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Hydroponic Gardening – 5 Easy Ways to Get Started

By Salman Zafar | May 23, 2024 - 1:08 am |November 7, 2024 Agriculture, DIY, Gardening

Have you ever wondered if you could grow a plant without using any soil? Well, now you can, thanks to an existing system of gardening called Hydroponic Gardening.

Instead of using soil, this system allows you to grow plants and vegetables in a solution of nutrients and water! It doesn’t end there, this method can grow plants much faster, can be used all year round, requires less space, and yields more than conventional gardening.

Some of the easiest and most common plants, herbs, fruits you can grow are lettuce, oregano, tomatoes, and some other kinds. This is great for those who do not have a gardening plot or a yard of their own.

So, if this piqued your interest, then you’re in the right place. Here are 5 easy steps to get started with your hydroponic gardening!

1. The Wick System

Let’s start with the simplest system (mechanically speaking) indoor hydroponics system – the wick system. It’s the simplest because there’s no need for any electrical components or moving parts at all.

Even though this system isn’t ideal for water-hungry plants like tomatoes or lettuce, as they tend to use nutrients faster than the wicks can supply. However, it works perfectly for herbs, peppers, and microgreens.

Setting Up a Water Reservoir

To begin with, you have to create a reservoir filled with nutrients and water. This reservoir will need to sit right beneath the tray that’s holding your plant and growing medium.

Connect Wicks to the Growing Tray

Next, connect one or two wicks through the hole in the bottom of your tray. The wicks will start soaking up the water from the reservoir and get the water to the wicks that are connected with the growing medium in the tray. If you need to make more holes, use a drill or screwdriver.

Growing Tray

The growing medium, which contains the seedlings, will need to be placed above the water reservoir. It’s best to use a medium that won’t drain water too fast. Instead, it should utilize the capillary action of the wick most productively, such as perlite, soilless mixes, and vermiculite.

Light Fixture

If your growing tray is getting natural light, then you can skip this step. But if it isn’t, then install a light fixture above the tray. For incandescent light bulbs, you’ll need to set them at a distance of 24 inches from the plants.

In the case of LED grow lights and fluorescent lights, since they don’t get as hot, you can place them 6-12 inches from the plants. This can be implemented for all the systems that we’ll be discussing in this article.

2. The Lettuce Raft or Water Culture System

A lettuce raft system, aka a water culture system, is another simple method that’s super easy to set up. Start by placing the plants in a styrofoam platform. Then make sure it floats on top of the reservoir that’s filled with nutrient-rich water.

Unlike the wick system, you’ll have to aerate the water by incorporating a raft system. This system is perfect for growing leaf lettuce, but other plants won’t grow quite as well.

Water Reservoir

Same as the previous two systems, fill the reservoir with nutrients and water. Get yourself an opaque container at least 12 inches deep. Avoid using unclear or translucent containers.

Aerate the Water

The most usual and economical aeration is by using an air stone and a pump. Found in most home aquariums, the air stone can be placed in the water and then connected to an air pump placed outside the reservoir.

The pump will assist in pushing air through the stone, which will then release tiny bubbles into the water to disperse oxygen. Simple and easy, right?

Growing Raft

Cut a floating styrofoam platform to fit inside the reservoir’s top for your expanding raft. After that, you’ll require net pots.

Seedlings with a growing media, such as perlite, mud balls, or coconut fibers, are held in these plastic containers with perforated bottoms. Because the roots need to be in contact with the reservoir water, you’ll need to make holes to insert the net pots.

3. The Ebb and Flow System

The ebb and flow system, sometimes known as the flood and drain system, may appear complicated in design, yet it is extremely adaptable. This technique operates by flooding the growing medium with a water-nutrient solution, which is subsequently drained back into the water reservoir.

Water Reservoir Connected to a Fill and Drain Tube

You’ll need to place the water reservoir directly below the flood tray container filled with nutrients and water. Thankfully, the same water can be used for about a week at a time. Just make sure to add the nutrients every time you change the water.

Next, use a drain or fill tube to connect the water reservoir to the tray. The fill tube connects to a timed submersible pump, which regulates the flow of water back into the food tray.

A submersible pump with a timer allows a lot of control to this system. You also have the power to customize the length and frequency of watering based on your plant’s requirements!

On the other hand, the drain tube uses the power of gravity to pull the water back into the reservoir after flooding it, so that the water can be reused.

Setting Up the Flood Tray

To stand tall, the plant tray must be a deep container. Plant your seedlings in vented planters filled with perlite or other growing material.

Remember to make the seedling pots twice as shallow as the flood tray.

4. Nutrient Film Technique

Our 4th system is called the nutrient film technique, and it works best with fast-growing, shallow-rooted plants like spinach, lettuce, radishes, and herbs.

This system uses a water-nutrient solution that continuously flows in a loop for a reservoir through the help of a growing tray. It’s beneficial for the plant roots that are suspended in the growing tray, which enables the plants to absorb the nutrients from the solution.

This technique reinforces the idea that the ebb and flow system is on a continuous stream that never stops.

Setting Up the Water Reservoir and Aeration

Fill the water reservoir with nutrients and water and place it directly under the flood tray stand. You’ll also need to add an aeration bubbler in the reservoir to help oxygenate the water.

Join the Drain Tube, Fill Tube, and Pump

Then, using a fill and drain tube, attach the reservoir to the tray. The fill tube, which is connected to a submersible pump, will regulate the water flow returning to the flood tray. After flooding, the drain tube will allow gravity to suck the water back into the reservoir, allowing you to reuse the water.

And unlike the ebb and flow system, you won’t be needing a timer, since this system is already constantly pumping the water.

To Set Up the Growing Tray

Finally, instead of a flat tray, utilize tubes or channels to set up the growing tray. Using a tube allows you to put it at an angle that ensures the fertilizer solution reaches the roots directly. You can also use a PVC pipe or a round tub with holes punched in it to accommodate the seedlings or net pots!

5. The Aeroponic System

Finally, for our last system – the aeroponic system. This is another complex hydroponic method that requires the plants to be suspended in air and misted every few minutes with a water and nutrient solution.

This is a particularly effective method and requires sophisticated misters and pumps. If for some reason your equipment or tools malfunctions, then the plant roots can dry out and die rapidly.

Set Up a Water Reservoir with Aeration

Fill a container with nutrient-rich water and place it beneath the growing chamber. Then, to assist oxygenate the water, put an aeration bubbler in the reservoir. This water reservoir can also serve as a catch basin for the solution’s misted droplets.

Connect a Submersible Pump

Next, connect a pump to a sprayer or mister. This will allow the solution in the reservoir to be pumped to the sprayer or mister via tubing from a submersible pump tube in the reservoir.

All you have to do is make sure the sprayer or mister is aimed at the plant’s root in the growing chamber, and that is all!

