6 ways to reduce your personal carbon footprint

A carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse gases released into the environment in totality. This can be due to the actions of an individual or an organization. Here are some steps that help reduce carbon emissions while being at home. These steps are quick to implement and help one lead a more sustainable and eco-friendlier lifestyle in no time. The links between climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are too real to be ignored. The global temperatures are increasing, which is ultimately leading to unexpected and extreme weather conditions. It, therefore, becomes important to reduce the carbon footprint on an individualistic level, because the smallest of contributions matter.

1. In home insulation

Heating the household space is not only expensive but also energy intensive. By insulating certain areas in the house, heat can be retained during winters and also stay cool in the summers. It indicates a lesser use of energy and reduced carbon footprint.

2. Switching to renewables

Switching to renewable sources of energy like solar energy, not only saves money but also contributes to reduced household emissions.

3. Investing in energy efficient

It is important to invest in energy resources that are comparatively more efficient, be it appliances with a high star rating or simply energy-saving bulbs. Additionally, unplugging and switching off devices that are not in use helps make your home eco-friendly with a reduced carbon footprint.

4. Reducing the wastage of water

It takes a considerable amount of energy and resources to process and furthermore, deliver water to households. It is therefore important to not waste water and use it mindfully for a reduced carbon footprint.

5. Changing the dietary intake

The food that an individual consumes has an impact on the environment. For example, producing dairy and meat products emits greenhouse gases like methane. Choosing a diet that is plant-based contributes to a reduced personal carbon footprint.

6. Going digital

Sharing of documents and communicating via online methods or digitally, for example, trying to abstain from using paper-based documents and encouraging ongoing digital both in the personal and workspace is important.

Conclusion

Reducing carbon emissions can be achieved at home and even at the workplace. Whether it is making changes towards a more sustainable level on an individualistic level or on a societal level, at home or at the workplace, these contributions help reduce the carbon footprint.

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What differentiates carbon footprint from an ecological footprint?

An ecological footprint represents an effective comparison of the resources consumed by people in totality inclusive of the waste area and land that is required for the replacement of the resources. A carbon footprint also represents the usage of a resource but focuses mainly on the greenhouse gases that are released because of the burning of fossil fuels. The calculated greenhouse gas emissions make up only a small part of the ecological footprint, utilized in the same way as in the case of the carbon footprint. Both the calculations, however, rightfully illustrate the impact that the activities of human beings have on the environment.

The balance sheet (Global level)

The ecological footprint measures the range of demands that a population of humans have from the environment and nature as a whole. On the negative side are activities like energy usage that support the lives of humans. On the positive side, is the biocapacity of the earth which represents its ability to replace resources and effectively manage waste.

Climate and carbon

Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fuels can be absorbed by the Earth despite its ability to naturally replenish within the lifetime of a human. This is the reason why ecological footprints include the land area that is covered in forest and the area covered by sea required for the absorption of greenhouse gases like CO2. Carbon footprint on the other hand is measured in units of carbon dioxide or carbon equivalents, sans any reference to water or land area. A carbon footprint is primarily used to increase the amount of awareness that prevails with regard to the impact that greenhouse gases have on the environment.

The impact of carbon

The greenhouse gases that are quantitatively released in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels has a direct impact on the ecological footprint. A greater amount of greenhouse gases requires more land and sea area for the removal of these gases from the environment. More greenhouse gas emissions are proportional to a larger carbon footprint. The larger the carbon footprint, the larger the ecological footprint is going to be.

Deficit consumption

Human beings’ ecological footprint is greater than the earth’s biocapacity since the mid-1980s. The balance sheet has therefore been a deficit, with the difference taken out by drawing on the fossil fuels (stored resources) that the Earth is unable to replace each year.

Conclusion

At C6 Energy, a sustainable environment is a part of our purpose. Our Graphene enabled cell technology is carbon neutral and has a zero carbon footprint.

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How does waste management help businesses reduce carbon footprint?

