100 Ecological, sustainable and environmental projects: Green Ideas!

Guide to ecological, environmental, and sustainable projects

Although some of us might ask… What do headphones, a subscription service for baby clothes, and mobile technology for farmers in East Africa have in common?

In reality, they are ecological, sustainable, and educational projects that represent an effort to have a more sustainable planet and combat climate change. But… Why are they so vital? What do they aim for?

• Preservation of biodiversity
• Reduction of carbon footprint
• Promotion of sustainability

There are many environmental projects and sustainable ones that provide benefits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting biodiversity, improving air quality, saving water, creating jobs, and much more.

The future depends on initiatives that respect the environment and are useful for society. Sustainable and ecological innovation to protect the Earth!

So… Where can I see the most sustainable initiatives? We show you in detail the best examples of ecology projects and innovative sustainable ideas…

Environmental and ecological projects

We start from Global Opportunity Explorer (an initiative of SUSTAINIA and UN Global Compact). A platform that explores hundreds of ideas, sustainable solutions, and market opportunities that address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Some examples of sustainable projects that protect the environment that you will find are:

• Water<Less® sustainable project by Levi Strauss & Co. for saving water: They have saved over three billion liters of water and recycled two billion through improved water use efficiency and changes in jeans manufacturing processes.
• Circular Carbon Project by Natura: This is the first carbon ‘insetting’ project in Natura’s production chain, aimed at remunerating communities for environmental conservation to combat deforestation in the Amazon.
• ¡Échale! a tu Casa Sustainable Program: This project focuses on enabling families to build their own affordable and sustainable homes, thus promoting employment and community development.
• Vermicomposting ecological project by ByoEarth: This initiative promotes composting in both rural and urban areas to improve the living conditions of vulnerable groups by transforming organic waste into valuable fertilizers.
• Nep­tuno Pumps with efficiency: Designs and manufactures energy-efficient and water-saving pumps made from recycled materials.
• Viña Concha y Toro for forest protection: Intensely focuses on conservation, protecting large areas of native forest around its Chilean vineyards for a variety of ecosystem services.

We can access the platform from GO Explorer HERE (At the moment it does not work). They offer countless opportunities that add value to businesses, society, and improve the environment.

Ecological project in housing and construction sector

Another example of green projects is Archiblox, an ecological and prefabricated modular house that generates more energy than it consumes.

The energy efficiency of the house is achieved by taking advantage of all possible resources of sustainable prefabricated construction, the use of renewable energies, efficient water use, natural light utilization, and much more.

A very top sustainable project. The company Respyre literally wants the “concrete to breathe”… Can you imagine being able to make facades and walls where moss grows naturally?

Or the new bricks with bacteria that absorb CO2 from Breathe Brick. Imagine large buildings that are literally environmental purifiers.

You can see more ideas in innovative and sustainable construction materials. There is a lot of work to be done here to reduce the carbon footprint in construction.

🟧 Note: Two articles of interest that can help us; One is free ecological house plans that gathers a glossary of 28 types of ecological and sustainable homes to download the plans, and the other is focused on wood in construction with more than 50 different guides and manuals.

Recycling projects

In a modern world where waste generation is constantly increasing, the need to recycle is of vital importance. Recycling initiatives emerge as a valuable resource to promote a more sustainable future.

We really liked Dave Hakkens’ project. The idea is that anyone with few resources and basic material can build simple machines to recycle plastic.

On his official Precious Plastic website you can find all the detailed plans – see solutions section – to manufacture different equipment and be able to reuse plastic.

🟧 Note: We have an article exclusively dedicated to the previous topic on how to make machines to recycle plastic.

Other ideas that inspire recycling projects that have been success stories:

• Returnable Packaging Bank (BER): A system implemented in several Latin American countries that incentivizes the return of packaging in exchange for a refund.
• Upcycling: The art of transforming waste into higher-value products, creating unique and durable objects.
• The Renewal Project in the United States and “I was a Sari” in India: They work on textile recycling, turning old clothes and textile waste into new products like rugs, underwear, and toys.
• ECycle in Australia and WEEE Chile: They are dedicated to electronics recycling, recovering valuable materials and safely disposing of components.
• The Ocean Cleanup in the Netherlands and “Sea Cleaner” in Spain: They work on collecting and recycling ocean plastic, transforming it into products like clothing, furniture, and construction materials.

