Getting from (PM)2.5 to Zero: From Air Pollution to Air Assets

Roadshow Recap from Session Stop #2, August 26

You can watch this session (and others) on our YouTube channel — note, this specific session was conducted in English with simultaneous translation to Thai.

Here’s a summary of Part A- learning from the trailblazers:

From startup Graviky Labs, based in New Delhi, India, Anirudh Sharma and Nikhil Kaushik shared the evolution of the enterprise’s “AirInk” — an ink derived from the soot in pollutants pulled from the air. The enterprise has grown from an experimental pilot at MIT capturing soot from a candle, to having pulled over 3 million tonnes of pollution out of the air and collaborated with brands like Mastercard and Dell and over 10,000 artists.

Anirudh walks us through some of the backstory, how the Graviky Labs concept, anchored in the context of India, got it’s start.

“If we take inspiration from nature — in nature nothing goes to waste. We can turn this waste into products.” — Anirudh Sharma, Graviky Labs

A key component to Graviky’s success has been collaboration. Said Anirudh, “When you open yourself up to collaboration from other initiatives, we can achieve things that we can’t otherwise.” The next innovation they have in the works is a carbon labeling and emissions reduction credits scheme based on adoption of AirInk, and they are only just getting started.

“Every single particle will make a difference. We have pulled out 3 million tons of pollution and that’s just the beginning.” — Nikhil Kaushik, Graviky Labs

Soranun “Earth” Choochut joined the conversation live from a notorious Bangkok traffic jam — a fitting setting to walk the audience through the business model behind ETRAN, Thailand’s first public transit e-bike company.

What we covered in Part B- how to get started:

“In order to be circular about design, you have to look at the system.” — Simon Widmer

Another institution working to support designers in the social and environmental space is the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA). Joining live, Natalie Ortiz presented the upcoming launch of a Student Design Award focused on the “Right to Breathe”. The Student Design Awards are an annual RSA tradition that seeks to foster creative approaches to wicked problems worldwide. For the 2020–2021 design awards, the RSA is collaborating with the Circular Design Lab and World Resources Institute to focus on innovation for air pollution.

See you soon—here’s what’s on for September!

Join the Circular Design Lab and the Thailand Clean Air Network for the “Digital Roadshow: From PM2.5 to Zero” to learn more about air pollution and the #right2cleanair. Next up, on September 4–6 the team will host a series of talks and interactive workshops as part of the “Making the Invisible Visible” event at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Center.

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We are a self-organized, citizen-driven project focused on humanity’s big challenges\\ circulardesignlab.org \\ @circular_lab

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Circular Design Lab

We are a self-organized, citizen-driven project focused on humanity’s big challenges\\ circulardesignlab.org \\ @circular_lab