Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at the Harvard Center for Health and the Global Environment, says the ability to calculate these savings – made evident with lower energy bills, for instance – and understand the return on investment has driven “green” uptake for the past two decades.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines the act of sustainable building as “the practice of creating and using healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition.” Yet the positive impact on protecting occupant health and the corresponding gains in worker productivity are often overlooked when discussing the financial merits of green building construction.

Recently, Allen has been involved in a renewed emphasis on trying to measure green buildings and human health. In a recent paper published in Current Environmental Health, he and his colleagues considered whether green buildings are healthier buildings, and asked what constitutes a healthy building. Since some studies claim we spend more than 90 per cent of our lives indoors, it’s a rather good question.

As costs of energy increased during the energy crises of the 1970s, buildings began to be constructed with the goal of increasing energy efficiency by making them airtight while also decreasing ventilation requirements. It’s here that an increase in “sick building syndrome” began to crop up, as less ventilation often allowed a build-up of indoor pollutants.

The effect on human health was one of the original catalysts for the green building movement, with certification regimes like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) now allocating design credits to buildings that improve ventilation and filtration and reduce chemical and other pollutant sources, along with other efforts to improve occupant productivity.

While plenty of studies link factors such as poor ventilation and mold growth to acute allergies and respiratory disease, there is a surprising lack of research that conclusively ties green building measures to healthier, happier and more productive occupants.

So, while building rating and certification programs such as LEED directly and indirectly target improvements for human health, Allen says practitioners are looking for evidence that supports better decision-making for healthy building design. It’s for this reason that the return on investment for human health measures isn’t always clear for building owners.

Nisha Sarveswaran is CEO of Ambience Data, a Toronto startup that offers air quality monitoring systems for buildings. “If you correlate environmental conditions such as air emitting high levels of carbon dioxide with variables like productivity, you can start to understand the impacts and place a value on investments that improve our indoor spaces,” says Sarveswaran.

“It’s [just] hard to justify spending money and energy on things we can’t see.”

Every study identifying a positive correlation between green buildings and health had until recently relied on self-reported data through questionnaires and surveys, leaving the data open to potential bias.

Researchers at Harvard have been working to fill in this data gap with more conclusive findings.

Allen was the lead author of a study published in October 2015 that examined the impact of indoor air quality on cognitive function. The study placed workers in rooms replicating the environmental conditions in office settings that met regular air quality standards, minimum air quality standards for LEED credit and a more stringent level for LEED credit, respectively.

Researchers designed the study using double-blinded repeated measures to ensure that workers were not tipped off about which setting they were in.

The results demonstrated that “people who work in well-ventilated offices with below-average levels of indoor pollutants and carbon dioxide have significantly higher cognitive functioning scores than those who work in offices with typical levels.” The decision-making performance of workers improved as air quality went up, including between the two LEED-quality room environments. The largest improvements occurred when it came to crisis response, strategy and information usage.

Allen says a critical element of his centre’s research moving forward is monitoring and evaluating building performance in real time. To that end, his group is now conducting studies that pair “wearables” – sensors that humans can wear – with building systems to track and measure physiological response to indoor environmental conditions. Combined with monitoring and alerts systems like the ones that Sarveswaran’s company offers, the resulting data could have endless applications.

Imagine a building that not only detects possible issues and alerts building maintenance staff, but also responds to human indicators and autonomously adjusts environmental conditions in real time.

The post Healthier buildings appeared first on Corporate Knights.

For these reasons, hydropower is expected to continue to be a critical part of a low-carbon future. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), hydropower contributes up to 16 per cent of electricity generation worldwide and about 85 per cent of global renewable electricity. Big projects are coming online in India, China and Ethiopia (to name a few), and IEA reports that emerging economies have the potential to double hydroelectric production by 2050.

But what happens when rivers slow to a trickle, or reservoirs dry up? Can climate change, or even natural hydro-climatic variability, hamper hydropower’s potential?

Looking to the southwest, California’s current climatic conditions call this promise into question. Over the past few years, less rainfall, less snowpack in the mountains and earlier snowmelt have caused reservoirs to drop well below safe levels. Not only does extended drought limit hydro production in the state – last year California generated only half of its average contribution – it exacerbates dependence on fossil fuels, such as natural gas, and escalates competition for an increasingly scarce water supply.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the crisis of extreme drought has pushed some affected countries and regions to advance other renewables in order to meet demand. Brazil, which depends on hydropower for 85 per cent of its electricity, is looking at solar more seriously, and in 2014, wind generation surpassed hydro in California for the first time.

