Your weekly sustainability insights 16/01/2023

The company overcoming the challenge of recycling wind turbines

Continuum Wind Energy Software , the new European business, ensures ALL wind turbine blades are 100% recyclable and is set to deliver industrial scale recycling factories across Europe.

Net zero is the phrase on everyone’s lips, and as 2030 rapidly approaches we constantly hear updates about wind energy generating renewable energy that powers millions of European homes – but what happens when those turbine blades reach the end of their lifespan?

Quite simply, currently the general answer is to put them into landfill or co-process them into cement, but neither is planet friendly, and the former is certainly not sustainable for much longer as many countries in Europe look to ban landfill from 2025...

Studio Moren partners with EEA to help drive sustainability in the hospitality industry

Hospitality design specialist Studio Moren has announced a strategic partnership with the Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA) – an international not-for-profit coalition driving the decarbonisation of the hospitality industry – to provide expertise on sustainable architecture and interior design practices across the sector.

The EEA’s mission is to develop the first universal sustainability standard for the hospitality industry, including the design, build and operation of buildings. Studio Moren, working in collaboration with EEA and its other partners, will utilise its substantial knowledge and experience designing effective and energy-efficient hotel and hospitality projects to help steer the ongoing development of the new BREEAM in Use Hospitality (BiUH) standard.

Studio Moren Senior Designer and Certified Passive House Designer, Bryan O. , AIA, will sit on the EEA Technical Committee to work with the EAA and BRE Group in the development of hospitality-specific standards, metrics and methodologies, embracing all lifecycle stages of hotel or apart-hotel development, including design, construction and operations to redevelopment or decommissioning...

Sustainable packaging for the ice cream industry

Imballaggi Alimentari , an Italian based company specialising in the production of ice cream packaging, has launched the Remaxigel boxes made of Styropor Ccycled. The boxes made of EPS (expandable polystyrene) boast excellent performance and were primarily designed for artisanal ice-cream shops.

BASF’s contribution to the circular economy is increasingly a part of people’s daily lives. Due to its production processes, Styropor Ccycled has an extra edge when it comes to sustainability. The fossil raw materials needed to produce the Styropor Ccycled are replaced by pyrolysis oil.

The pyrolysis oil used for the production of the new packaging is supplied to BASF by technology partners who carry out the chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste that would otherwise be used for energy recovery or simply disposed of in the landfill...