Renewable energy projects

Other projects that help the environment are related to renewables. Their benefits are palpable compared to fossil fuels that are causing climate change. But they are also an opportunity for disadvantaged communities.

Renewable energies have great potential to benefit the most disadvantaged and developing communities, some examples of sustainable energy projects:

• In Kenya, the Solar for Rural Schools project provides solar panels to rural schools, allowing them to have access to electricity to light classrooms, charge computers, and use other electronic equipment.
• In India, the Solar Water Pumping initiative uses solar panels to pump water to fields, which has increased agricultural productivity by 20%.
• In Tanzania, the green project Mbeya Solar Hub provides energy to small businesses, which has helped create more than 1,000 jobs.
• In Indonesia, the Solar Home Systems project provides solar panels to homes, improving the quality of life for more than 100,000 families.

Food projects

In the food sector, solutions stand out that are transforming food systems through urban agriculture with innovative work and environmental projects.

From food waste treatment or protecting the livelihoods of small farmers to making sustainable and ecological kitchens.

Innovative ecological ideas in food that constantly improve our environment and health

The Sky Greens project consists of growing vegetables vertically using a closed-loop hydraulic water system. The project is capable of operating with less than 5% of the water in traditional cultivation, reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides needed by 25%.

Additionally, its hydraulic technology consumes very little electricity. As a note, in the article on the IKEA hydroponic garden, we can simply have a “mini garden” at home at a very low cost to have our fresh vegetables on the table.

Eco fashion projects

Examples of innovative technological projects are many. In the ecological fashion sector, there are solutions that range from yarns made from fishing nets or second-hand clothes for children to a new way of dyeing fabric and even a repair service for jeans.

The entrepreneur’s imagination to project innovative ecological products with a technological base is a good opportunity to reach a market that demands sustainable projects in the fashion world.

From the Nudie Jeans brand, they launched a project of global free jeans repair for their brand. The idea comes from the “Eco-Cycle” program, which aims to extend the life cycle of jeans.

In addition to offering free repairs, the sustainable Eco-Cycle program allows its customers to return a worn-out pair of jeans in exchange for a 20% discount on the next pair. It should be remembered that more than 6,800 liters of water are required to produce a pair of jeans—crazy!

Ecological transport projects

The transport sector presents a focus on non-motorized and public transport. In this sense, one of the most notable projects is the website Spinlister, a platform that allows private users to rent or lend bicycles in more than 65 countries.

In cities around the world, many bicycles go unused daily, while other residents or tourists seek more ecological transport, the two wheels.

This environmental project seeks to fill the gap by encouraging people to access bicycles quickly and at a low cost, even for free.

Here, the concept of prevention and adaptation in design would also come in, preventing traffic jams, preventing natural disasters… etc. It is about reducing possible risks, and in the article on resilience, we can learn a lot.

Sustainable technological projects

In the ecological and sustainable technology sector, we find various technologies such as 3D printers or sensors focused on water saving, and from crop monitoring to mapping the solar potential of cities.

The project Mapdwell Solar System created by MIT aims to visualize the solar potential of rooftops through each hour of each day.

A project based on very interesting environmental ideas that currently only covers a few cities in America and Chile. But there is much more…

New technological ideas provide substantial value to our plans or work sketches. It is highly recommended to visit the interactive map where we delve into different interactive help tools.

We can also see some articles of interest on this topic such as:

• What is Greenwashing and how it works
• How the circular economy works and examples
• Homemade machine to recycle and crush plastic

Health projects

Good ideas for innovative projects with a technological base exist in many forms, but this one touches our hearts. For example, the Solar Ear environmental project. Directly from the heart of Brazil, digital hearing aids with solar rechargeable batteries based on a technology that is freely shared.