For the Growing Chamber

To set up the growing chamber, you can follow the same procedure as used in the nutrition film technique. You’ll need to set up channels or tubes to evenly suspend each seedling’s roots.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, we’d like to say that we hope our article on hydroponics for beginners helps you to learn a little more about hydroponic plants and how wonderfully great they are. We hope the 5 systems mentioned here will inspire you to set up your hydroponic garden and grow some nice plants and herbs.

It can look challenging or complex, but the result is worth it. Let us know in the comments if you have your very own hydroponic garden going, and don’t forget to share it with your gardening enthusiast friends. Happy gardening!

Climate Change Impacts in the GCC

By Tariq Al-Olaimy | May 21, 2024 - 5:41 pm |May 24, 2024 Climate Change, Environment, Middle East, Water

5 Comments

The GCC countries face multitude of climate change challenges including desertification, biodiversity loss, water scarcity and sea level rise. The region is characterized by high temperature, high humidity and arid lands resulting in seriously degraded soil and land damage in addition to salt intrusion in the aquifers affecting the small scale agricultural lands thus enhancing the food security threat in the region.

All of the above geographical threats have therefore increased and activated the participation of GCC states in global negotiations recently as evidence are uncovered and impacts being felt across the region. If a couple of days of rain can flood parts of cities in GCC, and bring life to a standstill, the prospect of large scale climate change is a sobering thought, and a thought that needs to be translated into action. Read on to know about climate change impacts in the GCC:

1. Rise in Sea Level

One of the main climate change impacts is sea level rise on coastal areas of all Arabian Gulf states. This includes many of the large and small islands in the Gulf region which are highly vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise. An example is the low-lying geology of Bahrain’s islands, which coupled with high land reclamation and extensive industrial, commercial, and residential activity in coastal zones, highlight the island’s acute vulnerability to climate change induced sea level rise.

The total land area that would be inundated under the various climate change scenarios was found to be substantial by the Bahrain Supreme Council for the Environment. Even the low sea level rise scenario will result in an inundation of about five per cent (36 km²) of the total land area of Bahrain by 2100. This level increases to about 11 per cent of total land area (69 km²) in the worst case scenario.

Inundation will unevenly affect Bahrain’s vulnerable infrastructure in the five main islands and would adversely affect cities, roads, agricultural areas, as well as beaches and salt marshes. Even in other cities, if reinforcement measures are not implemented, on coastline in Kuwait or Dubai for example, it would be damaged and altered from rising sea levels caused by climate change.

2. Water Availability

Continued use of non-renewable water is major factor in depleting groundwater reserves in GCC nations and puts Gulf countries at severe risk of climate impacts. In Saudi Arabia, water supply is drawn from four sources: groundwater from deep fossil aquifers, desalinated water, surface water and reclaimed wastewater.

Extracting water from deep aquifers amounts to mining the resource, as supplies are non-renewable and have been severely depleted as a result of policies which for the past three decades have subsidized not only agricultural commodities such as wheat, but also the means to produce them. It is not surprising therefore that agriculture accounts for roughly 85% of water use in Saudi Arabia.

The depletion of Bahrain’s groundwater through urbanization has led to the loss of freshwater springs, which the country was once famous for, as well as its fertile lands. Same is the case with Qatar which heavily relies on energy-intensive desalination plants for its freshwater, further driving up its electricity demand. A vast majority of desalination plants in GCC are energy-intensive and installed at a huge cost to the environment.

3. Food Security

The Middle East is especially vulnerable to tensions brought on by spike in food prices. This is a region where putting new land into production is not that easy because of the nature of the terrain and water shortage. In Saudi Arabia, only about 2 percent of the country’s enormous land mass is arable, even with intensive irrigation and modern farming technology.

Facing a probable 77 percent growth in its population by 2050, Saudi Arabia is grappling with the realization that its barren soil and dwindling water supply will be insufficient to feed all those people.

In Bahrain there are over 6,000 people employed in the fishing industry. Deterioration of coral reef habitats will negatively affect associated fauna and fish stocks, and eventually threaten the viability of Bahrain’s fishing industry. The loss of agricultural land due to a one metre rise in sea level is likely to be over 11 per cent of the total arable land in the country.

4. Biodiversity Loss

The potential loss of terrestrial and marine biodiversity under climate change is a major concern across the region. The Arabian Peninsula is a meeting point between the Indo-Asian and the Afro-European regions and enjoys a rich biodiversity in a hyper arid environment. For the terrestrial environment, the Arabian Peninsula has dozens of mammal species, hundreds of bird species, and scores of amphibian and reptile species.

For the marine environment, the Arabian Gulf’s relative shallowness supports a number of highly productive coastal habitats, including intertidal mudflats, seagrasses, algal beds, mangroves, and coral reefs, together with a wide variety of fish species, some of which are endangered. With climate change, these species, such as migratory birds and dugongs would be adversely affected.

أهمية التعليم البيئي للأطفال

By Salman Zafar | May 21, 2024 - 5:21 pm |May 24, 2024 Education, Environment

ما هي أكبر القضايا البيئية؟

قبل أن ننتقل إلى تعليم الأطفال، دعونا نرجع خطوة إلى الوراء ونذكر أنفسنا بالمشاكل الأكبر التي يواجهها كوكبنا في الوقت الحالي. من المهم أن ندرك القضايا الرئيسية التي يواجهها سكان الارض.

فيما يلي أهم القضايا البيئية:

تلوث الهواء والمياه والأراضي
الانحباس الحراري العالمي
التخلص من النفايات
إزالة الغابات
تغير المناخ
زيادة عدد السكان
انقراض الأنواع

يمكن أن تستمر القائمة ولكن وصلتك الصورة. من الواضح أننا في مرحلة حرجة حيث يتعين علينا أن نبقى متحدين حتى نتمكن من الحفاظ على كوكبنا.

ما المقصود بالتعليم البيئي؟

يقصد بالتعليم البيئي هو تعليم وتعلم كل ما يخص كوكبنا، وموارده، وطبيعته، واستدامته. وهي عملية تهدف إلى اكتساب الوعي بالقضايا المطروحة وتعلم كيفية حلها.

لنعود بالتعليم البيئي إلى مكوناته الأساسية. إليك كل ما يتعلق بما يلي:

زيادة الوعي بالقضايا البيئية
اكتساب معرفة واقعية
تغيير عقلية الناس
اكتساب المهارات اللازمة للتعامل مع المشاكل
إلهام الناس لإلهام الآخرين

وهذا النوع من التعليم إلزامي ببساطة إذا ما كنا نريد حل القضايا البيئية وإنقاذ كوكبنا. ففي غياب التعليم ورفع مستوى الوعي لن يكون لدى الناس المعرفة الكافية لإدراك مدى خطورة هذه القضايا.

المدارس، ارتقوا بها إلى مستوى آخر!

يتعين على المدارس أن تعمل على تحسين التعليم البيئي وإبعاده عن الفصول الدراسية لعلم الأحياء.

