WaterWatchers is a new tool from IBM that lets mobile users, even ones without smartphones, report issues with the water in their communities. Can it help clean up the country’s dirty water?
Like many countries around the world, South Africa struggles with an aging water infrastructure that’s struggling to keep up with rapidly increasing urban populations. In 2010, IBM previously tested the power of crowdsourcing to pinpoint water issues with its Creekwatch app; now the company is leveraging the crowd to keep track of all the leaks and busted pipes in South Africa with WaterWatchers, an app that lets citizens report issues with the water supply to a central database.
In many ways, WaterWatchers is an extension of the CreekWatch app, which lets users monitor the health of local creeks--things like trash, flow rate, and water level. WaterWatchers uses similar technology, but can also deal with pure text. That means users can report issues on the app even if they don’t have smartphones. WaterWatchers is also more widely applicable--in general, people care more about their own water supplies than nearby creeks that don’t immediately seem relevant.
"The issue with CreekWatch is that it’s a great app but sort of leaves things open-ended. It doesn’t really say what it is we’re trying to find, just letting you tell us what’s going on with a diverse set of inputs in a natural environment," explains Perry Hartswick, IBM Smarter Planet Architect. "When you’re talking about water supplies, these are much more focused issues. We think and hope that there will be a much more intense response to this."
IBM chose to launch WaterWatchers in South Africa because, well, this is just how it greets new markets. "When IBM goes into a region, we don’t say we’re coming into this geography to make money. We go in on many different levels of participation. We establish a research lab, a local presence, and we take responsibility for that area as well," says Hartswick. IBM launched its first African research center in Nairobi, Kenya in 2012. The company’s first Africa Innovation Centre launched in Johannesberg, South Africa in 2008.
If WaterWatchers is successful, the app will end up with a detailed water "leak hot spot" map for the country. Local officials will have access to the data; it will be up to them what they want to do with it. But if citizens start to notice that officials are paying attention to the app’s reports, they’ll probably be more likely to take it seriously.
We need to move from a system of waste to a system of reuse--an economy that’s a circle and not a line. Some businesses are getting closer to this ideal than others.
Since the Industrial Revolution, humanity’s use of natural resources has been basically the same: take, make, throw away. The World Bank’s predictions for global waste generation are chastening: on current trends it will double between now and 2025 to 6.5 million tons of solid waste every day. For sure, we are better at using virgin resources more efficiently while second-hand markets and recycling rates have both improved. But this hasn’t altered the fundamentals. Many companies’ business models are not set up to do much else than earn money from volume. The fact that few businesses are vertically integrated makes it more difficult for businesses to reform the model for “closed” product loops even if their CEOs want to.
It often requires product vendors to think of the resources in their products as assets rather than inputs and their customers as users rather than buyers. The question then becomes how to maximize value along the chain and, crucially, how to enable the assets to be continually re-introduced to markets. Once a material is seen as an investment and customers as users, one appreciates how little business-sense it makes to discard product assets after only a few months instead of maintaining the customer relationship during multiple cycles.
Of course, this “circular” thinking may be easier said than done. There are five fundamental considerations for nearly every sector when thinking about how make their business model more circular:
How can we design our products with asset recovery in mind?
How can we develop product lines to meet demand without wasting assets?
How can we source material in regenerative loops rather than linear flows?
How can we develop a revenue model that protects value up and down the chain, and
How can we get our customers to cooperate with us?
Complex organizations with multiple stakeholders and relationships with customers that are generally "point-of-sale" may need to change their mind set and think of themselves as service providers.
We have identified five business models that are contributing to making circular businesses a reality:
In products as services, goods vendors embrace the idea of themselves as service providers: leasing access to and not selling ownership of a service. In some cases this has led not only to an effective hedge against cost volatility but also to a stickier customer relationship and increased upsell. Vodafone’s Red-Hot plan is a good example. You can rent the latest phone for a year and keep on exchanging it for a newer version. Assuming Vodafone is engaged in collecting the old phone, not only does this act as material collection and pooling but from a business standpoint also creates deeper customer relationships.
Next life materials and products work when a company can efficiently recover and re-condition its products after use and then put the same products into the market to earn a second or third income. Tata Motors Assured is a good example here. It’s more than a second hand car dealership. Cars are handpicked and refurbished in Tata workshops and then undergo a certification process. Customers are even offered financing options and warranty.
Not all products can be reconditioned in their entirety but most products have certain components that carry a high value. Not just products, but often materials themselves have an embedded energy component that makes them even move valuable then their virgin source. With the right design and remanufacturing capabilities, they can be put together to form new products. This is product transformation. For BMW, it can mean a 50% cost saving for customers buying remanufactured parts as compared to new ones. You get exactly the same quality specifications as a new BMW part subject to the same 24-month warranty.
Not to be forgotten is that innovation in recycling technology (Recycling 2.0) is rapidly evolving and enabling production of high-quality products with fantastic sustainability performance. Starbucks, for example, is actually aiming to turn thousands of tons of its waste coffee grounds and food into everyday products by using bacteria to generate succinic acid which can then be used in a range of products from detergents to bio-plastics and medicines.
Lastly, social media exchange platforms are rapidly transforming industries by collaborative consumption. Airbnb (the online service that matches people seeking vacation rentals with hosts who have space) now has over 200,000 listings in 26,000 cities. Check out ThredUP the next time you need new clothes for your kids, you can browse like-new clothing at significant reductions from families whose children have outgrown their old clothes.
