just co2 reduction isn't everything.
“we are co2 neutral” is probably one of the mostly used marketing slogans of thousands of companies today. but is co2 the only substance that damages the environment? could a co2 neutral production still be harmful to our planet? and what exactly is meant by it?
co2 is one of several greenhouse gases responsible for the global temperature rise of the planet. without any of those gases in the atmosphere, the average temperature on earth would be about -18°c. however, the amount of greenhouse gases is rising due to several human activities, (klöpffer et al., 2009) leading to a temperature rise which is endangering our planet’s ecosystem, biodiversity, and our personal health. (heshmati, 2020).
reducing the amount of emitted co2 is consequently a way to slow this process down. but a company being co2 neutral still can emit co2 – emit at the company and buy certificates stating to absorb or reduce somewhere else. however, it can happen, that the co2 would have been reduced anyways – also without certificates – leading to a “co2 -neutrality” on paper, but not in real life. not an increase of co2 certificates, but a decrease of emitted co2 is essential (paschotta, 2021). about our strong endeavours to reach this can be read in our former article “the key is the architecture”.
greenhouse gases are not the only substance harmful to the planet, global warming is not the only environmental problem field.
human toxicity and ozone depletion are just two of several others, caused by substances such as fckws contained for example in solvents (klöpffer et al., 2009). therefore, even though being co2 neutral, a company can still be harmful to the environment.
we at ruwido do not only want to emit as little co2 as possible, but also avoid other harmful substances.
prints and lacquers contain substances hazardous to human’s health and to the environment. the biggest impact comes from the so-called “vocs” (volatile organic compounds), that get released during the drying process of a coating. vocs participate in the formation of ozone, known as smog, which is very injurious to human health. according to the world health organisation (who) and danish researchers, people regularly working with paint have a significantly increased risk of cancer and neurological damages (porwal, 2015).
in the better world architecture, no paints and lacquers are used at all.
as already explained in the previously posted article “the key is the architecture”, laser etching technology is applied instead, enabling us to completely forego the harmful vocs.
this laser etching process takes place directly at our company seat in austria – along with all other production steps, from the bare material up to the ready packed remote control. in the next article, you can read more about this production under one roof in austria.
Heshmati, H. (2020). Impact of Climate Change on Life. In S. Sarvajayakesavalu & P. Charoensudjai (Eds.), Environmental Issues and Sustainable Development. IntechOpen.
Klöpffer Walter, & Grahl, B. (2009). Ökobilanz (lca): Ein Leitfaden für Ausbildung und Beruf. Wiley-VCH-Verl.
Paschotta, R. (2021). CO2-neutral. RP Photonics AG. www.energie-lexikon.info/co2_neutral.html
Porwal, T. (2015). Paint Pollution Harmful Effects on Environment. International Journal of Research – Granthaalayah, 3.