هناك أموال حكومية ومنح للتعليم البيئي يمكنك التقدم بطلب للحصول عليها. تحتاج إلى خطة جيدة ووصف تفصيلي للمشروع، ويمكنك إجراء بعض التغييرات الرائعة في مدرستك!

يبدأ مبكرًا

لقد وصلنا إلى نقطة حرجة فيما يخص القضايا البيئية. لا يوجد وقت لإهدار الوقت، ويتعين علينا أن نتخذ الإجراءات اللازمة في أقرب وقت ممكن.

ونظراً لهذه الوضعية فمن الطبيعي أن نعرف أطفالنا على الهواجس والمخاوف والمشاكل التي نواجهها.

يتعين على الأطفال أن يتعلموا عن القضايا البيئية منذ الصغر من أجل اكتساب رؤية واضحة وتجنب تبني عادات سيئة. إليك بعض الأشياء المهمة التي يجب أن يفهمها الأطفال:

مفهوم الحفاظ على الطبيعة
أهمية النشاط البيئي
دورهم في إحداث الفرق
سلوكهم كيف يؤثر على بقية العالم

ومن خلال البدء بالتعليم البيئي في وقت مبكر، نعمل على خلق عقلية صحية لدى أطفالنا حتى لا نسمح بإنشاء عادات سيئة، ناهيك عن اكتساب عادات طيبة وحسنة.

الوعي والمعرفة

يحتاج الأطفال إلى حقائق. ويتعين علينا أن نعطيهم المعرفة اللازمة لفهم ما يحدث في محيطهم.

وتعلّمهم التوعية البيئية ما يلي:

القضايا البيئية الرئيسية
ما الأسباب وراء هذه القضايا
كيف يمكنهم المساعدة في حل المشاكل
ما هو دورهم في النظام

وبمجرد تعليم الأطفال وتوعيتهم على النحو اللائق والمناسب فإنهم على استعداد للمشاركة في الكفاح العالمي من أجل الحفاظ على البيئة.

سوف يبدؤون برفع مستوى الوعي لدى الآخرين. وسوف يبدؤون في المساهمة في الحركة العالمية كأفراد.

تبني عادات جديدة

إن التعليم البيئي للأطفال لا يدور حول المعرفة النظرية فحسب. بل على العكس من ذلك، فهو يدور حول الإجابة على السؤال التالي:

ما الذي يمكنك القيام به للمساعدة في إنقاذ كوكب الأرض؟

أو نستطيع أن نقول بعبارة أخرى إن التعليم البيئي يدور حول اتخاذ الإجراءات والتدابير اللازمة. يحصل الأطفال على فرصة تبني عادات جديدة وتوظيفها في حياتهم اليومية.

فهم يتعلمون عن:

إعادة التدوير
ركوب الدراجة بدلا من ان يقوم والديهم من ايصالهم بالسيارة
زراعة الأشجار
إيقاف تشغيل الضوء وفصل الأجهزة
زراعة الحديقة
تجنب الأكياس البلاستيكية واستخدام الأكياس القابلة لإعادة الاستخدام بدلاً من ذلك
تناول كمية أقل من اللحوم والمزيد من الفواكه والخضروات
هدر أقل

وسينقل الاطفال عاداتهم إلى منازلهم وسيواصلون العيش بطريقة صديقة للبيئة. والعادات التي يتبنونها سوف يظلون متمسكين بها إلى الأبد، وتساعدهم في أن يكونوا جزءاً من جيل أفضل وأكثر إدراكاً ونشاطاً.

Using environmental issues in student learning shows children the bigger picture

إلهام الآخرين

يعتبر الأطفال أشخاص مؤثرون، وبوسعنا أن نتعلم الكثير منهم. وقد يؤثر تغيير روتينهم على أفراد أسرهم وأصدقائهم وأقرانهم للقيام بمثل ما يقومون به.

أو بعبارة أخرى، من خلال تعليم الأطفال، نعمل على تثقيف الجميع من حولهم. وسوف يكون هؤلاء سفراء الوعي البيئي.

يمكنهم التأثير على والديهم من أجل:

قم بالقيادة أقل
الإقلاع عن التدخين
توفير الطاقة
تخلص من النفايات بطريقة صحيحة
تبني عادات جديدة

ومن خلال تقديم مثال جيد، يصبح الأطفال أنفسهم معلمون ومؤثرون بيئيون.

العمل التطوعي واتخاذ الإجراءات

إن الجزء الأفضل من التعليم البيئي للأطفال يتلخص في حصول الأطفال على الفرصة الجيدة لفعل كل ما هو خير، مساعدة الآخرين، وإجراء التغييرات، والمساهمة في المهمة العامة المتمثلة في الحد من كل ما يجعل كوكبنا ملوثا وفي خطر.

يمكنهم المشاركة في:

تنظيف الأسطح الطبيعية
حلقات عمل للتوعية البيئية
حركات إعادة التدوير
استعادة البيئة
الحفاظ على البيئة البحرية

امنح أطفالك فرصة للحب والبيئة

إن التعليم البيئي لا يرتبط ارتباطاً مطلق بالمدرسة. ولن ينتهي الأمر بمجرد رنين الجرس. يجب أن يتعلم الأطفال تطبيق معرفتهم في مجالات أخرى من حياتهم. ولابد أن تدعمها أسرهم.

إذا كان لديك أطفال، فابحث عن طريقة لإبقائهم يفكرون في البيئة خارج المدرسة ويساهمون في الحفاظ عليها. يمكنك:

أرسلهم إلى معسكرات صيفية بيئية

طريقة رائعة لقضاء الصيف: تكوين أصدقاء جدد واكتساب مهارات جديدة والمساعدة في إنقاذ البيئة.

ساعدهم على تنظيم حدث بيئي محلي

يمكن لأطفالك تنظيم حدث مثل تنظيف النهر أو المنتزه المحلي، وجمع المواد البلاستيكية والتخلص منها بشكل صحيح أو التبرع لسبب بيئي.

اطلب منهم المشاركة في مسابقة كتابة مقال حول البيئة
إذا كان أطفالك مولعون بالكتابة، فيمكنهم المشاركة في مسابقة ويتبادلون رؤيتهم البيئية مع الآخرين. بل وربما يفوزون بجائزة.

خاتمة

إن التعليم البيئي يشكل أهمية كبرى بالنسبة للجميع. وكلما تعرفنا على الطرق التي نلحق بها الضرر بكوكبنا، كلما كان بوسعنا أن نغير ونتبنى عادات جديدة أسرع. ويتعين علينا أن نبدأ من أنفسنا ومن هنا يمكننا ان نكون مصدر الهام للآخرين.