Of course, moving to a truly circular economy could require a mixture of all these five business models and a great deal of product and service innovation. Consumers and policymakers have a central role too. But what these business models demonstrate is that it is possible to rethink how we make and use things. The companies that are starting now may well define the future of sustainable business, enabling global prosperity on a crowded planet with finite resources.
by: EnviroGadget, 2013-04-25 11:20:31 UTC
Logitech is a renowned name in computer consumables and its latest addition the Logitech K750 solar powered keyboard is a must have for every gadget enthusiast. The K750 suits Windows based operating systems while its counterpart the K760 is designed for Macs, iPad and iPhones. Both the keyboards are solar powered and can also charge [...]
A new model for prefabricated homes, Abōd® Shelters, is making a difference in South Africa, and designers hope that this solution can be made available to people around the world who suffer from poverty, homelessness, or are displaced by natural disasters.
Recently, a community of Abōd Shelters was constructed on the Del Cramer Campus in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, about three hours north of Johannesburg, which is equipped to feed 500 children.
Abōd Shelters have electricity and lighting, in addition to the daylighting made available by the use of SUNTUF® corrugated roofing panels, which have excellent impact strength, hold up to extreme temperatures, are non-corrosive and recyleable. Polygal® Hurricane Panels are used to provide for storm protection. Assembly is performed with the use of fasteners that require only a quarter turn to tighten. Each home costs about US$6,000, is designed to last thirty years, and can be built by one family in one day.
Abōd Shelters were developed in part by Doug Sharp, a West Des Moines, Iowa architect with BSB Designs, who usually works on luxury homes. He wanted to give back and help people in the United States and the rest of the world. The goal was to “offer sound, safe, and easy to build homes to people in need.”
The BSB Designs team set about determining a way to build a home “economically, simply, with materials that were going to last a long time,” as Doug explains in a video interview. “The endeavor is to make a difference.”
The resulting design has been adapted to the global standards and requirements of the United Nations. Abōd shelters are built on a solid, steel structure for durability and adaptability. The concept of the catenary arch is reminiscent of some of the huts that the designers have seen in rural African communities. They are painted in cultural colors, that have some relationship to the community in which they are being built, and natural colors that do not contrast harshly with the environment.
Jerry Messman, Consulting Partner for BSB Designs, says that security and privacy are big issues to people, so the shelters are designed to incorporate a “high quality of character to give people a sense of pride” about where they live. The back of the Abōd opens up to the private community and the front features an opening from which residents can sell and distribute goods that they have made.
The first Abōd community of five homes was built for an orphan community in Limpopo, a small province in South Africa, in conjunction with local pastor, Don Chauke, and Dr. Jim Blessman of Blessman Ministries. Groups of women quickly and easily grasped the requirements of construction and worked together to build the homes.
Donations are being accepted for Abōd Shelters projects, with funds going to The Affordable Housing in the Developing World Foundation (AHDWF), a registered 501c3 that dedicated to providing affordable housing wherever it is needed around the world. You can also get involved by joining a Team or the newly launched Student Program.
by: Environmental Leader, 2013-04-25 14:36:48 UTC The US ranks No. 1 among 21 countries most actively using the tax code to influence sustainable corporate activity, reflecting the country’s federal tax incentives for energy efficiency, renewable energy and green buildings, according to KPMG’s first Green Tax Index. Japan, the UK, France, South Korea and China are also among the leading countries using [...]
by: TreeHugger Design, 2013-04-24 11:00:00 UTC
In asking "How can products, like people, come from dust, and to dust return?," this "designer-gatherer" is creating simple but elegant furniture using compost.
The main objective behind the iF concept design awards is to foster young talent and help them bloom. Grooming them to become the next big change in the product design field. 2013 saw some really interesting concepts take vision and follow the unchartered path of innovation. Here is a look at twenty of the most striking projects (out of the 100 Winners) this year. The full list is available here.
Jarpet projects the 3D images of pets, and can interact with kids by multi-sensory technology.
Offugo is a bike parking lot lock system.
Anello is a counter-top mini washing machine designed for singles, offering practical laundry.
Flexer is a flexible lens digital camera that utilizes liquid silicon.
Super Battery is a solar power battery.
Blind Memo helps the visually impaired to recognize living goods and take a note by themselves.
Easy Plug is a plug and also socket which can plug in with any angle by the annular magnetic electrodes.
Rice Pack for every single person who has difficulty in cooking the perfect rice meal.
With Magic Comb, you can always comb your hair with amazingly sanitized brush.
Finger& Ruler is a rolling ruler. In order to use it, you have to put the ruler on your on your finger.
Coffee.Tea Maker adds a new chapter to both coffee & tea culture.
RingIng is an innovative loudspeaker.
Special Teatime is a tea thermos for the visually impaired.
Two in One zipped earphones!
Slide-hole makes sure you land the key in the keyhole correctly.
Clean bottle is a jam jar redesign.
Restore well, instant beverage chiller.
Freenter is a wallpaper printer and applicant.
+4.5parercup can solve many of the problems of papercups currently used in vending machines.
Admit it or not, we’ve all had moments where we haven’t had the time or energy to bathe! This compact personal device aims to make cleaning up a cinch with interchangeable heads for body, face, and hair that disperse and almost instantly reabsorb a mixture of water and specialized detergents. No larger than an electric shaver, it’s perfect for traveling, camping, days-long outdoor music festivals, and more… freshen up any time or place!
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-04-04 20:26:44 UTC
Education suffers when students cannot see clearly. This is problematic in areas of the world where there are not enough eye care professionals to ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2013-04-03 08:52:21 UTC
From Wednesday the 27th of March on, a scale model of the bladeless windmill can be viewed in front of the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics ...
In asking "How can products, like people, come from dust, and to dust return?," this "designer-gatherer" is creating simple but elegant furniture using compost.
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