.png)
Sustainability, you probably have heard this word many times through your life, but can you define what it is? Leave your answer in the comments below. You might be surprised how many people don’t know what really sustainability means. In case you don’t know or have an idea but can’t define it or if you do know and want to learn more so that you can become a hero for the environment, keep reading! In this article, we will focus on environmental sustainability. First, understanding the environmental problems that we face today that threaten it, and then understanding how the circular economy contributes to reducing environmental problems. Finally, learn what companies and individuals can do to help our planet.
Sustainability means "the ability to constantly exist" in other words, something that can be sustained through time. For this reason, we talk about sustainable businesses, sustainable environments, sustainable relationships, among others. Having a 100% sustainable product is impossible nowadays because we have to evaluate all cycles of a product. That includes manufacturing and transportation, so if a product is sustainable but uses a transport that emits greenhouse gases, then the product can't be 100 % sustainable. That’s why we need all of the industries to start to become more sustainable so that we can achieve 100%.
So, what does environmental Sustainability has to do with a circular economy? Well, to explain that relationship, we need to define a circular economy as well. Have you heard about the circular economy? Leave your answers in the comments below. But Before we explain the circular economy, we need to understand the main environmental problems we face nowadays, to understand how the circular economy contributes to solve these problems, and to have an introduction to the current situation. All of the environmental problems are related to the following four categories.
• 🌱Biodiversity: Refers to the variety of life on earth. Every single living organism is important in the trophic chain and organisms depend on others to exist and thrive. We humans also depend on other organisms to survive, and if we put in danger some species, we will be at risk too. We may ignore that a lot of times we threaten the equilibrium of the ecosystems destroying habitats that also harm humans. 13 million deaths could be prevented every year if we had a healthier environment. So it's our job to help sustain environments to the benefit of all of us. (Learn more in this video: The Nature of Diversity)
• 💧Water: We pollute our water resources every time we dispose of unfiltered water that contains toxins, microorganisms, and other pollutants to rivers, streams, lakes, and other bodies of water, that at last get into the oceans. Every time we use water, it's contaminated by the substances we use and we rarely think about where that water goes because we don't see it and is already a part of our daily lives. There are two types of water disposal::
The Grey Water: Every time we use water for cleaning, washing our teeth, taking a shower, dishes. the water mixes with some harmful substances, polluting the water.
The Black Water: Coming from our Fecal Matter.
So, water should be filtered to eliminate the organic matter and toxins before disposing it in other water bodies. Marmaroph tries to solve this problem from the source, as it collects rainwater and filters the water before the water reaches other hydric bodies. (Learn More)
• 🛢Waste: Every time we dispose of something, it goes to a landfill. They have many problems. One of them is called "Liachatee" this is a harmful substance that is created when rainwater combines with some toxic compounds found on waste, contaminating the nearby land and underground water sources and even streams. The second one is the creation of methane, caused by the decomposition of the waste. It is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming even 28 times more than CO2 and also is very dangerous as it can explode, causing more damage. (Learn more)
• 🔋Energy: This is related to Greenhouse gas Emissions and CFCs coming from energy sources. The first one contributes to global warming as gases are trapped in the atmosphere, the heat enters the planet but it can't escape causing the greenhouse effect and acid rain. The second one also contributes to global warming but in a different way. In this case, CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons) deplete the ozone layer. As ozone is made up of three oxygens (O3), when the CFC's ascend into the ozone layer, the ultraviolet rays separate the Chlorine from the CFC molecule and it takes away one oxygen, so there is no longer ozone. As the ozone is depleted the more harmful ultraviolet rays enter, contributing to the heating of the earth and putting in danger the species on earth. The CFC's can be found in refrigerants and some aerosols. That's why Marmaroph, uses passive strategies in its architecture to avoid the use or excessive use of Air Conditioning. (Learn more about passive strategies Marmaroph uses in our projects)
Learn more about climate change with this short video
So, taking into account the previous problems, let's analyze the cause. The main cause of it has to do with our way of thinking about how we use our products. We Buy, we use it and we discard it, when it's broken or if simply we don't want them. But we rarely think about, where the product comes from and all the processes it had to face, to finally get into our hands. Also, we forget what happens to every single thing we dispose of because we don't see the real problems in our daily lives. This is a linear way of thinking about the products we use and throw away and it's one of the main reasons, we pollute landfills, water, destroy ecosystems, and consume more energy to manufacture and transport new products.