الأطفال هم المستقبل، ولهذا السبب فمن الضروري أن ننقل المعرفة إليهم. فمن خلال البدء في مرحلة ما قبل المدرسة، سوف يعمل التعليم البيئي على تشكيل وصقل عقلية أطفالك وجعلهم مدركين ومسؤولاً بيئياً. وهذا من شأنه أن يلهمهم لاتخاذ اختيارات ذكية وقرارات صائبة. وهذا هو الجيل الذي نحتاج إليه.

ترجمته من الإنجليزية الى العربية:

تقوى حاجي متفقد مصالح مالية بوزارة المالية والاقتصاد والاستثمار بتونس، متطوعة ومهتمة بالقضايا البيئية والتغير المناخي والتنمية المستدامة

All You Need to Know About Sustainability in the Supply Chain

By Monaem Ben Lellahom | May 21, 2024 - 5:07 pm |June 1, 2024 Business, Environment, Sustainable Development

7 Comments

The sustainability industry, in recent years, has evolved to include almost all areas of business processes. Due to the dramatic strides sustainability has made and its holistic nature, it is understandable that the two most apparent areas, the environment and society, would receive much of our attention. There has been a lack of concern for the area of the economy and alignment with business needs. Moreover, it has not been used enough as a mechanism to enhance the supply chain or product value.

Lately, business leaders are learning to see substantial benefits and profitability beyond “green initiatives” by giving back time and money to the community and eliminating waste. Interestingly enough, there has been a renowned renewal in using sustainability methodology to improve their supply chain.

A common man might understandably think of a supply chain as the supplier of goods and services to a company. It is essential to understand that a supply chain is, in effect, tied closely to the product life cycle and has elements beginning with energy production, continuing through the entire procurement of raw materials and communication leading to advancement of knowledge and ending with the consumer.

Key Drivers

Part of the boom in sustainability and green technology is due to consumers’ access to information and their ability to visually see problems in a matter of seconds. However, research shows that organizations can enhance their performance by improving the sustainability of their supply chains.

Through building closer relations with suppliers, developing supplier capacity, and identifying and investing in opportunities for social, environmental and economical improvement throughout the supply chain, companies can begin to gain benefits from a more sustainable supply chain and achieve productivity and efficiency gains.

The business case for sustainability in the supply chain for a particular company depends on a variety of issues including field of operation, geographic location, stakeholder expectations, business priorities and organizational culture. There are best practices and key value drivers for sustainable procurement and economic indicators that apply across a number of elements as explained in the following five ensuing areas:

Risk Management.
Cost saving and realizing efficiencies.
Producing Sustainable Products.
Vehicle for Cleansing Suppliers and Transparency.
Ethical Business Conduct.

Risk Management

By mitigating and responding to social, environmental and economical risks in the supply chain, companies can protect their market share and reduce risk premiums. Being able to identify where a risk is probable and develop mitigation approaches fits well within the field of Sustainability.

Ultimately, the goal is to develop flexible supply chains networks that can profitably respond to dynamic changes. Moreover, strong management of social, environmental and economical issues can help companies address reputational risks that could impact their customers’ loyalties and affect their market share.

Cost Saving & Realizing Efficiencies

The connection between supply chain and sustainability are erroneously considered as a sunken cost for many companies, because in reality just the opposite occurs. Those who started proactively incorporating sustainability concepts into their supply chain found financial savings, cost cutting and added value to their operations.

Sustainable management of operational inputs, such as energy, water and raw materials proved significantly to reduce companies’ procurement costs while simultaneously lessening the carbon footprint and impact on workers’ health of supply chains.

On the other hand, investing in local purchasing and building capacity with local suppliers greatly helped companies to reduce cost of importing goods and materials, therefore, supporting the local economy to grow and prosper.

Also Read: Why You Need Logistics Services for the Solar Business

Producing Sustainable Products

Sustainable products are becoming more popular to a growing sector of the population that started giving primary consideration to sustainability and the planet. Customers and consumers are increasingly making difficult buying decisions based on social and environmental impacts.

So making your products more sustainable can reach a growing market sector and making smart sustainable decisions today can position a company to be more competitive and more averse to risk.

In simplistic terms, it often appears cheaper to produce a product with no regard to negative externalities such as those related to sustainability. When similar situations are gauged for the long run including a financial risk analysis they can prove vastly profitable.

Many companies practically focus on designing a linear process of supplying materials rather than production that reduce waste and pollution through innovative product and process design, including the use of non-toxic or less toxic raw materials and delivery to end of life and disposal, integrating sustainability throughout the whole product cycle.

Vehicle for Cleansing Suppliers and Transparency

Creating a sustainable supply chain means leveraging the supply chain to ensure fair treatment of people as well as taking a broad view that everyone along the supply chain is a stakeholder. The ultimate goal of engaging with suppliers is to develop a shared mindset about sustainability issues and work more closely with them with shared priorities.

These relationships can in turn provide companies with crucial information about potential trends, market changes, and other external influencers that could impact business. They also enhance companies’ abilities to secure business friendly outcomes from stakeholder decisions.

Ethical Business Conduct

Sustainable supply chain is also about the encouragement of good ethical and responsible governance practices throughout the lifecycles of goods and services. These practices contribute to build a healthier economy by fighting procurement fraud, bribery and non-ethical business relationships.

The direct costs of these corruptions are considerable and affect the quality of the product and indirect costs related to management time and resources spent dealing with issues such as legal liability and damage to a company’s reputation.

Engaging with suppliers in these issues helps to improve the quality of the product, reduce fraud and related costs, enhance business’s reputation and contribute in building a sustainable business environment.

Conclusions

Claiming that sustainable supply chain is just a voluntary exercise that can just improve business’ reputation does not make sense in today’s world. As sustainability consultants, we see more and more best practices in the successful implementation of a sustainable supply chain. These practices are not just applied by the large manufactures or industrial businesses. Companies of all sizes are today seeking to make additional steps toward a sustainable supply chain.

Some companies and industries have invested strongly in a sustainable supply chain, finding that sub-tier suppliers have the most significant challenges in addressing sustainability issues, and these companies started incorporating changes to advance practices that create value for their businesses as well as for economy at large.

How Businesses Can Become More Sustainable by 2025

By Salman Zafar | May 21, 2024 - 4:55 pm |May 28, 2024 Business, Environment, Sustainable Development

1. Setting Sustainability Goals

The first step towards building a sustainable business is to set clear goals. More specifically, business management should discuss and document what they intend to achieve by 2025 concerning sustainability. Examples of sustainability goals include, among others, waste reduction, the adoption of clean energy, environmental conservation, and a healthy workforce.

The right goals not only provide a sense of direction in the quest for sustainability but also motivate stakeholders. Take note that since 2025 is not so far away, every sustainability goal set should be achievable within the remaining time frame. Therefore, setting feasible objectives is important.

2. Partnering With Other Businesses

Sustainability is a global initiative, and hence, everyone has a role to play towards its achievement. Therefore, it makes sense to say that businesses can support each other through partnerships to achieve sustainability faster, especially because it is not a cheap affair. For instance, businesses need a lot of resources to become sustainable, something that can be hard to achieve without external support.

