Track your CO2 emissions with Capture App

A new app can trace the levels of carbon dioxide each user emits and offers a planet-friendly way for users to lower their footprint and reduce their CO2 emissions.
As life gets back to normal for many following the lockdown, pollution levels are likely to rise. Following a significant decrease during the most intense period of lockdown, it is important to keep our CO2 emissions down.

Capture App offers individuals and businesses a way to track their carbon emissions. The app allows you to see where your biggest pollutants come from and plan for a more sustainable lifestyle.

CleanTech spoke to Josie Stoker, CEO of Carbon footprint & CO2 tracker App “Capture”, to talk about how the app is moving users towards a lower-carbon lifestyle.

There are 2.7bn smartphone users in the world, who could use this app? What is your vision for the world, if they do?
We wanted to help people who care about the environment to feel empowered and satisfied (not words you traditionally link to climate change!) when it came to taking action against climate change. The vision is to enable our users to understand and reduce emissions on a daily basis – helping people achieve at least a 7.6% reduction in emissions year on year.

What has the feedback been from users so far?
Users have enjoyed the automatic tracking of emissions from journeys – CO2 emissions are filled-in based on an algorithm that helps you keep track of mobility choices as you travel.

Some environmentalists have been accused of eco-hysteria, from planning dramatic stunts to causing disruptive protests. Do you think Capture App could contribute to this delirium?
I think this is a really interesting question. There has been some incredible work done by Katie Patrick; showing how alarm and panic has not moved people to make the kind of changes at a collective level that we need. Doom and fear has not worked. At Capture, we actively inform users and work with them to lower our carbon emissions, creating a satisfying and achievable target with the aim of inspiring action and hope, rather than fear and guilt.

What benefit does the Capture App have for the user?
We try to help people understand their own personal emissions. There are four main emissions categories from us as individuals: transport, diet, home energy use and goods and services. Capture covers transport and food (so far). On our website and within the app, we have a learning section which can feature topics such as climate education, planet-friendly living tips and a little more about our services to companies.

Does Capture App pass on any user details to third parties?
We don’t pass on any details to third parties and tight data privacy is absolutely vital for us as a company. We do work both with individuals and with companies – where we help organisations build and maintain a planet-friendly workforce… For those who sign up as an employee within a Capture team area, we will ask permission to share non-personal, high-level emissions data with employers, such as % changes in your carbon footprint.

How has using Capture App impacted your personal choices – in terms of transportation and diet?
How bad flying is compared to other forms of transport has really stuck out for me – and dairy! But I could never completely give up cheese! Using Capture helped me realise that being ‘planet-friendly’ isn’t an all-or-nothing game. You don’t have to be perfect to make a difference.

The app is a great way to sustainably alter your life choices and track your progress. With New Years resolutions having a failure rate of 80%, why not start a sustainable resolution with Capture App this summer?

Carbon Craft Design looks to build a pavilion

Carbon Craft Design, a Mumbai based startup, has developed the Reverse Chimney Pavilion, which aims to offset the world’s carbon emissions.
When we google air pollution, the first thing we see is a chimney – the symbol of air pollution.

Carbon Craft Design imagined a chimney, which does not emit pollutants, but reverses the process. The transformation of this idea is what the Indian startup calls: “The Reverse Chimney Pavilion”.

As previously reported by CleanTech News, the company also developed the Carbon Tile, a tile made from carbon particles, launched in January 2020.

Carbon Craft Design describe the tile as: “A byproduct of the series of material experimentation and design explorations”. Now, another item joins the ranks of ingenuity: a public pavilion made from the Carbon Tiles.

“We are excited to introduce our first architectural invention; a pavilion, which was started to develop a Clean Air Experience Centre for public and local communities,” said Tejas Sidnal, founder of Carbon Craft Design.

Carbon Craft Design had observed that there were methods to capture pollution, but wondered what to do with it.

Intrigued to find a way to upcycle it into a new form, the team envisioned an architectural invention and came up with the idea of a pavilion.

Local residents could sit and enjoy the shade, whilst breathing in cleaner air and physically sit on the carbon which previously, would have been left to pollute their community.

“Following the industrial revolution, migration and growth resulted in inevitable air pollution,” Sidnal continued.

“In a world that has become more connected and accessible than ever before, we aim to make a statement that Climate Change can be reversed if we solve this problem together, as a community of diverse people.”

How is the Pavilion made?
The company began prototyping local craft to figure out a way to use the captured carbon as a resource in building material.

“We used Carbon Craft Design’s traditional tile, to handcraft various inspiring patterns,” explained Sidnal.

In the design, Carbon Craft Design looked for inspiration from both nature and architecture.

As a result, the Reverse Chimney Pavilion mimics traditional wind catchers and the structural stability of clam shells.

A socially focused startup
Furthermore, Carbon Craft Design has a focus on producing a positive social impact. This is through employing local craftsmen, rather than being heavily dependent on technology.

“We are able to generate local employment and empowerment by making Carbon Tiles. Using the craftsmen’s existing skill and knowledge, we employ the same people to execute a pavilion, to help them raise multiple sources of income,” said Tejas.

What’s next for Carbon Craft Design?
“We envision to build an entire building using carbon emissions, to mitigate climate change,” said Sidnal. “We believe that the Reverse Chimney Pavilion will be the physical manifestation of this idea – to inspire and build a better future for the people and the planet.”