Though hydropower output may be declining in increasingly dry regions, it is still expected to be a big contender in the global fight against climate change – especially in Canada, where projections indicate greater precipitation. Jacob Irving, president of the Canadian Hydropower Association, says big hydro is no stranger to variability, but that it’s up to the sector to ensure it is prepared for a new normal. “Serious consideration of climate trends is business-critical,” he adds. “We need to know what to expect, quickly adapt, and stay ahead of the curve.”

One of the organizations helping the hydropower industry adapt is Ouranos, a Montreal-based research consortium that develops knowledge on climate change, its impact, and related vulnerabilities to inform decision-makers about trends and advise them on adaptation strategies.

“The hydro sector is aware of the risks,” says David Huard, scientific advisor and coordinator of the energy program at Ouranos. “They come to us with long-term questions about changes in the risk profile, demand for energy, and how production might change. They want to incorporate science into their engineering analyses. These questions force us to come up with better answers.”

The sector’s investment in robust climate research and longer-term projections is better preparing its players to make informed decisions about construction, maintenance and operations on a regional basis. These data are also helping big hydro think of other renewables, like wind and solar, as not just supplemental contributors to the clean energy mix but integral parts of its own systems.

With closed-loop pump storage, for instance, optimized operations pump water back into reservoirs overnight when demand is low. That’s not a new system, but marrying that approach with other renewables can introduce further efficiencies. “In many places, wind blows strongest at night when you don’t need the power,” Irving says. “If you integrate wind with a pump storage facility, you can use that power to pump water back up to a reservoir while demand and cost is low. In mature markets this type of approach becomes very interesting.”

In fact, “renewable synergies” are more than just interesting – they have the potential to become big business. According to the International Hydropower Association’s 2015 Hydropower Status Report, the world’s largest solar-hydro hybrid station was connected to the grid in 2014. In China, a 320-megawatt solar park complements the output of the existing 1,280-megawatt Longyangxia hydropower station.

Despite forecasts and trends, the world’s energy future remains uncertain. But Irving says having hydropower as the backbone for renewable energy systems is “incredibly advantageous.” While there is no doubt that drought can have a negative impact on hydroelectricity production, climate variability is also pushing the sector to make better decisions and, in the process, advance other renewable energy sources.

With the right balance of knowledge and innovation, hydropower stands a chance.

The post Shallow waters appeared first on Corporate Knights.

World-famous for pioneering these systems in the 1970s, the company Netafim recently won the prestigious 2013 Stockholm Industry Water Award, proving that where need is great, entrepreneurs flourish.

Inspired by the global success of homegrown technology – Netafim began in a humble kibbutz – and the Start-up Nation culture, Israel’s entrepreneurs continue to make waves in the international water scene. As part of the lead-up to WATEC Israel 2013 in October, the country’s biannual water technology conference, the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute invited a group of journalists to meet some of these budding businesses.

One up-and-comer is SmarTap, founded five years ago by its young chief executive, Asaf Shaltiel, with the mission of creating the next generation of electronic faucets. The company’s e-cartridge technology allows building and home owners to program flow rate and temperature for shower taps and sink faucets, saving both water and energy. “You can set a profile to save money,” says Shaltiel, who adds that large multi-unit buildings such as hotels can see a one- to three-year return on investment. He has high hopes for the technology, setting his sights on entry into European, Asian and North American markets.

Water-Gen’s CEO, Arye Kohavi, has similar goals. During his days as a commander in Israel’s Special Forces, he saw that transporting heavy truckloads of water over long distances to thirsty troops was inefficient, costly and conspicuous. Not only was a better solution necessary, it was a matter of security.

You can think of Water-Gen’s solution as a high-performance dehumidifier. With a power source, these units can convert moisture from plain air into as much as 365 litres of potable water per day. They require few consumables (a replacement filter here and there) and have a minimal footprint. Most importantly, they’re difficult to sabotage – the fear of drinking poisoned water is not uncommon – because they produce water at the point of use.