Through partnerships, businesses can share resources amongst themselves as well as support small businesses in their sustainability initiatives. For instance, a business that specializes in providing green energy can supply its products and services to other businesses at a lower yet profitable price.

3. Implementing Wellness Programs

Social sustainability is equally important in business as it contributes a great deal towards environmental and economic sustainability. Keeping this in mind, businesses should implement wellness programs aimed at promoting good health at the workplace.

Common workplace wellness programs include yoga classes, massage therapy, on-site fitness centers, healthy food, and employee support programs. “Yoga and meditation are all you need to ignite your best life and open into your full potential on and off the mat,” says Brett Larkin, the founder and CEO of Uplifted Yoga. It is worth noting that wellness is not just good for employees’ health but also for the journey towards sustainability.

4. Adopting Clean Energy

The global sustainability goal is to achieve zero carbon emission by 2050. Since carbon emission emanates from daily activities, every business should take individual initiative to reduce the carbon footprint. One great way to achieve this is by adopting clean energy. This involves using renewable and efficient heating and lighting energies such as solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and hydropower. For instance, by installing solar panels at the premises, an entrepreneur can harness solar energy and use it in their daily activities to reduce pollution.

5. Educating Staff on Healthy Living

Apart from workplace wellness programs, employees should also take personal initiative to live healthy away from work. This can be in ways such as eating healthy foods at home, biking or walking to work, exercising, and taking care of their mental health. In an interview, Michael Dean, the co-founder of Pool Research said, “Exercise is a basic necessity for everyone looking to improve their lives in every aspect, and swimming remains among the best exercises ever invented.” Therefore, to achieve sustainability, healthy living should be regarded highly by business stakeholders.

6. Creating a Healthy Working Environment

A peaceful working environment can greatly contribute towards enhancing collaboration, collegiality, and productivity at the workplace. This, in turn, helps promote social and economic sustainability in businesses. “A good company should treat every employee with the utmost respect, and never let anyone feel alone, down, or unwanted,” said Eric Mills, the Own/CEO of Pro Support Accessories, in a recent interview. Valuing employees motivates them to work hard to attain the organization’s goals, which include attaining sustainability.

7. Supporting Sustainable Innovation

Businesses should be open to modifying their products and services to suit their sustainability objectives. For instance, instead of packaging products in plastic materials, they can adopt biodegradable materials such as wood and paper. This will help reduce the quantity of plastic dumped in landfills.

Sustainable innovation also involves changing policies, procedures, and operations to promote environmental conservation and sustainability. For instance, creating a policy that bans smoking at the workplace can help maintain a clean working environment, improve productivity, and promote good health amongst employees.

8. Revisiting Waste Management

Only about 9 percent of plastic is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills. Unfortunately, the plastic in the landfills ends up in soil and water bodies, contaminating the environment and affecting every living organism along the food chain. Therefore, it is prudent for a business to manage their waste properly to avoid dumping plastics and other non-biodegradable materials in landfills.

Sustainable waste management strategies include, among others, reusing, recycling, biological treatment, and reducing waste. For instance, businesses can reduce their packaging to reduce their wastes and make disposal easier and sustainable.

Also Read: Business Waste Management – What Your Business Can Do Better

9. Learning From Competitors

Most businesses have now embraced sustainability, and are formulating strategies of promoting it in their operations. This means that you can learn what other businesses are doing and incorporate them in your strategies if they tally with your business core values and culture. For instance, if you’re looking for ideas for implementing wellness programs in your business, you can look at what your competitors have achieved so far and adopt their strategies.

10. Reviewing Performance

With time, every business should be able to identify what is working and what is not. There is no harm in abolishing policies and practices that don’t help promote sustainability and implementing those that do. For example, if employees don’t seem satisfied with the new rules and regulations at the workplace, it is always a good idea to hold meetings and find ways of improving or adapting to the new policies. In short, review the sustainability strategies regularly for improvement purposes.

The Bottom Line

Sustainability is the new strategy for business growth and development. Therefore, businesses should use these tips to achieve sustainability. When used correctly, these tips can help businesses become more sustainable by 2025.

البصمة البيئية لقطر

By Sybrandus Adema | May 21, 2024 - 10:58 am |May 22, 2024 Environment, Middle East, Nature

The Need for Sustainability Communication in the Middle East

By Amruta Kshemkalyani | May 21, 2024 - 10:48 am |May 22, 2024 Business, Environment, Middle East, Sustainable Development

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Environmental and sustainability awareness has been around in the society for quite some time now; and buzzwords like ‘ecofriendly’, ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ seem to be omnipresent. In spite of the proliferation of these eco-buzzwords, the state of sustainability communications remains poor and lacking in authenticity. This poor state of sustainable communication, aided by insufficient focus on authenticity, further allows unscrupulous organizations to ‘green wash’ their business or products.

The ‘greenwashing’, coupled with a lack of environmental knowledge on the consumer side engenders confused consumers who either despise any of the green eco-buzzwords or blindly accept green-washing as true sustainability. Currently, sustainability initiatives in the Middle East, be it local government or international, do not reach the common man.

People are still under impression that a few cursory steps towards ecofriendly lifestyle are enough. All in all sustainability is not yet properly understood in society. Most people wish to be more environmentally friendly but don’t know how. This is where sustainable communication can help.

Sustainability Communication for Businesses

There are two key elements to business sustainability communications:

Real Sustainability Efforts
Plentiful Sustainability Communication (external as well as internal).

Both of these elements are necessary. Without the former it’s a misleading greenwash, while without the latter, it’s a pocket of concentrated sustainability effort which will wither and die if the department handling this effort is disassembled.

For sustainability communications to work for businesses in the Middle East, there has to be real sustainability commitment and efforts from the business to make their product and services more sustainable. In this day and age of the internet, transparency and traceability about products and services are indispensable features which can prove the authenticity of the commitment of a business to sustainability goals.

There has to be external as well as internal sustainability communication for any organization which is taking efforts towards sustainability. The employees should get to know better about practicing sustainability policies or actions planned and implemented by that business. The employees can also act as sustainability advocates of that organizations.

In addition to having budget for CSR, organizations need to keep some time or fund aside for internal sustainability communication. In the long run these efforts can help organizations to stand out in the market.

Sustainable Communication in Media

If you open any newspaper or publication you are able to find some articles or information on the topic but most show a lack of clarity, and many appear to be written just as a formality. As an industry insider I can even reveal that most of the related news are mostly copy paste of original press releases sent by respective organizations. But if you look at other topics like lifestyle, fashion, those are well talked about, researched by in almost every publication.

Unfortunately we still don’t have enough qualified and expert sustainability journalists and writers in the region who actually understand what they are writing about. If you take example of Europe or Americas, they have many expert sustainability writers who write for main stream media and make sure the right information is reaching the society.

