By George P. Nassos
When talking about three of the major environmental issues affecting our planet, specifically climate change, natural resources, and water, a common contributor to the decline in all three is waste. Cars that consume large amounts of gasoline are really wasting fuel as one could travel a similar distance with less fuel consumption. Cars idling at railroad crossings or during high traffic in a city also waste gas and increase carbon emissions. The over-consumption of our natural resources is primarily due to waste. Whether you live in a developing country or a fully developed country, food waste is about 35%. Freshwater is a major environmental issue as it is declining in availability. Again, the primary reason for the supply not being able to meet the demand is waste. For example, bottled water requires about twice the volume of the bottle in water just to produce the plastic bottle. So, when you drink a 12-ounce bottle of water, you are actually consuming almost 36 ounces of water.
To mitigate this issue of waste, manufacturing companies should follow the path of Ray Anderson and establish a program to minimize waste. Ray Anderson worked in the carpet industry for 14 years and then founded Interface, which became one of the world’s largest producers of modular flooring. After reading Paul Hawken’s book “The Ecology of Commerce”, Anderson was inspired to launch “Mission Zero”, a goal to eliminate any impact the company might have on the environment. Anderson’s vision led to numerous innovations at Interface, including the development of sustainable products and processes. The company introduced initiatives that led to recycling and reusing carpet tiles. His efforts not only improved the company in the environmental area but also demonstrated that a sustainable company can also be profitable; in fact, in most cases sustainability leads to profitability.
Today, when you read about Net zero companies, reference is usually to zero carbon emissions which are most critical to climate change. Ray Anderson’s goal was to be net zero, not only in carbon emissions, but also in terms of all other environmental issues, including our natural resources and water consumption. Other companies that are striving for net zero include Schneider Electric, Unilever, Ikea, Nestle, Pfizer and P&G.
Going forward there are also companies with a primary goal to be Net Zero at their launch such as Uniscrap, a Public Benefit Corporation. This company developed a strategy to acquire and partner with over twenty companies across clean energy, recycling, construction, hospitality, and education sectors. It also formed alliances with research centers at Purdue University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Nyheim Plasma Institute, and University of Massachusetts-Lowell. It then co-developed technologies like Hydroplasma Combo which is an advanced water purification technology that combines cold plasma, iron-based filtration, ion exchange, activated carbon polishing, and real-time IoT monitoring to deliver safe, contaminant-free drinking water without using chemicals or producing brine waste. It has also formed a unique solar energy company combining Top Solar with Hemlock Semiconductor which will provide the solar company with high-purity, reliable, and cost-effective polysilicon. Uniscrap has also co-developed Combo-dry, a multiphase drying system. It will convert animal farm waste into fertilizer, biochar and clean energy. The company’s goal is to promote both zero-emissions and zero-waste.
Uniscrap is building entire ecosystems starting with several hundred thousand ranches, thousands of farms and nationwide composting via the Compost Manufacturing Association. This is an example of a company committed to being truly sustainable and NET Zero, and it is currently obtaining the necessary funding to launch this conglomerate and follow up with an IPO.