UEA nominates environmental solutions for The Earthshot Prize
By: Communications
For the fourth year running UEA are delighted to be one of the world leading organisations to nominate for the prestigious Earthshot Prize.
The Earthshot Prize is a scheme founded by Prince William, which offers a prize of £1m in funding to five annual winners those solutions make the most progress towards five Earthshots, which are: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World, and Fix Our Climate.
This year ClimateUEA has put forward three exciting and innovative ideas to The Earthshot Prize including one a company situated on the Norwich Research Park and two others from beyond. Read more about the nominations below:
iBoxit
iBoxit is a novel solution developed at Norwich Research Park in response to the requirement to reduce the environmental impact associated with the fishing sector. The company aims to create a replacement for expanded polystyrene boxes that are used to transport fish. The world consumption of expanded polystyrene boxes in 2020 was 9.5 billion and estimated to grow to 13.5 billion by 2025, the majority of which are single-use and not recyclable. The fishing industry worldwide discards almost half the total consumption into the oceans, with the remainder finding their way to landfill.
iBoxit have developed an alternative environmentally sustainable packaging that uses an intricate mixture of existing plastic and plant-based composite. The new transportation box, which can be integrated into existing worldwide systems, maintains the same thermal properties as expanded polystyrene boxes, but is fully recyclable and reusable with a shelf life of ten years, offering a more sustainable long-term solution to packaging and distribution. This solution has the potential to be adapted to facilitate the eradication of expanded polystyrene used globally by any industry. iBoxit are also developing an antimicrobial film and spray, made from a food waste product, which will enhance the shelf life of food products in transit, reducing food waste from this sector.
Prof Sheng Qi, UEA’s Lead Academic for iBoxit, said: “I am thrilled to witness the impactful strides made by iBoxit in addressing the environmental challenges associated with the fishing sector. Their ground-breaking packaging solution not only offers a sustainable alternative to the pervasive use of non-recyclable expanded polystyrene boxes but also sets a precedent for global industries to embrace eco-friendly packaging.
“By seamlessly integrating into existing fishing industry practice, iBoxit's approach demonstrates that sustainability can go hand-in-hand with practicality. The potential for this solution to extend beyond the fishing industry signifies a positive shift towards a more responsible and circular economy. I am proud to be part of a project that contributes significantly to reducing environmental impact while fostering long-term solutions for packaging and distribution challenges.”
The iBoxit team (left to right): Fergus Christie (Project Manager), Yan Fen (Academic Associate), John Farley (Project Lead), Sheng Qi (Lead Academic) and Gary Addison (Project Finance Director).
The Great Outdoor Gym Company
The Great Outdoor Gym Company’s (TGO) Greenest Greatest gym chain solution aims to revolutionise and decarbonise outdoor gyms worldwide through the creation of a network of energy saving and generating gyms that support tree planting, remove ocean plastic, and empower communities to make sustainable lifestyle choices on their path to NetZero and optimum health.
TGO’s ‘Activate Earthshot’ gyms have solar roofs and power smart technology generating energy through a bespoke contactless motor capable of charging phones, feeding into the grid, or storing energy locally. TGO’s energy generating range has been featured at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 and 22, DIY SOS, Blue Peter, Grand Designs and The Chelsea Flower Show. This exciting concept also aims to integrate plastic removed from the oceans into gym flooring and to plant one tree per kWh energy generated. TGO’s ‘Healthy People and Planet’ vision works with communities supporting them in their transition to a low carbon and healthy lifestyle.
Georgie Delaney MBE, Founder and CEO of TGO estimates that with support from The Earthshot Prize, TGO could establish 300 ‘Activate Earthshot’ gyms over the next three years, generating 9,000 kwh of energy a day, which equates to 3,285,000 kwh of energy per year. By 2030, TGO anticipates providing 10,000,000 people with a convenient way to get active and reduce their carbon footprint by at least 50%.
Dr Natalie Porter, ClimateUEA Executive Officer, said: “We are very excited to have nominated The Great Outdoor Gym Company’s Greenest Greatest gym solution to The Earthshot Prize as we believe this concept has great potential to bring many environmental and social benefits to communities around the world and to the planet. UEA is also pleased to support environmental solutions led and informed by women.”
The Great Outdoor Gym Company CEO and Founder Georgie Delaney, MBE.
GoCodeGreen
GoCodeGreen is a game-changing solution, founded by Eric Zie (CEO), capable of accelerating global action to decarbonise the digital sector by supporting organisations to design, build, and operate more efficient digital products and services to reduce energy usage, support circular IT practices, and extend the lifespan of embodied emissions in IT devices. The company builds awareness and empowers organisations with the skills required to tackle the carbon impact of their technology.
GoCodeGreen have already worked with 40 companies across five industry sectors and over 60 digital products. If all the actions identified were taken it would have resulted in a 56% reduction in carbon impact, with over 10,000 metric tonnes of CO2e not emitted, over 30 million kWh of energy not consumed, and over 13,000 metric tonnes of fossil fuels remaining in the ground, this would equate to over £4 million in energy-related cost savings.
UEA Relationship Manager for Research and Innovation, Dr Colette Matthewman, said: “This is the second year UEA are nominating GoCodeGreen because their ICT solutions have huge potential for climate impact. There has been strong growth of their activities and impacts over the last year, and some really exciting new developments are anticipated for 2024, providing carbon impact calculations from hardware to their software lifecycle assessments and offering a world-first biodiversity impact indicator for ICT and digital products and services.”
Picture showing Eric Zie (CEO and Founder of GoCodeGreen).
Find out about UEA’s previous nominations to The Earthshot Prize since it was launched in 2020 here.
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