference

This year’s CEEA Trade Fair hosts about 170 exhibiting companies from 26 countries, with 6 country pavilions from Canada, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Switzerland. Exhibitors showcase clean energy solutions including solar energy, energy efficiency, biomass, biogas, biofuel, and electric vehicles.

The CEEA Conference will see over 130 international speakers share their insights on the future of energy through discussion topics on clean energy outlook, renewable energy technologies and commercialization, sustainable mobility, clean energy financing, project case studies, and energy efficiency. Read more

Die Die Must Share – The Idea of Collaborative Consumption

Eugene Tay, the Editor of Green Business Times and Founder of Green Future Solutions, is a person whom you would describe as a green maven – someone who reads and knows a lot about environmental trends and ideas, and who likes to share them with others.

Having come across many green ideas over the past few years, there is one recent idea Eugene would claim that he ‘die die must share’ – the idea of Collaborative Consumption.

Collaborative Consumption refers to the idea of sharing that is empowered by technology and social networks, and how it changes consumption and the way businesses operate.

Sharing also covers renting, swapping, lending, trading, exchanging, bartering, and gifting. The advantages of sharing are that fewer resources are used to make and ship products, and less waste are generated and disposed.

The term Collaborative Consumption was first described in 2010 in the book What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers.

Other resources with similar ideas on sharing include the book The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing by Lisa Gansky and the Shareable website. Read more

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