In general media in Middle East, though it’s newspaper or radio/TV channels need to give more attention to invest in qualified sustainability writers to acquire integrity and quality of sustainable communication.

Another issue of sustainable communication is it can take the form of an apocalyptic discussion, if you talk about environmental impact. People lose interest in such discussions quickly. Actually the statistic shows people in Middle East spend more time on internet than people from most other parts of world. But we need to accept that they prefer to have some light reading. We also need to create sustainability dialogue relevant to life of our readers and provide useful information for daily routine.

Instead of just talking about what is good and what is not, we need to show examples of doing good for environment, choosing sustainable options. So this takes me to my last point of sustainable communication, do what you preach. If we want our readers not just read but make changes in their lives; first we need to show how sustainable we practitioners are living. This will not only make sustainability relatable but also doable.

Demographics of Sustainability Communications

One important observation I have made, and many people in the field will agree, is that sustainability topic is well received by younger generation or millennials. These young people are pushing their parents and families to opt for more sustainable choices.

I would like to share one such personal experience. One of my readers contacted me and told her child insists on taking reusable bags with them all the time. Apart from how proud I felt about my reader and of course, her child, I was glad to know that the push of sustainable action is coming from young people.

When you communicate your sustainability efforts, be open for any feedback and criticism

During my eco-talks in schools, I always get positively surprised by how much these young kids know about environment and sustainability as compared to their adult counterparts. So we need to focus and include these young people in sustainable communication.

Consumer-Initiated Sustainable Communication

In this big market of consumers, we have almost no sustainable communication at consumer end. No surprise the region is facing larger issues like waste, waste recycling, and one of the highest rates of plastic consumption. We still lack sustainable communication initiated by consumers. What is needed in this region is a responsible consumer feedback.

Take the example of mending and renting services. The general shortage of mending and renting services a big indication of how the region has morphed itself a consumer’s paradise. This makes it critically difficult to create green consumerism as, market price, and availability in the market currently affects consumers much more than what the consumers really want.

However several consumers (more than we can perceive) would like to go back to the good old days when one really owned something, they used it for several years, got it mended over and over, and kept using it. It’s even better if the same brands are providing these mending and repair services of their own products in the region.

So if we could involve consumers in sustainability communication and dialogue, businesses can get feedback on what is truly missing, which will surely help them to make their business more sustainable.

Conclusion

Preaching what good you practice is not necessarily pompous if it is going to help the society be more sustainable. However at the core of any sustainable communication is a real effort in being sustainable, be it sustainability in energy, water, waste, or social.

The golden rule is, there is no knowledge without feedback of your actions, so when you communicate your sustainability efforts, be open for any feedback and criticism. This way we can create a positive loop of real sustainability actions, active and transparent communications, feedback and improvement, and better, more effective sustainability actions.

About the Author

Amruta Kshemkalyani, is an experienced sustainability professional and top sustainability influencer/advocate in UAE. While working in sustainable development field, she is also spreading environmental and sustainable living awareness in UAE through her blog www.sustainabilitytribe.com since 2009.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amrutant

Linkedin: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/amrutakshemkalyanitavkar

6 Eco-Friendly Ways To Redecorate Your Home

By Salman Zafar | May 21, 2024 - 10:38 am |June 1, 2024 Environment, Green Building, Home Improvements

2 Comments

When you are redecorating your home, it is important that you try to do it in an eco-friendly way. The world is changing, and more people need to be doing everything that they can to save the planet through their everyday life. If you want to play your part in saving the planet, you shouldn’t be wasting your old furniture and you should try to use less harmful paint and materials. We have put together some tips on how you can redecorate your home in an eco-friendly way. Make sure to keep reading if you’d like to find out more about this.

1. Thermal Curtains

Our first tip is to replace your curtains with thermal ones which can help to reduce the amount of energy that you use each month as they keep the heating in the room and thus keep your house warm in the winter season. You’ll find that there are plenty of thermal curtains available and you can get a lining that you can hang behind your current curtains if you like. You’ll love being able to use less energy every month while also having some nice new curtains hanging in your living room.

2. Don’t Get a New Kitchen

We know that it can be tempting to get an entirely new kitchen but if you want to redecorate your home in an eco-friendly way you should think about working on the smaller things. Instead of getting a new kitchen installed, you could replace your worktops with some laminate worktops for kitchens.

Alternatively, you could try to decorate your cupboards with some paint or decorations. Working on the smaller things like fixtures and fittings will be much more environmentally friendly than ripping your old kitchen out and replacing it.

3. Buy Real Wood Flooring

If you are thinking about replacing your current flooring, you should try to opt for real wood flooring. It is always a good idea to avoid buying carpet as this can be full of pollutants and chemicals which can cause problems for the environment.

You’ll also find that these chemicals will enter your home and remain there until it comes time to replace the carpet. If you want to redecorate your home in an eco-friendly way, you should avoid carpet and opt for real wood flooring.

4. Add Some Plants

If you are looking for a splash of colour in your home, then you should think about adding some plants. Not only is this an eco-friendly option but it can also make your home look amazing. When you have plants inside, you’ll find that they convert the carbon dioxide to oxygen. This makes your home a lot fresher and your air will be purified. Make sure to try this out if you want to add something new to your home.

5. Upcycle

Getting sick of your old furniture and thinking about replacing it? It’s time to upcycle some of your pieces in an attempt to redecorate in a more eco-friendly way. Upcycling is really easy, and you’ll find loads of advice online about how you can transform your old chair into something new.

The more furniture you are able to reuse the better because you won’t be wasting anything in the process. Make sure to consider upcycling instead of investing in new furniture and throwing your old pieces away.

6. Use Low VOC Paint

Our final tip for those who want to redecorate their home in an eco-friendly way is to only use low VOC paint. You’ll find that this type of paint contains less harmful ingredients that can affect your home and the environment.

Think about the number of toxic emissions that will be in your home if you choose one with a lot of volatile organic compounds. You’ll find that there are plenty of low VOC options available for those who want to give their home a fresh coat of paint.

Final Verdict

If you are thinking about redecorating your home, you should try to do it in an eco-friendly way. Make sure to think carefully about whether you actually need to rip out your old kitchen or not and if you could be satisfied with updating some of the fixtures and fittings.

On top of this, you should aim to only use low VOC paint which will release a lot less harmful toxins into your home and the environment around us. If you think that upcycling could work for you, you should try to repaint or reupholster some of your favourite old pieces of furniture. You’ll find that you love how they look when they are finished, and you’ll feel proud of your own accomplishment.

Make sure to take all of our advice on board if you want to redecorate your home in a sustainable way. Get started and see what you can come up with.