Recycling waste, reducing it and responsibly disposing it is becoming greatly prevalent in the present-day time because of global warming and with landfills becoming a concern on a worldwide basis. We as individuals or as businesses can and must contribute our bit in order to reduce the impact of the waste generated. However, prior to this, it is important to be aware of the personal carbon footprint. Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon emissions in the atmosphere as a result of the activities of an individual or an organisation. The ultimate goal today must be to transform into becoming carbon neutral, for the overall carbon output to either be reduced or be zero. However, this is not easy to achieve for businesses. It is therefore important to start from small steps, in order to rectify changes in climate and also focus on waste management.

Businesses have started to realise the importance of eco-considerations in order to compete better and attract greater business opportunities. Additionally, money can be saved with recycling of products. There are various other generally advertised considerations for carbon reduction such as adapting to a vegan diet or investing in E-vehicles. These are great considerations for an individual, however it is also important to consider the impact on a bigger scale. An approximate of 40 percent of greenhouse gases are emitted from the processes involving the manufacture, movement and discarding of used items. Adopting effective techniques for waste prevention and also responsibly recycling helps use lesser energy and reduce the GHG in the atmosphere for a better climate.

When the waste production is reduced and sustainable choices are made, lesser amount of energy is needed to support both manufacture and transportation in a business. Surprisingly, on recycling a single aluminium can, 95 percent of energy can be saved that would be utilised to produce a new can for new raw material. Carbon sequestration is proving to be a holy grail for the purpose of reducing the carbon footprint. In the same way, recycling paper allows a greater number of trees to stay standing that ultimately helps clean the greenhouse gas emissions from air and ultimately combat the ever-rising number of changes in the climate. It is a great step for homes as well businesses to quickly make a positive impact on the atmosphere because it is high time to act upon for diverting the tide of damage done in the past decades towards a positive direction. To conclude, it can be said that waste management strategies certainly help reduce the carbon footprint.

At C6 Energy, we utilise a well-researched and innovative technology to reduce carbon footprint and give back to our environment with Graphene enabled cell technology. 

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Sustainable batteries for a climate neutral economy

Batteries that maintain sustainability throughout the lifecycle are key to contributing to zero pollution in the environment. These batteries help promote sustainability in a competitive way and are also necessary for clean energy, green transport and ultimately achieving climate neutrality. Batteries that are sustainable, safe throughout the battery life and high-performing are the ones that produce the least possible environmental impact, using materials that are with respect to human rights and meet the ecological and social standards. Batteries must be safe, long-lasting and by the end of their life must be recycled, remanufactured, repurposed, ultimately feeding material that is valuable to the economy.

Promoting competitive sustainability

The requirements for batteries to be used in electric vehicles, automotive and industrial purposes indicate the responsible use of the sourced material with the restricted usage of substances that are potentially hazardous and instead use recycled materials with a lower carbon footprint, higher performance and durability. While at the same time successfully meeting the recycling targets that are vital to developing highly competitive and sustainable battery industries. Legal certainties help make large scale production of sustainable batteries possible and furthermore boost the capacity of sustainable battery production to appropriately and effectively respond to the ever-evolving market.

High-performance batteries for a sustainable environment

High-performance batteries will make a significant contribution to road transport electrification, which significantly contributes to reduced carbon emissions, increased use of E-vehicles over other forms of transport which ultimately facilitates a higher usage of renewable resources for energy production. Additionally, the aim must be to make efficient use of these resources for a minimalistic impact on the environment. In order to maintain the use of renewable resources along with the use of valuable material for batteries. For this, it is important to establish novel targets and requirements to develop sustainable batteries, followed by effective recycling and treatment of the batteries.

Conclusion

In order to improve the recycling process of the portable type of batteries, it is important to work towards a rise in the collection rate in the upcoming decades so that the batteries used at home and the material they are made with are not lost to the environment. The batteries then have to be effectively recycled and high recovery levels have to be achieved, especially for materials like lead, nickel, lithium, and cobalt. At C6 Energy, the batteries are high-performance, high-efficiency, and are sustainable with a green carbon footprint, contributing to a sustainable environment.

