How is it possible to become eco-innovative as a small-to-medium enterprise (SME)? What benefits could eco-innovations bring to your company? Together SMEs make up over 99% of all enterprises in the EU, accounting for two-thirds of total employment. Though the environmental footprints of individual firms may be relatively small, their collective impact is much more significant.

Preliminary findings from a mass participation study have indicated a link between weather conditions - specifically rain and lack of sunshine - and chronic pain.

read more

Carbon emissions from Dutch road networks could be reduced by almost a third if more innovative materials and processes were used, a new study suggests. Researchers assessed the potential benefits associated with 10 innovations in road construction and maintenance, and compared them to conventional materials and processes.

A recent analysis of the barriers to eco-innovation has indicated that uncertainty about future market demand for innovation holds back commercialisation of eco-innovations. Policy could solve this problem cost-effectively by helping communicate future market needs to innovators, which could bring together public and private purchasers to indicate future demand.

Environmental policies must provide the right incentives for the development of innovative technologies that reduce pollution and mitigate the effects of climate change. A recent study has investigated the characteristics of policies that are likely to encourage green innovation and concluded that those that are stringent, predictable and flexible are the most effective.

The contribution of technical innovation to sustainable development requires integrated, long-term policy to unlock industry from previous business models and practices, according to a new analysis. The researchers suggest adopting a multi-purpose policy practice that integrates industrial policy, environmental policy and trade initiatives.

Assessing the potential of new environmental management tools often brings an ‘innovation dilemma’: is it better to stick with what is known to work, or to implement new measures that are potentially more effective, but also more uncertain? Researchers have proposed an approach to deal with these dilemmas, and applied it to the case study of an invasive species programme in the US.

A recent study highlights the role of the public sector in encouraging private investment in natural and cultural brownfield regeneration projects by analysing four models of financing: public-private partnerships, land value finance mechanisms, urban development funds and impact investment funds. Local governments, it is suggested, are well placed to identify and select the most suitable financing mechanisms for redevelopment projects.

Policies and programmes providing technological solutions to improve household energy efficiency alone may be insufficient to actually reduce overall household energy consumption, finds new research. The research examined home renovators’ motivations, behaviours and use of green technologies. Overall, reduced energy consumption was often undermined by other considerations, such as installation and maintenance costs, aesthetic considerations and daily routines or social concerns.

Effective risk governance is important when developing new technologies. This study assessed the approaches to governance of nanotechnology in Europe, based on a comprehensive review of literature and practices, complemented by discussions with key stakeholders. The study provides a new analytical framework for exploring the strengths and weaknesses of governance strategies and makes recommendations specific to nanotechnology.

The effects of market regulation and environmental policy on eight types of renewable energy in the EU are identified in a study which examines nearly three decades’ worth of data. The researchers found that reducing entry barriers is a major driver of renewable energy innovation and that the ability of environmental policy to promote renewable energy innovation depends on the technology; for example, quota systems appear to work better with older technologies.

How do we safeguard both water quality and quantity? This brief looks at the best ways to recycle and re-use water, the latest water treatment technologies, and innovation within water governance itself.

New technology that makes energy capture from waste water and re-use of grey water possible can contribute to energy- and resource efficiency — but the widespread application of such technology requires a new, collaborative approach, shows a new study. Taking radical innovation in urban water systems beyond the pilot stage will require cooperation between a variety of stakeholders, suggest the findings of expert interviews and workshops.

TGBL has transitioned its complete infrastructure landscape on public cloud to enable digital transformation across our business. It translated into benefits like infrastructure flexibility and elasticity and what’s more helped TGBL realize 15% reduction in infrastructure hosting and managed services cost.

In conversation with ETCIO, Biswabrata Chakravorty, CIO, IndusInd bank shares how innovative and cutting-edge modes of banking such as video, gesture, and Whatsapp are all adding to customer experience.

To help IT leaders find the right balance between IT infrastructure and right workload, ETCIO.com, in association with Dell Technologies and AMD, organised two-city panel discussions for top CIOs.

Innovatively designed batteries offer a way for vehicles to move away from their dependence on fossil fuels. There has been little mass-market uptake of new battery design, however. In the last century, only four types of battery have been used: manganese oxide; lead acid; nickel; and lithium ion, which is a relative newcomer, introduced in 1991. To understand how innovation moves from research and development (R&D) to application and the mass market, scientists perform technology lifecycle (TLC) analyses, often focusing on R&D and basic research. This study adds an additional indicator — start-up companies — to explore the early phases of how batteries transition from science into industry.

