h o n g k o n g tat l e r. a u g u s t 2 0 1 9 117the environment,” says Schultz. “Take a look at your own
operation and chances are that you will find things where
focused attention can make a difference for both your
company and the environment.”Clearing The Air
It was announced earlier this year that emission caps for
Hong Kong’s power plants could be slashed by 40 per cent
after 2024 to improve the city’s air quality. Harmful ozone
gas is of international concern, with toxic clouds choking
cities from Beijing to New Delhi, and companies battling
street-level pollution are eager to find new ways to remove
harmful pollutants from our lungs.
Two companies in India, Graviky Labs and Chakr
Innovation, collect soot from engine exhausts to make oil-
based paints, inks and pens. Meanwhile, Belgian researchers
have developed a device that purifies air by converting
carbon into less toxic compounds using sunlight. On a
larger scale, Swedish retailer Ikea has invested HK$15
billion in renewable energy projects, having already
installed around 750,000 solar panels on its stores.Investing in sustainable aviation is another booming
business, with emission-reducing fuels, such as bio and
synthetic kerosene, making headlines. Gas emissions from
international aviation have increased 83 per cent since
1990, says the David Suzuki Foundation, but the good
news is that aircraft are becoming more economical. “Each
new generation of aircraft is 15 to 20 per cent more fuel-
efficient than the one it replaces,” says Haldane Dodd of
the Air Transport Action Group, an independent coalition
of businesses from the aviation industry. “Manufacturers
invest around HK$117 billion per year in research into
greater efficiency.”With many long-haul flights now powered by a creative
mix of used cooking oil and kerosene and airlines including
Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Japan Airlines spearheading
the industry’s search for alternative aviation fuels, air
pollution control technologies will become a huge business
opportunity in the coming years.The Big Thirst
Water use has soared at more than twice the rate of the
world’s population growth in the past century and the
United Nations estimates that demand will surpass supply
as early as 2025. Not one to miss out on an opportunity,
entrepreneur Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla,
has adopted a code of conduct for suppliers that includes
a pledge to follow water-efficient procedures by using a
closed-loop supply system that recirculates water.
Electric vehicles (EVs) nearly doubled their market
share from 2017 to 2018, says car research company
Edmunds, and many carmakers are betting that EVs will
witness a surge in popularity over the coming years. Travel
organisation AAA is in agreement, finding that 20 per centof drivers indicated that they plan to consider an EV for
their next vehicle, which is up from 15 per cent last year.
Musk isn’t the only entrepreneur whose business is
benefiting from the eco-potential of this industry, which
is averaging operating profits of 12.9 per cent, reports
Lux Research analyst Brent Giles. Altered: Nozzle from
Stockholm has created special faucets and showerheads
that reduce water consumption by breaking water into
a mist, thus utilising every drop. Spark, an international
architectural design firm, repurposes plastic ocean garbage
into solar-powered beach huts along Singapore’s East Coast
Park. “People want to make a difference and help bring
positive change to what can only be described as a plastic
epidemic,” says Lisa Odell of Plastic Free HK, a company
dedicated to changing Hong Kong’s view of plastic waste.
American enterprise ANDalyze makes sensor kits that
can detect trace metals and chemicals in water. It’s easy to
forget that even in our modern world there are more than a
billion people without access to clean drinking water.
“I have seen a lot of green-washing from companies that
are playing the ‘sustainable card’ just to generate more
profit,” says Kasia Galak, co-founder of Womb, a Hong
Kong-based online retail platform for ethical products, “but
environmentally friendly business models are becoming a
trend, and it’s a good trend that we hope to see continue.”
And with the world suffering from a growing need for
wastewater treatment and monitoring solutions, tapping
the multibillion-dollar cleantech water sector isn’t such a
bad idea.“You don’t have to sponsor a rainforest or build water
systems in far off lands to improve the environment”
IMAGES: COURTESY OF ABDELA IGMIRIEN (WOMB CO-FOUNDERS); GRAVIKY LABS