Circular
Economy
Clusters
WHAT ARE THEY?
They are a group of companies that collaborate in a systemic way to implement a complete circular economy cycle (i.e., “circular economy clusters”).
At the moment, the activity focuses on biogas plants that process solid manure and slurry from livestock farms.
The CLUSTER consists of a biogas plant, several farms (either supplying the material and using the digestate as fertilizer or doing both), a transporter and intermediate storages of digestate, and farmers cultivating fruits and vines and using the digestate as fertilizer.
The mass flows (and thus the logistics between actors within the CLUSTER) are managed by a software, which is also able to calculate the positive and negative CO2e impacts of the entire CLUSTER. The calculation method is based on a carbon footprint study, i.e., of the entire lifecycle related to the cluster. This is aimed at quantifying the relative benefit in terms of GHG emissions, compared to a situation with manure left on site, with subsequent dispersion on the ground.
Software
Biogas Optitool ©
The cluster management software has following objectives:
- Optimize the logistics between the different actors based on the storage capacities of different materials, and plan movements so as to avoid empty transport routes.
- Track mass flows and the resulting CO2e impact.
- Calculate the overall CO2e balance related to the cluster according to the calculation model underlying the carbon footprint study.
Farmer
The farmer’s interface on mobile
is intended to provide information on planned transports and give the farmer the mask to record digestate use, as well to verify remaining storage capacity. The interface provides farm-specific statistics.
Trasporter
The purpose of the transporter interface on mobile
is to list the transport routes created by the software based on the planning criteria and to record the data for the individual route, which then go on to acceptance by the biogas plant.
Biogas plant
The PC-based biogas plant interface
has a more operational part to support transportation planning and acceptance and shipment of materials. It then has a series of masks for entering data related to carbon footprint and monitoring trends.
Storage
The purpose of the mobile storage
interface is to provide information on planned transports and to have the responsible of the storage verify remaining capacity. The interface provides storage-specific statistics.
Target group
The company offers consulting to design the future CLUSTER by analyzing existing mass flows and supports it during the software installation and implementation phase. Thereafter, the cluster is managed independently, with the company providing the software license with related support and issuing reports regarding CO2e saved, if required.
The company offers consulting as “facilitator” role by simulating through the software the future CO2e impact of logistics based on the potential cluster players and supporting the plant design regarding the sizing of storage at the plant. Once the plant is built, the company designs the CLUSTER and supports it during the installation and implementation phase of the software. Under normal operating conditions, the support is the same as above.
Mission
I have always believed that economic development and environmental protection can find a common ground that meets the needs of both.
I have linked my professional life to this principle for nearly 30 years by consulting about voluntary environmental certifications.
In recent times, however, there has been a growing awareness that this was not wasn´t enough; I felt I was doing too little anyway in the face of accelerating climate change. Thus was born the idea for this project, which aims to support cohesion among small local realities by binding them in a virtuous circle and measuring their environmental performance through a rigorous calculation system with a solid scientific basis.
I hope in this way to provide small farms that care about improving their environmental impact with a simple and usable tool to measure their efforts, also towards institutions that need to make their commitments regarding climate change measurable.
Laura Brida
Founder Eco8 srl
“circular economy clusters”