Air pollution via small particulate matter (PM) from diesel fumes and other sources is of growing concern in urban areas, and contributes to poor air quality. In European urban areas, PM pollution often exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) safe levels for human wellbeing. In response to this, the European Commission has encouraged researchers to develop a low-cost, sustainable material that captures these particles in order to clean the air1. This study created a new PM capture material using sustainable chemical processes where the carbon footprint and energy use of the production process of the remediation material is taken into account. The newly developed porous material is called ‘SUNSPACE’ (an acronym derived from ‘(SUstaiNable materials Synthesized from By-products and Alginates for Clean air and better Environment’).

Transforming public spaces with plants that decontaminate soils can add functional, ecological, economic and social value to derelict areas. A new study calls for consideration of social and environmental factors, as well as remediation needs, to produce effective and innovative landscape design.

Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (AMEA) have always been at the heart of world trade. Vibrant and dynamic, AMEA is a region with huge potential; its markets are driving growth around the world and are seen as important prospects for investment.

Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (AMEA) have always been at the heart of world trade. Vibrant and dynamic, AMEA is a region with huge potential.

When James Antonas and partner Kirilie Blythman bought their 1940s clinker-brick cottage in Coburg North in 2009, it was with their heads rather than their hearts.

The post Nova Group makes space to grow appeared first on The Lead SA.

The post Space innovation challenge expands to UK appeared first on The Lead SA.

...

Community-focused eco-renovation firm Green Canopy Homes teams up with GMAC Mortgage to breathe new, green life into neglected, bank-owned properties across Sea

In his latest project for the DIY Network, Vanilla Ice moves to Ohio's Amish country to learn some old-school renovation techniques.

In Beijing, a city lousy with haunted spots, one historic mansion in need of some TLC just can't seem to catch a break due to its ghostly reputation.

A world in need of faster computers, smarter phones and more energy-efficient light bulbs threatens to strain the small supply of rare metals used by the global

From sustainability as a means of innovation to envisioning a prosperous, peaceful future free of oil, coal and nuclear energy, these five books are taking care

China is the world's largest polluter and the largest green innovator. It is a country full of environmental contradictions, but so is the United States.

Lessons in business and management from the Medicis.

People have done this forever, but today's technology makes it easier and faster.

If there was an 'unlike' button for renovation projects, the 30-year-old social media tycoon would have earned himself more than a few thumbs down.

More than one-third of adults in the U.S. over 45 likely suffer from chronic loneliness, but creative housing solutions like these can change those numbers.

CTO of Big Green Innovations, a unit of IBM's Smarter Planet Initiative, lays out 5 key project areas.

North America's only real high-speed train first hit the rails in 1970. An unearthed video from its launch is a reminder of the can-do energy of that 'Mad Men'

The developers of Mars rovers, the Hybrid X electric car, and a wastewater cleaning technique are also recognized in the magazine's annual Breakthrough Awards.

Well, after months of hard work with the best advisors money can buy, Ford & GM announced a bold strategy to revive their ailing industry — more government lo

In just a year, Karen Jenner has collected 2.4 tons of trash on beaches in Nova Scotia.

These five food initiatives aim to increase food security, improve quality of life, and decrease money spent on diet-related diseases.

Entrepreneurs are encouraged to participate in the America's Next Top Energy Innovator challenge, hosted by the Department of Energy.

At NuVu, students solve complex problems by focusing on imagination and constructive feedback.

Hydroelectric power has not received the attention that solar and wind enjoy, but that could be changing.

See how JM Family reduces data center power consumption by 17 percent and saves $150,000 annually by going green. When JM Family's growth increased its computin

In 1971, a ragtag gang of committed activists unleashed its first "mind bomb," and it set the environmental agenda for decades to come. Today, with campaigns by

Commitment to developing green economy pays dividends for Raleigh, North Carolina by attracting substantial economic activity benefiting the entire community.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool reopened to the public at the end of August, after an almost 2-year renovation costing $34 million. After being recently fi

The $34 million renovation took two years to complete is expected to save million of gallons of water a year, but the work had an unintended side effect. The po

Vertical Harvest is a hydroponic greenhouse in Wyoming that offers year-round produce and employs people with disabilities.