University leads fight against climate change

www.emc-dnl.co.uk/sustainability

Bichar could store carbon from the atmosphere

The University Nottingham is to lead the world’s largest trial to evaluate the viability of a material called biochar to store carbon from the atmosphere – potentially countering the impact of climate change.

The £4.5m project is one of five UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded demonstrators investigating the adoption of greenhouse gas removal technologies to cut CO2 emissions at a scale that may help Britain reach its net zero target by 2050.

Work on the four-and-a-half-year project began in May and field trials will be conducted at arable and grassland sites in the Midlands and Wales, as well as former mines, railway embankments where engineering work has resulted in loss of vegetation, and woodlands.

The University is trialling use of the charcoal-like substance

‘The aim is to take carbon from atmospheric emissions and trap it in the biochar’

Biochar is a charcoal-like substance produced by heating organic biomass from agriculture and forestry waste in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis) to make it carbon-rich and chemically-stable.

At present, in the UK, it is produced on an extremely small-scale in kilns and it is mainly sold as a mulch for horticulture.

It is similar to commercial-grade charcoal used in barbecues but, ideally, should be produced at higher temperatures to produce carbon that will be stable over hundreds of years. However, its effectiveness, cost, social acceptability and limitations need to be better understood and proven at scale.

Project lead Professor Colin Snape, director of the university’s Centre of Doctoral Training in Carbon Capture and Storage and Cleaner Fossil Energy, said: “The aim is to take carbon from atmospheric emissions and trap it in the biochar.

“That carbon will then be locked in the soil for centuries, if not millennia, so its sustainable production could be a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

“However, we need to get a detailed and accurate picture of the longevity and stability of biochar carbon in soils to ensure it has no detrimental impact.” MEANWHILE, ANOTHER GROUP of scientists at the University of Nottingham and University of Warwick has been awarded £4.8m funding for a project in which they will aim to create cleaner and greener chemical processing methods for everyday products.

The five-year, business-led research programme will investigate how to make chemicals used in fuel additives for cars, personal care products, clothing and hand sanitisers more environmentally sustainable.

Recycling firm joins DE-Carbonise project

Metal recycling and waste management specialist Ward has partnered with the University of Derby to support its DE-Carbonise project – with a vision to increase sustainability and reduce emissions within the construction supply chain.

The Ilkeston-based company’s sustainability team will work with Derby Business School to help decarbonise the local supply chain.

By collaborating with a group of forwardthinking contractors in the area, it will assist them to innovate and improve their waste practices, moving towards increasingly circular forms of resource management.

It’s the latest example of how the European Regional Development Fund-backed DECarbonise programme – which involves the university as well as Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council – supports SMEs across the county to radically improve their energy and resource efficiency.

Ward environmental officer Joanne Upton said: “This project is a fantastic way for us to engage directly with our local supply chain and SMEs to promote the circular economy, reduce emissions and improve environmental impacts across the region.”

The DE-Carbonise project offers free technical support and on-site carbon reduction surveys to identify ways to cut emissions among businesses. This could result in the implementation of more efficient lighting, insulation, heating and cooling systems, through to transport upgrades or cultural behaviour changes.

Grants of between £1,000 and £20,000 are available to support carbon reduction measures, covering up to 40% of the total cost of works.

Dr Fred Paterson, an associate professor and low-carbon business network lead at Derby Business School, added: “There is enormous goodwill among companies of all sizes in the construction supply chain to collaborate on making the essential shift towards a net zerocarbon economy and our national clean growth targets.”

For more information about the scheme, visit www.derby.gov.uk/decarbonise

Family firms need green strategies

Neil Philpott

British family businesses risk falling behind other countries in their commitment to prioritising sustainability, according to PwC’s latest Global Family Business Survey.

While more than half (53%) of UK family firms surveyed believe they have a responsibility to fight climate change, only a third (33%) have developed and communicated a sustainability strategy –compared to a global average of 37%.

The survey reveals 79% of respondents in mainland China, 78% in Japan and 49% globally report “putting sustainability at the heart of everything we do”, compared to 39% in the UK.

Neil Philpott, PwC’s Midlands family business leader, said: “A commitment to a wider social purpose has always gone handin-hand with family business in the UK, but there is growing societal pressure to demonstrate more meaningful action.”