The Role of Big Data in Environmental Sustainability

By Salman Zafar | May 21, 2024 - 10:35 am |June 1, 2024 Environment, Technology

10 Comments

Over the past few years, big data has gained significantly in popularity. Big data is being used for a wide array of applications. Businesses rely on big data to gain more insight into their customers. In return, this allowed them to market more effectively. Nowadays, it is possible to use big data, alongwith IoT and AI, for many other purposes, including achieving and maintaining optimum environmental sustainability. What is big data all about? How can it help achieve environmental sustainability? You’ll find out in the guide below.

What is Big Data

First and foremost, you should familiarize yourself with the term “big data”. What is it exactly? Well, this term describes the collection, processing and availability of significant amounts of data in real time. In the past, it would have been impossible to reap the benefits of big data. The technology just wasn’t able to keep up.

Today, this has changed. Big data is now used frequently all around the world and it has proven to be very beneficial. Big data can be used for tons of purposes, including predicting the weather, guess future stock prices, and even analyzing customer data. It may also be beneficial for protecting the environment and conserving our natural resources.

Benefits of Big Data

When it comes down to it, big data offers tons of benefits. First and foremost, it is timely. Big data can be analyzed quickly and conveniently with the right technology. Big data is also trustworthy. The information has been collected from the most reputable sources. It is also possible to remove irrelevant data from the equation.

This ensures that the business or governmental agency is only required to work with relevant data. In return, they’ll get the most relevant, accurate and beneficial results. This data is also actionable and secure.

Big Data and Environmental Sustainability

Big data may very well be able to play a vital role in environmental sustainability. In the beginning, this technology and information was only used by big businesses. That is beginning to change very rapidly. It is now believed that big data could be immensely beneficial for helping the world assess environmental risks.

Big data can play a key role in protecting the environment and natural resources.

Take Aqueduct for example. This water-risk mapping tool was designed by the World Resources Institute. It is capable of monitoring and calculated water risks pretty much all around the world. It does so by relying on big data, such as water quantity, quality and other changing regulatory issues.

Big data can also enable environmental sustainability by giving the world the opportunity to better understand its demand for food, energy and water. This is even possible when the population increases and climate change reduces these vital resources each and every year.

How Big Data Helps

Truly, it might be possible to use big data to enable environmental sustainability. It can help bring about better regulation. It can also help optimize resource uses to ensure that the world does not run out. The world is really on the brink and big data could make the difference. To know more about data science, enrol at Data Science Course in Bangalore.

4 Tips for Creating An Ecofriendly Home

By Salman Zafar | May 21, 2024 - 10:29 am |May 21, 2024 Environment, Green Building, Home Improvements

4 Comments

If you want to make your home greener, there are simple modifications that won’t require much effort at all. Making your home ecofriendly is as simple as changing a light bulb or investing in a dish towel that won’t require you to work very hard, but together they will help to create a complete eco-friendly home remodeling. Below are 4 important guidelines for creating a cozy, eco-friendly home.

1. Save light

It is known to all of you that LEDs are better for the ecosystem as compared to incandescent bulbs, but have you ever thought they can reduce your energy bill and also have a longevity exceeding 10 years. They have only one drawback which is that they produce a cool, blue-based lumination, instead of warm and comfortable lighting incandescent.

However, look for LED bulbs which give off a yellow-based lumination to get that comfortable glow. You’ll come across products on the market which allow you to choose between 3 options: soft white, daylight, and warm white.

2. Upgrade the windows

In all probabilities, wooden window frames are more eco-friendly, unlike any other material. As compared to the more common options that produce harmful toxic compounds, these wooden window frames are more resilient, insulating, and also less polluting.

Go for double-glazing if possible, while thick curtains that help to conserve more energy will likewise be a good idea.

3. Set up a smart meter

One of the biggest ways in which you use energy happens to be your heating. During the cold season, you often forget to switch off your heating system when not required. This can cause wastage of money and also energy. It will be possible to combat this by installing a smart meter.

You can program these devices in such a way they only switch on at specific times of the day – for instance, heating up before going home, and switching off at a particular time before you leave your abode. Everybody trying to minimize his carbon footprint and reduce his electricity bills ought to own smart meters.

4. Installing ducted air conditioning

Ducted air conditioning systems will help to control the climate of your home by effectively regulating the airflow, temperature, and air quality. In this way, they will provide your room with superior energy efficiency and you can even set up timers to switch on these devices anytime you want.

However, if your ducted heating and cooling unit started malfunctioning, do not hesitate to call an expert who will be able to fix it for you. But always remember to choose a competent repair company. It might be the fact that you have employed your local technicians in the past and these ducted air conditioning experts had the answer on every occasion, but there is a possibility for you to get cheated once in a while. Do adequate research beforehand to avoid unwanted headaches in the long run.

Parting shot

While implementing these above-mentioned plans for your new eco-friendly abode, do not forget to consider these environmentally-friendly options to safeguard your environment too. For this, you can go online and take the help of the pertinent videos and articles to get a fair idea on this subject. Prove to be a blessing for the surroundings and also prevent your own health from deteriorating.

Debunking 4 Most Common Solar Panel System Myths

By Salman Zafar | May 17, 2024 - 1:38 pm |February 1, 2025 Renewable Energy

1 Comment

Solar panel systems’ sales have increased over the last few years. But there are still many who are yet to make the transition. One of the reasons for people resisting the change is the myths surrounding solar panel systems. And the sad part is that people believe these myths without even checking with a solar expert or reading about solar panel systems from a relevant source. So to clear the air, in this post, we talk about some of the most common solar panel myths and the facts behind them. Come let’s find out.

Myth 1 – They are way too expensive

Unfortunately, it is because of this myth that many people do not consider installing a solar panel system. Most of them have this preconceived notion and they don’t even read up or talk to a solar expert to find out how much solar panel systems actually cost.

Fact – One of the reasons people fall for this myth is that they only consider the initial investment cost and do not take into account the savings that one makes after installing a solar panel system. The fact is that on average people are able to recover their investment cost within the first 4 to 5 years itself. And whatever savings that one makes after having recovered the investment cost is the returns that one makes on their investment. Also, many people are unaware of the huge subsidies that the Government of India offers on the purchase of a solar panel system.

Myth 2 – They don’t generate power during rainy and winter season

Another most common myth about solar power systems is that solar panel systems do not generate any power during the colder months. People think that solar panels work only on a warm sunny day.

Fact – The output of solar panels does get impacted during a cloudy day or during the winter season (as winter days are shorter as compared to summer days), but the fact is that solar panel systems still generate a significant amount of energy during these days too. On the other hand, the efficiency of a solar panel decreases when the temperature is very high. Also, there are highly efficient solar panels available in the market that ensure there’s minimal effect of seasonality on a solar panel’s efficiency.

Myth 3 – They are high maintenance

One of the reasons people believe that solar panels require high maintenance is because they are installed in the open. People are also skeptical about solar panels being damaged by external environmental factors such as strong winds, heavy rains, hailstorms. But this is a myth and now let us find out what the reality is.

