When measuring carbon emissions, certain major industries get the spotlight: energy, steel production, transport and construction.
But there’s another, less visible sector that has a significant impact on the environment: households – the average consumer who buys everyday items like phones, clothes, furniture, computers and toys – are responsible for more than 60% of global emissions, according to the International Society of Industrial Ecology.
The complexity of this sector is proving daunting for governments, but experts are rising to the challenge. Professor Peter Ralph from the School of Science at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) is one such example. “I’m a scientist by trade, but my goal is to use science to help decarbonize all industries,” he says.
Prof. Ralph’s research uses algae to remove carbon from the atmosphere and incorporate it into industrial production processes. “We’re effectively remaking what people want and need with net-zero technology,” he explains.
Achieving net-zero in manufacturing is the next topic in the UTS Global Game Changers series, entitled “The Big Carbon Rethink.”
On 8 August, Prof. Ralph will meet with Dr. Gunter Beitinger, vice president of manufacturing at global technology group Siemens, Julia Reisser, co-founder of innovative plastic alternatives company Uluu, Amy Rowe, brand and marketing director at iconic Australian swimwear group Piping Hot, and UTS research colleague and marine ecologist Dr. Alex Thomson.
Led by renowned ABC “War on Waste” host Craig Reucassel, the panel will explore the factors influencing consumer behaviour and enabling businesses to transition to net zero.
Piping Hot’s Amy Rowe said: “We recognise that a successful transition is as much about creating value in our products as it is about eliminating emissions in our production process.” Both the industry structure and the way we consume products need to change. ”
To achieve the most innovative and sustainable outcome, Piping Hot Australia commissioned the Climate Change Cluster (C3), a research collective at UTS led by Professor Ralph, to develop a new biomaterial from algae that would sequester carbon from the ocean and reduce the environmental pollution that synthetic fibers can reduce. .
Experts from business, technology, design and science came together to produce Piping Hot’s eco-friendly and popular consumer products. “We’re dealing with complex problems and how best to address them,” says Dr. Alex Thomson, Industry Engagement Manager at UTS C3, “Collaboration in large interdisciplinary teams is key.”
Dr. Günter Beitinger agrees, saying: “My various roles and responsibilities at Siemens, the Aesteinium Association and as a member of the World Economic Forum have given me the opportunity to listen to many stakeholders to gain a deeper understanding. What I have seen with carbon emissions is that we can only have a powerful impact if governments, the private sector, independent organisations and science work together and collaborate.”
Uruu, an innovative Western Australian company founded by Dr. Julia Reisser and co-founded by her, is another example of applying scientists’ expertise to the business world. Dr. Reisser is an oceanographer specialising in marine plastic pollution and one of the founding members of The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch non-profit organisation developing technology to remove plastic from the ocean. Dr. Reiser was determined to do more than just “address the symptoms of plastic pollution.” She researched the market and found that, unlike renewable energy, “there were no attractive alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics. So I decided to try to create a material that behaves like plastic, but is made from seaweed,” she says.
Uluu’s groundbreaking product is as sustainable as it is innovative. It can be created as a rigid substance, such as furniture, household appliances, and car interiors, or in more flexible forms, such as films, foams, and coatings. Its versatility and natural durability have caught the attention of UTS scientists. UTS and Uluu are now looking forward to exchanging ideas on research. Prof. Ralph and Dr. Reisser support collaborative “science discovery,” which, as Reisser explains, “expands our knowledge and has the potential to be transformative.” Prof. Ralph adds: “We recognize the need for translational R&D that leverages fundamental research and brings it to market, so the UTS-Uluu collaboration makes sense.”
Even the most challenging problems seem achievable when experts work together. Take Scope 3 emissions, for example. This is notoriously difficult to measure and track, so Siemens has developed a process to query, calculate and transmit Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data along the supply chain and combine it with a company’s own CO2 emissions data. “It’s Siemens’ cross-industry Estainium network,” Dr. Beitinger explains. “It connects manufacturers, suppliers, customers and the rest of the supply chain to share a ‘big picture’ PCF information set.”
Prof. Ralph explains: “If manufacturers know which components of their products have the highest carbon content, they can look for lower carbon equivalents to reduce their PCF. In general, we need to increase awareness about green raw materials and raise awareness across the industry, not just among leading companies.” This is a global project that affects everyone. ”
The upcoming Global Game Changers – Big Carbon Rethink is a step towards wider public participation. Join the discussion.
The NSW Emergency Service (SES) has worked with researchers from UTS and TPG Telecom to develop and test a networked sensor technology that extracts local weather information such as rainfall, water levels and river flows from signals sent over communications networks.
Artificial intelligence can then be used to predict risks to infrastructure and communities, paving the way for the SES to use the data to rapidly disseminate information to affected communities through targeted alerts.
The technology is still in development, but it could be a game changer for emergency services. Currently, obtaining accurate real-time information can be difficult due to the number of flood sensors, sensor network coverage and network outages during weather events.
The technology is currently being tested in Sydney’s Parramatta River and Georges River, with the aim to:University of Technology Sydney (UTS) launches Global Game Changers