An alternative whose technology will help thousands of people without resources to hear. And now it’s time to see the major platforms that encompass initiatives and sustainable project ideas with new ecological Startups…

Databases of new projects that respect the environment each year

It should be remembered that behind Sustainia100 are UN Global Compact, Connect4 Climate, Regions20, WWF, DNV GL, Realdania, Storebrand, and International Federation for Housing and Planning, organizations that collectively strive to highlight the potential for bottom-up transformation with economically viable and collaborative plans based on the innovative project.

The European Union (EU) has a program called LIFE Projects that are carried out with perspectives to improve nature, the environment, and climate action.

Every year proposals are submitted and the winners are awarded, but all are gathered on a map that we can consult and from there, extract ideas.

• The complete portal to see sustainable development projects can be consulted from HERE the LIFE Program, at the bottom is the “Projects and results” section where we will find a map and the database of all initiatives.

Worldwide, the Startup Weekends Sustainable Revolution competition (with more than 500 proposals) is also held, where ideas from all countries of the world participate, always from an environmental sustainability perspective.

• These environmental projects present plans and are voted on worldwide, and the truth is, they are quite interesting and can be consulted from global-sustainable-revolution.com (Scroll down and you will see the proposals – It is in English). An example of the proposals would be…

• From the United Nations, they also provide a catalog of green projects from the search engine that we can consult HERE. In this case, we can look by countries.

🟧 Note: If we want to find more information of interest, we can always access through Google Scholar. Where we can search for free books and many documents provided by universities on technological revolution and invention.

Best ideas and purposes

We want to remember a relevant film where 35 sensations and examples of very green ideas are intertwined, with a lot of original recycling and environmental purposes. Where the intention and passion around a journey of several kilometers becomes an encounter with alternative and different social movements, between agroecology or the review of the social paradigm.

A change of mindset carrying as currency, a large collection of Seeds. The short film in spanish is… The Voice of the Wind!

What benefits do environmental and ecological projects bring

An ecological project is an initiative designed to improve the environment. This can include anything from reforestation to renewable energy technologies. The benefits are multiple:

So… How can I create a promising idea based on sustainability and ecology?

How to make an ecological project

Here we find ourselves in a rather complex situation, and we must consider what its objective is and many other questions such as:

• How many of us will participate in the initiative or idea. If it’s just the family, with friends, or if it’s a more serious matter.
• What duration they will have, whether it is short-term or long-term.
• What perspective and with what support elements we have from the perspective of money; If we have companies that finance or we have an economic base to start. (We remember that 99% of an aspiration to achieve a goal needs a minimum of financial contribution)
• If we are supported by educational institutions (Schools, Universities), foundations, or organizations that will provide us with a series of contacts, spaces… etc. for dissemination and setup.
• What scope of application will be its purpose and impact, from home or at school levels (educational project), to help the community or rural community areas, or to help at the provincial, state level, or if we want them to reach much further than reaching a country like Mexico, Colombia, or Spain and the barriers in terms of language if we already cross much further borders.

Due to the complexity involved in considering a strategy, what type of activities it should have, or a coherent plan, it will be necessary to turn to more extensive information sources to specify a methodology.

The implementation of ecological projects is a brave step towards a greener and more sustainable world.

In that case, it will be necessary to search for manuals that describe examples of how to make ecological projects from simple and easy ones to more complex ones that require other external elements to fulfill their purpose.

A scheme from which all its sequences can be started and which explains it clearly would be…

This first scheme belongs to a very interesting document HERE that represents a guide for the extensive and well-schematized project development (very useful). We also recommend visiting the article on how to conduct an environmental impact assessment.

This second image belongs to an MBA in Environmental Project Management from the International Institute of Environmental Training, which we find a good example of the steps to follow, from start to finish.

And in addition, you can find other works from the article on sustainable, social, and sustainable development where you can see characteristics, objectives to be met, or how they contribute from a social perspective.

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