Kohavi sees the potential for civilian applications, too, especially in dry and developing countries. He lists a number of current customers – Mexico, India, the U.S. Department of Defense – but adds a caveat: Water-Gen’s Arab customers won’t allow him to include their names in that list.

Israel and its neighbours might experience political and religious tension, but that doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes work together. To ease some of the strain of drought conditions, for instance, water-scarce Israel exports somewhere close to 150 million and 100 million cubic metres of water per year to Jordan and Palestine, respectively. “Beyond that, it’s cheaper to teach our neighbours to be independent,” says Abraham Tenne, chair of Israel’s Water Desalination Administration.

While Israel is indeed a hotbed for viable, efficient and affordable solutions that promote water independence, hostile Middle Eastern political dynamics complicate doing business with neighbours in need. According to some sources, if Israel and a neighbouring country don’t have an official trade agreement, businesses have to take the indirect route. Usually, that means selling technology to nearby customers through a Europe-based sister company or subsidiary.

“A lot of compelling technology coming out of Israel is being private-labelled or rebranded,” says Rick Stover, executive vice-president of Desalitech. Founded in Israel, the desalination technology company chose a different solution – to headquarter its business in Boston. Why? “Politics might be one reason, but it’s not the main one,” says Stover. “By establishing the company in the United States, we’re significantly expanding our market opportunities. There are great resources for executing our projects here.”

He makes a good point. When it comes to Israel’s water technology exports, the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute says the lion’s share, about 35 per cent, is going to North America. Europe comes second at 30 per cent, while eastern Asia and Latin America each account for 15 per cent. The remaining 5 per cent includes, but is not limited to, the Middle East.

Stover says the Israel and Middle East markets for his solutions are fairly substantial, and Desalitech still has several projects shipping out of its Tel Aviv office. But for the most part, the company is choosing to serve the U.S. and Canadian industrial water markets with local contractors to save time and shipping costs.

In the end, however, it seems politics might not actually be an issue. “It’s hard to find a product that doesn’t include some element of Israeli innovation,” Stover says. Where there is need, there are entrepreneurs – but there are also customers.

The post An oasis in the desert appeared first on Corporate Knights.

“We get a dual benefit by investing in water innovation,” says the managing director of water investment firm XPV Capital. “It will increase the productivity of our key sectors and, at the same time, create a whole new generation of companies that can export their water solutions around the world.”

Laura Shenkar of the San Francisco-based Artemis Project agrees. She says that water technologies represent the next wave (no pun intended) of high-growth tech investments.

The Artemis Top 50 Water Tech Listing began as an initiative to prove to the investment community that there is a critical mass of water companies worthy of venture capital investments, Shenkar explains. The sector is bolstered by reports that project these disruptive technologies and business models will yield profits as revenues in the water industry approach US$1 trillion by 2020.

Shenkar and Henderson believe that many successful next-generation technologies exist to refine traditional systems and solutions. The real game-changers are often relatively simple ideas that make tweaks for added efficiency – adding a sensor to collect data here, developing a less energy-intensive filtration membrane there. Here are examples of how new tech is tackling some of the world’s biggest water challenges with just a few small adjustments.

At its most basic level of human use, water needs to be drinkable. Much of North America’s large supply of freshwater is teeming with biological and chemical contaminants from a wide range of sources, such as urban and agricultural runoff, industrial effluent, and human and animal waste. To get water to a potable point, we need to identify potentially harmful ingredients. But traditional testing methods are slow and sometimes fussy. Before we can determine what to remove from a water supply, samples must go through incubation periods and specific temperatures.

Researchers like University of Waterloo’s Janusz Pawliszyn recognize the need for faster, more accurate samples. His team developed the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technology, which skips a lengthy phase of sample preparation and allows field researchers to monitor and analyze samples on site. Working with Canadian environmental laboratory Maxxam Analytics, Pawliszyn’s team is striving to make the process more cost-effective, which could open the technology to developing countries with large populations that suffer from waterborne disease.

Public health risk, however, doesn’t stop at the treatment plant. In North America, aging or poorly maintained drinking water systems lose millions of gallons of treated water every year. Not only are the systems leaking – some estimates say that Montreal loses up to 40 per cent of its drinking water en route to taps – they’re opening the door to contamination and infrastructure catastrophes.