Fact – Solar panels are highly durable and are designed keeping all the external environmental factors in mind. Also, since they do not have any moving parts they hardly require any repair or replacement. As far as cleaning of solar panels is concerned, during the rainy season the dirt, dust and debris gets washed away with the rain. Besides that you only need to clean them around 1 to 2 times annually.

Myth 4 – They do not power your home during a power outage

You must have heard the age old saying “Half knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Well, the saying holds true about the myth around solar panel systems according to which solar panels stop functioning during a power outage or a power failure from the local grid’s end.

Fact – As you would be aware that on-grid (or grid tied) solar panel systems draw power from the local grid whenever there’s deficiency of power and similarly they supply surplus power to the local grid whenever there’s excess energy produced. And therefore, whenever there’s a power outage the solar panel systems do shut down to prevent any flow of surplus power from the solar panel systems to the local grid. It does so to protect the utility company workers fixing the lines during the power outage. But that doesn’t mean there would be no power available to run the home appliances during the power outage. Solar panel systems with batteries have enough power stored in the battery to provide the required backup during a power outage.

Yet to take the plunge?

If you weren’t sure of going solar just because you believed in one or more of the above listed myths, we hope we have been able to clear them and you would now consider switching to a solar panel system.

إستراتيجيات الحفاظ على المياه في الشرق الأوسط

By Sunanda Swain | May 9, 2024 - 11:33 am |August 29, 2024 Middle East, Sustainable Development, Water

2 Comments

للتعامل مع تحديات إدارة المياه العذبة في الشرق الأوسط , لابد من إحداث توازن بين مخزون المياه الموجود و حجم الطلب . وهذا التوازن ممكن أن يحقق من خلال توظيف إستراتيجيات تزيد من كفاءة المياه و الحفاظ عليها . استراتيجيات حفظ المياه في الشرق الأوسط تتضمن التقليل قدر الإمكان من إستخدام المخزون المائي القابل للنقل , إيجاد مصادر مياه بديلة للإستعمالات المتعددة و زيادة كفاءة استخدام المياه من معدات و تجهيزات مناسبة .

الإستراتيجيات الفعالة بالإضافة إلى مراقبة المياه التي تتعقب عملية استخدامها و تحديد المشاكل , ممكن أن تخفض الإستهلاك الداخلي و الخارجي للمياه بشكل ملحوظ في الدول التي تعاني من شح شديد للمياه كدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي مثل الإمارات , قطر , الكويت و السعودية . معظم إستراتيجيات حفظ المياه لا تحتوي على تكلفة ضمنية إضافية و/أو مزودة بوارد فوري مع أن هناك بعض الإستراتيجيات مثل نظم معالجة مياه الصرف الصحي و و أنظمة سباكة المياه الرمادية التي غالبا تتضمن استثمارات كبيرة .

تخفيض الإستهلاك الداخلي للمياه الصالحة الشرب

تخفيض استهلاك المياه الصالحة للشرب في الإستخدامات الداخلية ممكن أن يتم من خلال تركيب أجهزة تدفق منخفضة الكفاءة في دورات المياه , المباول , المراحيض , الحمامات , مصارف المطابخ و استعمال مياه غير صالحة للشرب في النوافير ” الflush ” . مصادر المياه غير صالحة للشرب تؤخذ غالبا من مياه الأمطار , المياه الرمادية , المياه المستصلحة أو مياه البلدية المعالجة من مخلفات الصرف الصحي . المباول التي تحتاج كمية منخفضة من المياه متوفرة في المتاجر ومن الممكن أن تستخدم في المباني التجارية . محددات التدفق و الضوابط الإلكترونية و المراحيض المختلطة من الممكن أيضا أن تساهم في تخفيض الإستهلاك الداخلي للمياه .

تخفيض الإستهلاك الخارجي للمياه الصالحة للشرب

ري المساحات الزراعية يستهلك كمية كبيرة من المياه الصالحة للشرب . إستعمال المياه في المساحات الخارجية ممكن أن يخفض بشكل ملحوظ من خلال نهج متكامل . ذلك يتضمن توظيف تكنولوجيا ري موفرة للمياه , فرش التربة ” بأوراق شجر متحللة أو سماد ” , التقليل من فرش الأرض بالأعشاب أو إلغائه أصلا , إستعمال مياه غير صالحة للشرب أو معاد تكريرها , تركيب عدادات فرعية للتعقب و تسجيل إتجاه دخول مياه الري و أخيرا أختيار أنواع نباتات محلية أو متكيفة في تصميم المساحات الكبيرة و استخدام طريقة الحدائق الجافة . أنظمة الري عالية الكفاءة مثل الري بالتنقيط , نظام توزيع المياه الفوار ” النافورة ” , الري المنظم بجداول و الري المرتكز على الوضع الجوي جميعها تساعد في زيادة كفاءة المياه .

تخفيض إستخدام المياه العملية

استخدامات الأنظمة التقليدية للمباني للمياه العملية تتضمن أبراج التبريد , المراجل , المبردات , غسالات الصحون و الغسالات .إن كمية المياه المستهلكة في هذه الإستخدامات ملحوظة إلى حد كبير . إستراتيجيات تخفيض إستهلاك المياه العملية تتضمن : إستخدام المياه غير صالحة للشرب مثل مياه المطر , المياه الرمادية أو مياه المخلفات المجاري المعالجة TSA في عمليات البناء و أخيرا أنظمة مثل أبراج التبريد . قياس أنظمة المياه العملية ممكن أن يساعد في جمع معلومات عن كمية إستهلاك المياه و معرفة مناطق التسريبات .

إستصلاح و إعاداة إستخدام المياه المتكاثفة

المكثفات المنتجة من معدات تكييف الهواء يمكن استصلاحها وإعادة استخدامها داخل المبنى. التكاثف يمكن جمعه عن طريق تركيب وعاء جامع للتكاثف ثم نقلها عبر انظمة مختلفة إلى أنابيب الصرف لأغراض إاعادة الإستخدام المختلفة مثل الري , نوافير تنظيف دورة المياه Flush أو أي إستعمالات أخرى ليس لها إتصال بجسم الإنسان . و للأبنية التي يكون فيها حمل التبريد مساو أو أعلى من 350 كيلوواط كمية كبيرة من المياه المكثفة ممكن أن تستصلح و يعاد إستخدامها .

ترجمه

علا محمود المشاقبة , حاصلة على درجة البكالوريوس تخصص ” إدارة الأراضي و المياه ” من الجامعة الهاشمية – الأردن بتقدير جيد جدا , أعمل تطوعيا كعضو إداري مع مجموعة ” مخضّرو الأردن JO Greeners” منذ ثلاثة سنوات و حتى الأن , و متطوعة أيضا مع منظمة EcoMENA . موهبة الكتابة شيء أساسي في حياتي و قمت بتوظيفها في كتابة و خدمة القضايا البيئية .