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Applications of a biomass gasifier for sustainable production of energy

The process of energy production utilizes several biomass-based processes, inclusive of direct combustion, gasification or fermentation. Amongst a number of technologies for energy production from biomass, the process of pyrolysis and gasification are considered to be the most promising ones. The production of natural gas or syngas indirectly or directly from biomass or organic mass can include both plant (waste derived from agriculture) and animal waste. The production of power or energy utilizing biomass in form of fuel involves the process of accessing a particular portion of biomass, referred to as the hydrocarbon part that can also be converted to heat energy. This type of energy generation can be considered to be renewable as sunlight can be used for the purpose of recycling the carbon present in the atmosphere through a process, collectively called as carbon fixation.

A majority of the present-day biofuel production is focused on liquid fuel production via fermentation for transportation purposes. However, electricity generation via biomass by way of empowering cell technology is proving to be more cost-effective and environment friendly. Since a shift towards electric vehicles is gaining popularity, the focus has shifted from liquid fuels to energy production from biomass. This option offers a great opportunity for the agriculture field to empower electric vehicles as part of the transportation energy, as many farms are presently making use of small-scale gasifiers for using waste from agriculture to produce energy.

Generating power from biomass

Energy can be generated from biomass in some important ways:

1. Pyrolysis: In this process, liquid fuels can be used to produce syngas.

2. Gasification: Gasification of biomass also leads to the production of syngas. Gasification of biomass on a small scale is being widely utilized for the conversion of agricultural waste to produce energy for the automobile industry.

The current biomass power production plants are based on directly combusting the available waste biomass, however, utilizing the process of fermentation for biogas production is also becoming increasingly common. Gasification of biomass is, on the other hand, a novel approach for the production of clean energy that needs further research and development. The interest in the concept of gasifiers for the production of energy, started approximately a century back and has continued to be researched to date.

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Understanding the difference between a carbon-neutral and a carbon-negative approach

The possibility of going beyond just being carbon neutral

With all the discussions happening about measuring the carbon footprints in the scientific world and moving towards becoming carbon neutral, a common question that arises is: Is it possible to go beyond just being carbon neutral and transform into being carbon negative? It is a reasonable question to ask as offsets are being utilised to reduce the quantity of carbon that an individual or a particular organisation emits. Also, is it really possible to reach a level where carbon-negative emissions are a reality? The answers to this could not be as direct and a straight cut to be a yes or a no. There are several ways in which carbon emissions can be reduced right from the source point. However, issues prevail when it comes to accurately defining what being carbon neutral and then further, carbon-negative is.

Aiming for carbon neutrality

Both carbon-negative and carbon-neutral are on one single plane and run parallelly, wherein one term utilises slightly higher offsets as compared to the other. In practice, an organisation or a person can be carbon neutral if they choose not to use anything from the carbon cycle, even for the shortest span of time. This is, however, impossible to achieve in reality as simply riding a bicycle also has a carbon footprint that is in association with the very initial phase of bike manufacture. This contributes to an individual’s personal carbon footprint. Similarly, a food item that is being shipped using a particular method that is partially carbon-free will surely have a carbon footprint that is associated with it. Fortunately, the carbon footprint of opting for transportation methods like riding a bicycle is minimal as compared to the other modes of transport and opting for more sustainable options makes it considerably easier to reduce the carbon footprint and then furthermore, aim for being carbon neutral.

Conclusion

Taking one step ahead towards offsetting greater than what an individual emits in terms of the carbon footprint is the actual difference between being carbon negative and carbon neutral. Therefore, in the present time, it is nearly impossible to be entirely carbon neutral. However, C6 Energy’s Graphene battery technology is envisioning the revolution of battery technology by being completely carbon-neutral, causing no harm to the environment and instead of contributing to a clean, green and sustainable environment.

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