In 2024, green technology can feel like the new kid on the block. But the world of sustainable innovation has a long history you probably didn’t know about.
Take geothermal heating, a popular trend in energy-efficient homes and buildings. Using heat energy from below the earth’s surface dates back to Paleolithic times, when early humans bathed in hot springs and built homes from lava. Or take wind energy — as early as 5000 B.C., our ancestors were using wind energy to move boats down the River Nile. By 2000 B.C., wind power was pumping water and grinding grains. And solar power? Humans were harnessing the sun’s energy in the 7th century B.C. to light fires from magnifying glass. And although battery-powered vehicles might seem like a new trend, 90% of New York City taxis at the turn of the 19th century were electric vehicles.
👉 Humans have been working on sustainable solutions for everyday needs for a long time. But today, innovative solutions to our environmental problems is now more popular — and more necessary — than ever.
In this article, we’ll explain the impact of green technologies, how they may help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or carbon emissions via the use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, examples of green technology, and how addressing global environmental challenges can become easier with green technology.
What does green technology actually mean?
In a nutshell, green technology is any technology designed to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment.
Green technology: a few examples
There’s more to green tech than solar panels and wind turbines. Here’s a list of some popular planet-saving innovations you might not have heard of:
- Wastewater treatment and water purification (recycling water to make it drinkable, or clean enough for other purposes)
- Waste management and recycling (minimizing landfill and its impact)
- Waste-to-energy (burning landfill to generate electricity)
- Electric transport (electric cars, trucks, buses, scooters — you name it)
- Programmable thermostats (programming temperatures to save energy when you’re not home)
- Self-sufficient buildings (buildings that produce enough energy to power themselves, generally through solar panels)
- Low carbon construction (developing energy-efficient buildings made with green materials and smaller footprints)
- Carbon capture and storage (capturing and removing carbon from the atmosphere)
- LED lighting (ultra-energy-efficient light bulbs)
- Vertical farming (uses less land, less water, and can be set up in cities)
- Composting (turning food waste into fertilizer)
- Wave energy (using ocean waves to generate electricity)
- Batteries (energy storage is crucial in the transition to renewables)
- Green materials (local, renewable materials like bamboo, hemp and straw)
- Carbon tracking software (yep, that’s us — software that calculates your company’s carbon emissions)
Green tech, clean tech, climate tech: what’s the difference?
Green technology or environmental technology means using science and technology to protect the world’s natural resources and mitigate the negative environmental impact of human activity.
Clean tech is a broad category that encompasses solutions that improve the performance and efficiency of production, while also reducing negative environmental impact of any kind.
Therefore, this includes clean technologies include innovations like clean energy, wastewater treatment, waste management, and more – all of which prove as sustainable alternatives for sustainable agriculture, the green tech industry, and other businesses adopting green technology.
Meanwhile, climate tech tackles problems specifically associated with human-induced climate change — basically, any technology focused on mitigating the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, while water treatment and waste management are considered clean tech,they don’t qualify as climate tech.
5 green tech trends to watch in 2024
Low-carbon construction
Smart, sustainable buildings are popping up everywhere, and for good reason. Traditional buildings and construction account for 38% of greenhouse gas emissions around the world.
Low-carbon buildings are designed to emit little to no carbon across their lifespan. They require minimal heating and cooling, produce very little waste and pollution, and are made from eco-friendly materials like bamboo and hemp. They generally produce their own energy, often through rooftop solar panels. With the demand for construction higher than ever, low-carbon buildings are crucial for a green future.
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon offsets are a necessary step towards reversing global warming, but on their own, they can’t keep global temperature increase to less than 1.5°C. For that, we’ll need to physically remove existing carbon from the atmosphere.
Carbon capture and storage technology pulls carbon from the atmosphere and uses it to make synthetic fuel. Right now, it’s expensive and relatively small-scale, but a study by Stanford University predicts that the costs of this technology could even be reduced by a multiple of six, making it much more scalable.
Renewable energy storage
In the transition to renewables, one key problem is working out how to make clean energy available consistently, even when the sun has been hidden by clouds for days on end, or wind hasn’t spun turbines in weeks. To do this, we’ll need to be able to store large amounts of energy for long periods of time, at little cost.
Innovative companies around the world, including Aquion Energy, Malta (Google X) and Highview Power, are developing unique long-term storage solutions for the power generated by renewable energy sources. Fossil fuels are out, renewables are in, and the demand for storage technology will follow.
Hydrogen
You’re already familiar with battery-powered electric vehicles, but there’s another kind of electrical vehicle, and it’s known as a fuel cell electric vehicle. These cars don’t run on batteries — they run on hydrogen. This makes them far more efficient than combustion-powered vehicles, and they also don’t produce any harmful emissions.
Some people predict that by 2050, hydrogen will eventually power over 400 million cars, up to 20 million buses, and more than 20% of passenger ships. Hydrogen fuel is still expensive, but hydrogen-powered vehicles are already being purchased in many parts of the world, and could become crucial for cutting transport emissions from fossil fuels.
Upcycling (circular waste management)
Upcycling — turning waste into new, usable materials or products — has never been more popular. Innovative companies and organizations around the world are finding ways to upcycle existing waste into everything from fuel and fertilizer to clothes and bicycles.
👉 Upcycling is part of the circular economy, a model where ‘waste’ doesn’t exist — it simply becomes the raw material for something new.
7 ways to become an eco-friendly business
Even if you’re not a green tech company (let’s face it, we can’t all be that cool!), there are plenty of ways your company can become an eco-friendly business.
Track your carbon footprint
The biggest problem our planet faces right now is global warming due to the presence of greenhouse gasses (mainly carbon dioxide) in our atmosphere.
The private sector is one of the biggest carbon dioxide producers, which means the best (and fastest) way your company become environmentally friendly is by tracking your carbon footprint. Only once you’ve got a clear picture of your impact can you then make plans for reducing it.
Conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA)
No matter what kind of products or services you provide, you can conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) on each of your products or services.
Reduce your carbon footprint
After you’ve put tracking in place and/or conducted a life cycle assessment, now you can start to reduce your carbon footprint reduce your carbon footprint. You might start with cutting down on business travel, switching to clean energy providers, installing LED light bulbs to improve your energy efficiency, and engaging with environmentally friendly suppliers.
