At Natusan, we work around the clock to help reduce the environmental impact of of being a pet parent.
From using responsibly sourced by-products of sustainable forestry to make our clumping litter, and turning waste into wonder with our composting partners, we also plant a tree for every single order!
To date, thanks to our wonderful customers, we have already planted over 18,000 trees, and reduced 61.82 tonnes of CO2e* - the equivalent of 153,375 miles by car, or 47 long haul flights!
Thanks to our customers we are also able to support amazing Gold Standard carbon reduction projects around the world, here are two of the projects that Natusan is supporting this month.
Producing energy from waste rice husks in India
In India, the majority of the population's income is generated from agriculture. Accounting for 22.5% of the overall world rice production, the country is the world's second largest producer of rice, and this is a particularly important income source for the rural population.
However, India's fast-rising energy requirements and high electricity demand places them amongst the highest in the world. Much of rural India relies solely on power plants using coal, emitting CO2 and contaminating water sources.
This project involves implementing a 5 megawatt cogeneration power project that is powered by waste rice husks. Designed to meet growing power demands that come with developing local manufacturing infrastructure, without the need to reply on fossil fuels.
The hard protective covering on grains of rice, these husks are usually discarded. With the project however, these husks are transported from rice mills in the regain to be combusted in a boiler. This combustion creates a high-pressure steam that turns a turbine to produce electricity.
This electricity replaces energy that would otherwise come from India's integrated Northern, Eastern, Western, North-Eastern Grid (NEWNE) - which is largely coal-powered.
Biomass power and energy created from waste are often thought of as "bridge solutions" - however, projects like this one help provide funding for sustainable development, alongside reducing emissions such as the projected 28,442 tons of CO2e reduced annually from this project.
This project is verified by the the Verified Carbon Standard. You can view it on the Verra Registry here or find out more here.
Cleaner cookstoves in Zambia and Ghana
When rudimentary stoves are used for cooking, several greenhouse gases are produced through the combustion of non-renewable biomass. Not only do these emissions damage the climate, but they also increase levels of household air pollution, causing health conditions and particularly affecting women and children in the population.
The largest per-capita consumer of charcoal in West Africa, many of Ghana's population use charcoal as biomass fuel for household cookstoves. Alternatives, such as gas stoves, are often too expensive for many families to make the switch.
The majority of Zambian families use an open fire to cook, using the "three rocks" method to heat pots, using wood fuel as non-renewable biomass.
Alongside the health and climate implications of this method of cooking, the use of large quantities of wood and charcoal as fuel causes nearby deforestation and desertification.
Through our partnership with Ecologi, Natusan are supporting two cookstove projects at present. The 3 Rocks project in Zambia, and the Toyola project in Ghana, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support local communities.
3 Rock
The 3 rock project aims to replace "three rock" fires in homes with cleaner stoves. Consisting of a durable metal alloy liner enclosed in brick with a galvanised cooking surface and direct heat, these stoves will cut annual biomass usage by up to 66%.
Toyola
The Toyola project involves replacing carbon-intensive charcoal stoves with fuel-efficient insulated stoves such as the Toyola Coalpot. These coalpots are 33% more fuel-efficient than traditional methods and reduce charcoal consumption significantly, serving to reduce air pollution and decrease the amount of biomass required.
With both of these projects, greenhouse emissions are avoided and communities also benefit from reduced exposure to damaging pollutants, lower fuel costs, increased cleanliness and faster cooking, all whilst easing the pressure on natural resources such as forests.
The 3 Rocks cookstoves project in Zambia is verified by the Verified Carbon Standard. You can view it on the Verra Registry.
The Toyola cookstoves project in Ghana is verified by the Gold Standard. You can view it on the Gold Standard Registry here or find out in detail .
So next time you fill up your cat’s litter tray, you can feel paw-sitive that you are helping to create a better, greener world.
*The US Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions calculator estimates that 2481 miles (3992.7 km) emits 1 tonne of CO2.
19/07/2021 by NatuTeam