ARTICLE
Upgrade ventilation and unlock CO2 savings equal to reduced air travel and meat intake!
For years, individuals have been encouraged to adopt a sustainable lifestyle by:
- Recycling more
- Choosing bike/train instead of car
- Eating less meat
- Traveling less by plane
While these actions are important, they are not without challenges, particularly when it comes to changing ingrained habits for the greater good of addressing climate change.
Low-hanging fruits in sustainable solutions
Personal decisions are often influenced by external factors, such as infrastructure and societal norms. For example, individuals committed to sustainability may face obstacles when trying to implement changes in their workplaces or communities due to conflicting priorities or financial constraints.
Despite these challenges, there are alternative approaches to reducing CO2 emissions that do not rely solely on individual lifestyle changes. One such approach is investing in advanced ventilation systems, which can significantly decrease energy consumption and CO2 emissions without requiring individuals to overhaul their daily routines.
This shift in focus highlights the importance of both personal choices and systemic changes in combating climate change. While efforts to reduce air travel and meat consumption are essential, exploring innovative solutions like ventilation upgrades demonstrates the diverse pathways toward meaningful CO2 reduction.
According to a recent study, low-carbon choices must be adopted at a high rate to be effective (Heinonen et al., 2022). That means individuals must commit to several low-carbon lifestyle choices for any of the commitments to be effective. In short: it is all or nothing.
This study debunks some of the more popular, “old-school” beliefs about sustainable lifestyles.
One such belief is that small actions will have a snowballing effect. That small behavioral changes can have multiplying effects like ripples in the water. But as climate challenges grow more extreme, this snowballing effect doesn’t happen fast enough to be effective (Power & Mont, 2010). Instead, it becomes discouraging and can even lead to a defeatist attitude rooted in climate anxiety.
At the same time, people may also partake in smaller behavioral changes only as a justification for not doing larger ones (Power & Mont, 2010). In this way, “all or nothing” quickly becomes “nothing.”
So, instead of walking an uphill lifestyle battle, we can start looking closer at how building infrastructure, such as ventilation systems, can help reduce CO2 emissions. The impact is on par with many of the other initiatives we often discuss but are yet forgotten.
Upgrading ventilation systems can unlock CO2 reduction
The potential for ventilation systems to help reduce CO2 is grand. Overall, the operations of buildings account for about 26% of global CO2 emissions (IEA, 2023a). On their own, ventilation systems account for circa 20% of energy consumption in buildings. When we add this up, it means that ventilation systems represent around 5%-6% of global CO2 emissions.
By comparison, aviation accounts for 2% of global CO2 emissions (IEAb, 2023), and the livestock industry contributes between 11% of global CO2 emissions (Gonzáles et al., 2023).
Looking at these numbers, upgrading ventilation systems can have a CO2 impact directly comparable to meat consumption. And while aviation currently emits less CO2 as a sector, air travel is rapidly increasing its CO2 emissions faster than rail, road, or shipping.
Put differently: aviation is not on track to reach net zero by 2050 (IEA, 2023b), making it a growing emissions problem that ventilation systems could help intercept and nip in the bud.
This doesn’t even consider the hundreds of thousands of polymer filters installed in all buildings – all ventilated buildings have them. These filters must be disposed of as waste at least once a year. However, all of this can be replaced with reusable and sustainable technological solutions.
So, by upgrading ventilation systems and choosing HVAC solutions that save energy, companies and institutions can offset their carbon footprint. They can communicate clear messages to their employees about larger actions taken to combat CO2 emissions. They can stay in line with climate regulations without dictating the lifestyle behavior of their workforce and risking backlash in the process.
Those upgraded solutions can include Airzen’s reuseable filters, decentralized ceiling modules, and advanced sensor technology.
References
Cass, N., Büchs, M., & Lucas, K. (2023). How are high-carbon lifestyles justified? Exploring the discursive strategies of excess energy consumers in the United Kingdom. Energy Research & Social Science, 97, 102951. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.102951
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González, N., Marquès, M., Nadal, M., & Domingo, J. L. (2020). Meat consumption: Which are the current global risks? A review of recent (2010–2020) evidences. Food Research International, 137, 109341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109341
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Heinonen, J., Olson, S., Czepkiewicz, M., Árnadóttir, Á., & Ottelin, J. (2022). Too much consumption or too high emissions intensities? Explaining the high consumption-based carbon footprints in the Nordic countries. Environmental Research Communications, 4(12), 125007. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/aca871
IEA. (2023b, July 11). Energy system: transport: aviation. https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation
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IEA. (2023a, July 11). Energy system: Buildings. https://www.iea.org/energy-system/buildings
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Power, K., & Mont, O. (2010, October). Dispelling the myths about consumption behaviour. In Knowledge Collaboration & Learning for Sustainable Innovation: 14th European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP) conference and the 6th Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) conference, Delft, The Netherlands, October 25-29, 2010. Delft University of Technology; The Hague University of Applied Sciences; TNO. https://www.academia.edu/1342533/Dispelling_the_myths_about_consumption_behaviour