Sustainable Development through Biologically-based Systems

Richard WhiteEnvironmental Science and Policy Program

Smith College

May 23, 2003

Sustainable Development:meeting the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

• Economic — steady flow of goods & services

• Environmental — stable resource base

• Social — equitable sharing of wealth

“We must stop expecting the earth to produce more, but start doing more

with what the earth produces.”

“Humankind is the only species on the planet capable of generating

waste no one wants.”

Gunter Pauli, Upsizing

ZERI: Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives

ZERI is a practical approach to satisfying humanity's needs for water, food, energy, jobs, shelter and more, in an environmentally sustainable manner, by applying science and technology and involving government, business and academia.

ZERI: Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives

• Zero Emissions: eliminating the concept of waste

• Research: discovering novel and environmentally sound ways to use presently wasted material, capital, and human resources to meet critical human needs for water, food, health care, shelter, energy, and jobs

• Initiatives: applying these ideas in real-world projects on 5 continents

Biologically-based Systems

• Meet people’s needs starting with local resources and co-evolving with nature

• Treat waste as a business opportunity (“food”)• Use all the kingdoms of nature (pathogens that

afflict one kingdom do not damage others)• Build and optimize systems that

reduce/eliminate waste with value-added and new jobs at each step

ZERI Origins: Gunter Pauli• Founder & Director of ZERI

Foundation (Geneva, 1996)• Economist & Entrepreneur:

former president and CEO of ECOVER

• Author of 7 books, including Upsizing: The Road to Zero Emissions (1998)

• Recipient of numerous environmental and business awards

Developing Country Example: Coffee Farm in Colombia

• Problem: coffee prices don’t compensate production costs

• Opportunity: coffee cherries comprise just 3% of the plant biomass; brewed coffee has less than 0.3%

Developing Country Example: Coffee Farm in Colombia

• Mushrooms grown on coffee waste increase food supply

• Spent mushroom substrate expands and improves feed for domestic animals

• Biodigesting animal wastes creates biogas and nutrient rich wastewater

• The ecosystem provides still other options; all add value and stability

Developed Country Example: Recycled Cement Plant in Sweden

Inputs Outputs

• Abandoned cement plant — brownfield

• Municipal Waste

• ZERI technology

• Enhanced recycling

• Biogas heating

• Organic compost for agriculture & forestry

• Organic produce

• Site remediation

• 75% waste reduction

• Jobs

• Profits

Universal Example: BreweriesWildwood Ecobrewery Project,

Missoula, MT• Breweries adopting ZERI principles now

operate in Namibia, Canada, and Japan.• Brewing typically produces 5-10 times more

waste water than beer.• Likewise, brewing uses only about 10% of

the grain biomass, leaving nutrient- (and fiber)-rich residues. Used as animal feed, they lead to excessive flatulance and contribute to global warming.

Spent GrainsBrewery Mushrooms Earthworms

Biodigester Sales product Agriculture

Biodigester Stream

Brewery Biodigester Algae pond Fish Pond

Spent Grain Biogas Sales Products Agriculture

Preliminary Cash Flow Estimates

Output Mass Value Revenue(kg) ($/kg) (\$1000)

Beer (volume in hl) 1040 175.00 182.0Oyster mushrooms 14400 5.51 79.3Shiitake mushrooms 6000 9.92 59.5Vermicompost 11600 1.77 20.5Worms 160 35.00 5.6Fish 7380 2.00 14.8Biogas 3640 0.41 1.5Bioslurry 820 1.77 1.5Agric. Produce ?? ?? ??

Total 364.7

Brewery System Revenues

Lessons for Sustainability

• In systems, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and the waste can vanish

• Clusters of industries are diverse: robust and profitable

• Using waste as “food” produces more income, more jobs, and less pollution

• Cleaner production, 3R, industrial ecology, industrial metabolism, eco-efficiency, factor 4/10 are all great first steps.  

• What the world needs is a clear final vision:   zero accidents, zero defects, zero conflicts, zero waste, zero emissions, nothing wasted, everything used.

Comparison with Other Movements

Further Information

• www.zeri.org• ZERI Training: three 4-day modules,

September and December, 2003, and March, 2004, in Santa Fe, NM. Application deadline is June 2, 2003. For further information, contact Taylor@zeri.org.

• Subsequent Training: March, June, and September, 2004.