Sustainable Initiatives, Innovations and Investing
What is sustainability?
Sustainability is more than being eco-friendly, however. Much more. Sustainability acknowledges that our systems are part of an interconnected whole. Environmental health, economic stability, social equity – these things together create the thriving, diverse, resilient communities needed for our world to continue its existence. Yes, sustainable practices may include recycling, but they also support human vitality and continuance by taking a conservative look at the use of our natural resources.
What is impact investing, and how can it help?
Change may start with a thought process, but no matter how altruistic you may or may not be, money still makes the world go ‘round. Impact investing strategies provide that money.
Impact investors look to both make a profit and make a difference. “Do good while doing well,” as the saying goes. But it also acts as the catalyst for change. It lets vague thought processes and “what if we” questions turn into sustainable initiatives and innovations.
To learn more about this investment strategy, read our informative article: Impact Investing: What You Should Know
Examples of Sustainable Initiatives and Innovations Helped by Impact Investing
The Smog Free Tower
Measuring almost 23 feet high, the Smog Free Tower is a smog vacuum cleaner that cleans 30,000 m3 of air per hour. As an added bonus, rings can be made out of the compressed smog particles – an ecological fashion statement.
B-Droid
If you’ve heard that bees aren’t pollenating like they used to, you’ll understand the saying that necessity is the mother of invention. B-Droid, created by the Warsaw University of Technology, was created for mechanical plant pollination, and it does the job well. An area used for testing saw a yield of 165 garlic seeds, while the regular area only gave 23. On top of the increase, B-Droid’s pollinated flowers were higher quality.
SeaBin Project
One of the simplest and yet most creative sustainable innovations is the Seabin Project. The Seabin collects fuel, trash, oil and detergents that end up in our oceans, while letting the filtered water back out. By the end of 2020, there were 860 Seabins around the world, capturing a total of 3,612.8 kg a day. Since the day they started keeping count, Seabins collectively have captured 1,500,339 kg.
Sustainable Energy Innovations
Thanks to impact investment strategies, there are many sustainable energy innovations. Being able to use artificial intelligence to help us move forward with sustainable initiatives is just the beginning. While we may not be flying high in the sky in our aircars, we do have autonomous vehicles that can help reduce emissions. We also have weather prediction, better energy grids, hydrogen power as a zero-emission fuel source and more.
Sustainable Water Innovations
As many energy innovations and initiatives as we have, there are just as many that involve sustainable water projects. At the EPA, they practice rainwater harvesting. Philadelphia has over 1,000 acres through the city with a highly implemented green infrastructure to help manage stormwater. Meanwhile, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Commonwealth Engineers, Inc and One Water Group installed two wastewater treatment systems that are based on algae.
Sustainable Agriculture Innovations
Make sure we have enough food has been on the minds of thousands of people: inventors, project developers and impact investors alike. So, you can imagine how many sustainable initiatives may be available in the agriculture sector. For example, vertical farming systems have become a big focus for urban growing solutions to help increase agricultural output without a huge uptick on cost. Hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics are other growing systems that provide the opportunity for an increase in crops. Of course, we can’t leave out the AI-powered harvesting robots…
Impact Investment Strategies Create Change
So, how do impact investment strategies make a difference to sustainable initiatives and innovations? Through support. Many, if not all, of these programs started with an idea to make the world a better, more sustainable place. To clean it up and help it grow; to give us light and food. Most of these initiatives would have never made it if it weren’t for impact investors and strategies that turn sustainable initiatives into innovations, and sustainable innovations into impactful change.
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