Carbon Negative Design
Carbon-Neutral is not enough. Learn more about Carbon-Negative Materials.
To help you fasten the reduction of carbon emissions in your product life cycle, we share the latest carbon-negative materials to design more sustainable and regenerative products.
We are in a tipping point to drastically reduce the carbon emissions emitted into the atmosphere and keep our planet away from increasing the global temperature by 1.5C by 2030. The safe levels of C02 in the atmosphere were left behind in 1987 (350 ppm). According to Nasa, in 2019, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed 412 parts per million.
To reverse our current climate emergency, every business and organization should transition to become carbon negative or, at least carbon neutral.
One way to achieve the required levels is by adopting carbon-negative materials in companies’ products and innovations.
What are Carbon-Negative Materials?
Firstly, carbon is used to represent all the greenhouse gases (Methane, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide and Water Vapor) emitted into the atmosphere created by human activity, contributing to global climate change and global warming.
To classify the material, it is required to use a cradle-to-grave approach and life cycle assessment to calculate the material carbon footprint, from the emissions associated with raw material extraction, sourcing, production and distribution to the energy required.
After comprehensive and professional calculation, carbon-negative material means removing more carbon than it emits into the atmosphere during its entire life cycle, creating an environmental benefit.
As an example, we share the Corbion illustration about the Lactic Acid produced with sugarcane and the carbon footprint associated.
Using a carbon-negative material is a powerful tool to surpass carbon-neutral goals. Designing with these materials can add many benefits to your product value proposition and sustainability goals:
- Replace materials of your product that are harmful to the environment;
- Integrate circular economy principles in your supply chain;
- Accelerate your sustainability achievements by reducing /remove your product carbon footprint;
- Provides competitive advantage in your industry:
- Improves the brand perception of your company;
- Leave a positive impact and contribute to a better planet.
To help you build more sustainable products, we share the latest carbon negative materials and examples of each industry application.
What Carbon-Negative materials can you design with now?
Cork
Cork is a 100% natural, renewable, biodegradable and recyclable material harvested from the cork oak. With multiple applications from kitchen products to construction materials, Cork is known for its impermeability, lightness, thermal and acoustic isolation, and resistance.
According to studies, the cork oak forest sequesters up to 73 tons of CO2, contributing to fighting climate change and desertification. Moreover, cork forests regulate the hydrological cycle and work as a natural fire barrier,
Amorim cork Composites is a great example. After analysing several products, Amorim Cork Composites concluded a carbon-negative balance, from cork stoppers to flooring products and composites. For every ton of cork produced, the oak forests capture an estimated 73 tons of CO2, making them a vital carbon sink to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, an individual cork captures more CO2 than is released during its entire production process.
Wool
Wool is a textile fiber obtained from sheep and other animals. The production must be beneficial by using regenerative agriculture from sheep grazing management to feeding the animals and plant growth to achieve carbon negativity. Turns out that producing the wool captures more carbon than the farms emit.
In the fashion industry, Sheep Inc produces a hoodie made from wool that covers the emissions in the other stages of the hoodie’s life cycle. Moreover, this company carefully uses carbon-neutral logistics and renewable energy powered mills to diminish its emissions.
In the home interior design field, you can find Interface and their carpets.
The product uses 100% recycled wool and 86% recycled and bio-based content called CQuestBio. Each tile sequesters more CO2 than it generates due to the properties of the bio-materials to remove CO2 before its processing.
Biochar
Biochar is a one of a kind of charcoal resulting from the waste biomass baked in a high temperature and oxygen-free oven, making it a soil enhancer, water filter and agricultural filler. This material is carbon negative by removing carbon through photosynthesis during the vegetation lifetime and sequesters the carbon in the atmosphere, rather than emitting carbon. Biochar is a black, fire-retardant material with great properties to shape into panels, reformed and recycled.
Made of air is an example of a company producing panels, tiles and thermoplastics from Biochar. It can be applied to construction industry, interior decoration and many other fields where design can help find new possibilities.
Green Cement:
Made of crop residues and industrial bi-products, Green cement is a carbon-negative alternative to cement. The standard cement uses limestone and has a big carbon footprint during production because of high heating temperatures. Green cement uses hemp and crop residues (removes carbon from the air in its growing and harvesting process) or magnesium silicates (have no carbon embedded preventing them from emitting when heated).
Green Jams created Agrocrete and HempBloc for the industry. Agrocrete is made out of crop residues and industrial by-products. HempBloc is made of hemp hurds and industrial bi-products for non-load bearing applications and thermal insulation.
Carbicrete produces cement-free and carbon-negative concrete thanks to patented technology.
DTE Materials offers Hempcrete sourced entirely from CBD waste. These eco-friendly, versatile and 100% recyclable options are great alternatives to building carbon neutral buildings in the construction area.
Materials made from air pollution
By recycling the air pollution, it is now possible to produce new and interesting materials. Using methane and carbon dioxide, companies are creating carbon-negative materials by processing the extracted greenhouse gases through different production processes.
Graviky labs upcycles air pollution into carbon-negative inks, paints, coatings, plastics and construction materials. Their main product is the certified-safe Air-ink pigment — an ink that can be used in pens, textiles, packaging and artwork.
Newlight Technologies converts greenhouse gases into bioplastic materials that perform like oil-based. Produced by renewable energy, AirCarbon is a carbon-negative material being applied in foodware and fashion.
Aether Diamonds makes carbon-negative diamonds by extracting the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, growing inside reactors and polishing the jewels.
Green PE
Green Polyethylene is a thermoplastic resin made from sugarcane. 100% natural, recyclable and biodegradable, Green PE is a biobased product that retains the same properties, performance and versatility as normal Polyethylene. As sugarcane captures CO2 while growing, every kilogram of this plastic saves 2.78kg of CO2 from the atmosphere, resulting in an annual reduction of 800000 tonnes of C02,
DuoGreen creates sustainable packaging solutions using the Green PE, like the mailing bags provided to MyHermes, the consumer delivery specialist. However, other kinds of packaging can be created with this carbon-negative material.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a fast-growing, renewable and sustainable plant. Bamboo produces 35% more oxygen than trees and sequesters carbon dioxide — per hectare, it can absorb as much as 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide in one year.
Versatile, light and strong, this material is used to build various products from housing and decoration to hygiene. After a European Industrial Bamboo products research, INBAR concluded that some bamboo products are neutral or even carbon-negative. But with life cycle assessment optimization, Bamboo can be even more carbon negative.
Using Bamboo, The Bam & Boo Toothbrush is the first climate-neutral product in Portugal. Bic recently released the first carbon-neutral refillable Bamboo Razer.
Designing a carbon negative future.
Creativity, science and the necessity to reduce our impact in the world are equipping us with alternative, more sustainable and positive materials.
The rising of carbon-negative materials and game-changing companies, inspires a world full of new possibilities where design can help companies build better solutions for people and the planet too.
Do you know more carbon-negative materials or companies leading the way to create different carbon-negative products?
Feel free to share your thoughts and examples in the comments. 💬
If you are looking to build more sustainable solutions and curious how material innovation and design can help — Let’s talk !
It all starts with a good conversation 👉 hello@designpossibility.com.
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