University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to launch Global Game
Changers - The Big Carbon Rethink event on 8 August
Industry experts to discuss ways we can achieve net-zero
in the world of global manufacturing
Sydney, Australia, July 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Event Details
Global Game Changers: The Big Carbon Rethink
Thursday 8 August
6:00pm (Sydney Time)
F2F in the UTS Great Hall or online livestream via Zoom
Register now
When we measure carbon footprints, certain large industries
capture much public scrutiny, including energy, iron and steel
production, transportation, and construction.
But there’s another less obvious sector that has significant
environmental impact. Households – representing the average
consumer buying everyday things like phones, clothes, furniture,
computers, and toys – according to the International Society of
Industry Ecology account for more that 60% of global emissions.
While the complexities of this sector have proven difficult for
governments to tackle, specialised individuals are stepping up to
the challenge. Professor Peter Ralph from the Faculty of
Science at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is one
example. He says, “I’m a research scientist by background,
but my goal is to use science to help all industries
decarbonise.”
Professor Ralph’s research uses algae to remove carbon from the
atmosphere and integrates it into industrial production
processes. “Effectively,” he explains, “I’m remaking the
things people want and need using net zero technologies.”
Achieving net-zero in the world of manufacturing is the next
topic of discussion in the UTS Global Game Changers series,
entitled The Big Carbon Rethink.
On 8 August, Professor Ralph will sit down with Vice President
of Manufacturing at global technology conglomerate, Siemens, Dr
Gunter Beitinger; co-founder of innovative plastics-alternative
company Uluu, Dr Julia Reisser; director of brand and marketing at
iconic Australian swimwear group Piping Hot, Amy Low; and fellow
UTS researcher and marine ecologist, Dr Alex Thomson.
With well-known ABC ‘War on Waste’ host, Craig Reucassel,
leading the conversation, discussants will examine factors driving
consumer behaviour and enabling companies to transition to net
zero.
“We recognise,” says Piping Hot’s Amy Low, “that a successful
transition is as much about creating a sense of value in the
product as it is about eliminating emissions in the production
process. Industry structures and the way we consume products
both need to change.”
In pursuit of the most innovative and sustainable outcomes,
Piping Hot Australia has commissioned the UTS research collective
directed by Professor Ralph – The Climate Change Cluster (C3) – to
develop a new biomaterial derived from algae that can sequester
carbon from the ocean and reduce the environmental impact of
synthetic fibres.
To produce Piping Hot’s environmentally sustainable and popular
consumer products, experts representing business, technology,
design, and science have gathered. “We’re dealing with complex
problems, and the best way we can approach them,” says UTS C3’s
Manager of Industry Engagement, Dr Alex Thomson, “is through large
cross-disciplinary teams.”
Dr Gunter Beitinger concurs saying, “Due to my different roles
and tasks at Siemens, the Estainium Association, and as a member of
the World Economic Forum, I have had the opportunity to listen to
many interest groups to understand them better. What I have seen
when it comes to carbon emissions is that the only way to make a
powerful impact is if governments, private sectors, independent
organisations, and academia work together and collaborate.”
Innovative Western Australian company, Uluu, co-founded by Dr
Julia Reisser, is another example of scientists applying their
expertise in the world of business. An oceanographer who
specialised in ocean plastic pollution, Dr Reisser was one of the
early founding members of The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch not-for-profit
developing technology to remove plastic from the seas. Determined
to do more than “simply tackle the symptoms of plastic pollution”,
Dr Reisser examined the market saw that unlike renewable energy,
“there were no persuasive alternatives to plastics made from fossil
fuels. So,” she says, “I decided to try to produce a material that
acts like plastic but is made from seaweed.”
Uluu’s breakthrough product is as innovative as it is
sustainable. It can be generated as a rigid substance – think
furniture, consumer electronics, and car interiors – and in more
flexible forms – think films, foams, and coatings. Its versatility
and nature-based durability has caught the attention UTS
scientists. UTS and Uluu are now looking forward to an
exchange of research ideas.
Professor Ralph and Dr Reisser support collaborative “discovery
science”, which explains Reisser “broadens our knowledge and has
the potential to be transformational.” Professor Ralph adds,
“We both recognise the need for translational R&D, which takes
fundamental science and finds a place for it in the market, so UTS
and Uluu working together makes sense.”
Even the most challenging of problems seems within reach when
expert collaborations come into effect. Take for example
Scope 3 emissions. Notoriously tricky to measure and track,
Siemens has developed a process to query, calculate, and transfer
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data along the supply chain and
combine this with a company’s own carbon emissions data.
“Siemens cross-industry Estainium network,” explains Dr Beitinger,
“is linking up manufacturers, suppliers, customers, and others in
the supply chain to exchange the ‘whole picture’ PCF information
set.”
Professor Ralph explains, “Once a manufacturer knows which
components of its product have the highest embodied carbon, they
can look to source lower carbon equivalents and reduce the
PCF. In general, we need more visibility of green feedstocks,
and sector-wide awareness, not just the more progressive
companies. It’s a global project that impacts everyone.”
The upcoming Global Game Changers – the Big Carbon Rethink is
one step towards broader public engagement. Join the
conversation.
Expert UTS Contacts:
Professor Peter Ralph, Director of the UTS Climate Change
Cluster, email Peter.Ralph@uts.edu.au
Dr Alex Thomson, Industry Engagement Manager of the UTS Climate
Change Cluster, email alexandra.thomson@uts.edu.au and mobile +61
(0) 482 164 796
- UTSScience_Algae_Tubular_Bioreactor_Tanks (photo by Anna
Zhu)