5 Developments in Sustainability That You Need To Know

It’s about time that we all had a think about the effect that we are having on the environment.  The way we use resources, consume energy, buy clothes and furniture and waste food are rapidly becoming a bigger and bigger problem the longer we ignore them.

Thankfully, there are some countries, companies and individuals who are committed to confronting the problems we have when it comes to climate change and sustainability. For example, solar energy in Australia is becoming easier to adopt.

Some recent developments in sustainability are worth looking into further, as they can inspire us to take action in our own lives.

Germany hits a national record

Germany is committed to the use of renewable energy sources and they proved it this year when they reached a national record on April 30th. Over that weekend, 85% of all electricity used nationally was produced by renewable energy.

So much renewable energy was in use that many coal power plants were not even in operation at the time because they weren’t being used. Germany hopes to make 85% the annual average in a just few years.

To put this statistic in perspective and demonstrate just how committed Germany is to renewables, the U.S.A record high was reached in March – with just 10% of all electricity for the month coming from renewable sources.

France makes a dent in food waste

Last year, France passed a law requiring supermarkets to donate unsold food. They are the first country in the world to do so.

Besides the social benefit of feeding those in need, food waste was accounting for 3% of the country’s total CO2 emissions. By reducing the amount of food waste across the country, France is redistributing food to feed the hungry, as well helping the environment by cutting down on waste.

Tesla’s releases new solar roof

Home solar panels are getting a makeover. Earlier this year, Tesla released their new solar roof. The roof tiles are made to look like a normal roof with the solar panels inside them, rather than the usual solar panels mounted on top of regular roof tiles.

The tiles are also meant to be stronger than normal roofing materials and come with a warranty that covers the lifetime of your house.

China’s floating solar farm

China now has the largest floating solar farm in the world which is built on a flooded former coal mine, in addition to also hosting the world’s largest land-based solar farm.

Floating solar farms are gaining popularity as they make use of otherwise unusable bodies of water to naturally cool the system.

Though China is widely known to produce a lot of pollution, in recent years the country has made efforts to switch to renewables and reduce their carbon footprint. This has led to a rapidly expanding renewable energy market – a market which now has double the solar capacity of the U.S.

Sustainable fashion to reduce plastic pollution

Adidas has teamed up with Parley for the Oceans and Aquafil to create a line of shoes and clothes created from recycled plastics taken from the ocean. The plastic debris are collected from the ocean and recycled into a nylon-like yarn.

Up to 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year, severely damaging marine life and habitats.

Other brands are also reusing materials. For example, Timberland is producing a line made from recycled plastic street trash and Patagonia uses a variety of recycled and reclaimed materials.

We can always be doing more to help sustainability efforts, and it’s worth making note of others that are doing it well. Adopting sustainable practices will only serve to help all of us in end.