Limited municipal budgets are just one reason we’re having more frequent sinkholes. In many cases, the real problem is that cities don’t have a clue where and when they’re leaking. The problem is data deficiency, and the solution is better intelligence.

Automation and data-gathering technologies are the way forward, says Dave Woollums of Mueller Co. The company’s recent acquisitions – such as Ontario’s Echologics, which uses acoustic technology to detect leaks and assess the condition of water pipes without breaking ground – focus on these areas.

“We’re working on embedding intelligence into devices that have, in the past, been dumb mechanical products,” says Woollums, Mueller’s vice-president of research, development and engineering. “By placing pressure sensors in strategic valves in a system, for instance, we can reduce energy consumption and leakage, and extend the time before utilities have to repair leaks in pipelines.”

Combined with sensors, robust GIS systems can help municipalities capture and predict the state of their water infrastructure assets, layering collected data with adjacent infrastructure, environmentally sensitive areas, and other datasets that can help them make better decisions.

“GIS is like a crystal ball, but better,” says Karen Stewart, ESRI Canada’s public works industry manager. “Every time you track conditions, you can finetune your analysis and more accurately extrapolate future performance.” The more you measure the system, the better you can manage it.

It’s a good thing we’re fixing those pipes, because the planet is about to get thirstier. Research from McKinsey & Company projects that, with population growth, water demand will outstrip supply by 40 per cent by 2030. Throw climate change – especially extended periods of regional drought – into the mix and you’ve got a significant challenge.

Over the past few decades, water-scarce regions have turned to the sea for a viable alternative to surface and groundwater supplies. According to its Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel’s mammoth desalination operations are projected to create some 600 million cubic metres per year by 2013 – a quantity equal to about half the freshwater that is pumped in the country on average each year – making desalination its main source. While relieving the demand for freshwater, however, the early days of desalination proved it can be an energy-intensive, and therefore costly, process.

Today, water-tech entrepreneurs will tell you otherwise. California’s NanoH2O, which earlier this year secured financing from BASF, Total Energy and Keytone Ventures, has developed a more economical, more energy-efficient reverse osmosis membrane. Vancouver’s Saltworks Technologies harnesses low-temperature heat from solar energy and waste heat from power generation to reduce the amount of mechanical or electrical energy required for the process.

These technologies work for drinking water, but they can have several other useful applications. NanoH2O’s membrane, for instance, could also help water-using industries preserve equipment from salt corrosion, which results from using saline groundwater, rather than depleting surface-water supplies. Multiple applications give these technologies their staying power, says Shenkar. “Companies are identifying niche areas where they can provide dramatic benefit, and finding success.”

Not surprisingly, oil and gas is proving to be a popular “niche” sector. Increasingly expensive and limited water supplies that steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations in Canada’s oil sands demand, for instance, are attracting and driving innovation. Developers have the funds to take risks that municipalities can’t afford, and Shenkar says that makes this sector one of the major areas of opportunity.

If you need to ensure a stable water supply, why not reuse what you’ve already got? Texas-based 212 Resources looked at the costs of handling water, from sourcing to disposal, in the hydraulic fracturing process that helps extract natural gas from shale. The company’s process treats “frac” water – often high in salt and other contaminants – to take it to a level high enough for safe discharge back into natural waterscapes, which also makes it possible to reuse the water for subsequent hydraulic fracturing of shale rock.

Reuse possibilities extend to wastewater byproducts. 212’s process also separates concentrated brine from frac fluid, which has applications in other on-site drilling activities. New Sky Energy in Colorado converts salt and carbon dioxide from wastewater into valuable chemicals using a proprietary electrochemical-chemical cycle. Vancouver’s Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies designs, builds and sells water treatment systems that recover nutrients from wastewater, which it then uses to make an eco-friendly fertilizer.

These technologies in particular are indicators of a growing trend – and for good reason. They’re creating new revenue streams that can encourage even the risk-averse, cash-strapped municipal sector to more seriously consider innovative options for water management.

Technology that tweaks existing systems, makes processes more efficient, and generates revenue? If the investment community is right about emerging water tech, it’s going to be a profitable run to 2020.

The post A clear need for water appeared first on Corporate Knights.