Now, we have the power in our hands to change things positively, we just need to act and stop the harmful things we've done to our beautiful planet. To do this, we need to think circular, not linear. What Circular economy means? it is "a systemic approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society, and the environment" according to the Ellen McArthur Foundation. To benefit all the actors, the objective is to think in a regenerative process in the design and use of products, thinking that waste is not waste, is rather a raw material for something else, just like in nature. Nature doesn't have waste or trash, a death or living organism is a food and energy source for others. (Learn more about circular economy with this Video: The Nature of Consumption and Circular Economy)
Marmaroph is committed to reducing the environmental footprint the construction sector and humans have done to the environment, aiming to be part of a circular economy. We have the objective to have 100% materials coming from a renewable resource or recycled, to reduce the disposal materials and avoid them to go to landfills, without increasing greenhouse gases. The recycled materials come from other industries like:
Fashion: We use the cotton form the fashion industry. This industry is the second most contaminating industry in the world. Because of this, we use the clothes made from cotton as a thermal and acoustic insulating material, taking into account that cotton is very good for insulation. (Video: The life cycle of a Shirt)
Other Manufacturing Industries: We use materials that come from other types of industries like cosmetics, logistics, paints among others. Some of the materials we use are:
1.Wood: We recycled the wood coming from the pallets used for the storage of products. (Video: The Nature of Deforestation)
2. Plastic: It is a good material made of polymers that come from fossil fuels. It is a very useful material, yet very contaminating because it can take up to 1000 years for plastic to degrade and when they do, the generate microplastics that end up in the oceans eaten by fishes, birds, and other marine species. When we eat those species, we also eat those microplastics harming our health. To avoid this, we use the plastic coming from other industries in our architecture for roofs and waterproof materials.
3. Aluminum and cooper: We use to make furniture and finishes.
We keep investigating new types of sustainable materials that we can use to have efficient and beautiful architectural projects, to archive our environmental goal at Marmaroph. Read our other articles to learn more about our practices. Work with us and help us to become a better company! Tell us, if you have initiatives or ideas to help the environment.
Want to become a hero for the Planet? Remember we all have the power to change things for the better! Marmaroph is here to guide you and help you become a hero! We wrote this article to teach you the environmental problems we face nowadays and we invite you to take action! You as an individual can contribute to diminish your environmental footprint by changing your mind and start thinking circular not linear. So, start by not discarding what you don't want and think about other uses the product can have. For example, start composting and use that compost at your home for your plants or donate your clothes. You might be surprised how many uses you can find, you just need to let your creativity flow! Also, by supporting the businesses that are committed to the environment, so learn more about their processes and suggest to change their ways. If you stop buying from companies that are not implementing sustainable actions and start buying from other companies that do, these companies will be forced to be sustainable to be competitive. As a result, all living things on earth will be benefited. All companies around the world should be sustainable to be able to become 100 % sustainable. Marmaroph is committed to the environment, so when you buy Marmaroph, you are already becoming a Hero but you can also do daily actions to contribute on your own! Become part of our community and read our other articles to learn more about how Marmaroph contributes to the environment and other design topics!
We encourage you to learn more and contribute to the benefit of all the living organisms on earth, including you!
• Learn how can you diminish your environmental footprint and calculate for environmental footprint.
We would love if you take some of your precious time and leave us responses to the questions !
We keep investigating and learning more about our customers and users lifestyle, in order to design spaces that truly adapt to people. That is why we would like to know more about you!
What is the most important thing for you in sustainable architecture ?
What things you do everyday to diminish your environmental footprint?
What other renewable or recycled materials you know for construction ?
What ideas 💡do you imagine to reduce the environmental footprint ?
Kommentare