Photo: iStockphoto.com/Dmitry Kovalchuk
The Ecosystem of Carbon Capture By Melissa Jenkins
One of the biggest sustainability initiatives for the next several decades, carbon capture is creating unique partnerships across several sectors Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology attracting a lot of attention and debate. Large investments and initiatives are underway from politicians and industry alike, to capture carbon dioxide emissions and tackle climate change. Based on the need to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and the risks in relying on land sinks such as forests and soils alone to take up the excess carbon, it is believed that carbon capture and storage will be a powerful tool for making the climate safer and even rectifying historical climate injustices. Carbon also can be stored permanently if injected underground, where geologists believe it can remain in place for centuries. Carbon capture can achieve 14 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed by 2050 and is viewed as the only practical way to achieve deep decarbonization in the industrial sector. Almost two dozen commercial-scale carbon capture projects are operating around the world, with 22 more in development. There are two types of carbon capture: point-source capture, which extracts carbon from smokestacks during energy production or an industrial process; and direct air capture — removing carbon directly from the atmosphere.
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SUMMER 2021
We looked at a few companies on the front lines of carbon capture. In our study, we realized they are not only engaging in this technology, but also using highly innovative partnerships to create climate-based sustainable products in the process. Some of them may surprise you — but their efforts are setting the stage for another major front in our battle to combat climate change and make our world more environmentally sound and sustainable. Bigelow Tea For 75 years, Bigelow Tea has focused on environmentally sound policies. Bigelow has reduced the emissions associated with transporting their products by efficiently planning their shipping loads and locating their facilities closer to their customers. Since 2008, they have reduced shipping miles by 50,000 miles a year. They also installed 880 solar panels at their Connecticut headquarters, which contribute to protecting the earth by supporting renewable energy and reducing emissions. Bigelow’s manufacturing process centers around conserving energy and water, waste reduction efforts, and land preservation and protection efforts. To reduce its carbon footprint and create a more resilient energy grid, the specialty tea market leader announced an
initiative with FermataEnergy, a vehicle-to-grid technology company, that will use the power from an electric vehicle (Nissan Leaf) to supply electricity to their Louisville, KY plant during times of peak energy use. Fermata Energy’s vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, paired with a bidirectional enabled vehicle (Nissan Leaf) and proprietary software, has successfully reduced building costs by returning energy back to the grid during peak periods. This will save Bigelow Tea money while reducing its carbon footprint. Bigelow is always learning new ways to advance its company’s mission and lead by example. Leveraging the power from electric vehicles to reduce building costs is the zerocarbon way to produce electricity to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Bigelow Tea announced recently that they were now using V2X technology to offset their energy use and reduce their carbon footprint. Fermata Energy Given the shift to net-zero emissions, Fermata Energy has accelerated its plans to bring its V2G technology to the market with proven results of saving money while making the electric grid more resilient. The City of Boulder, Colorado announced that it is working with Fermata Energy to test the ability to use an electric
