Boosting the Sustainable Development Goals: Biochar’s multiple ways to “heal the planet”

As an “urgent call for action”, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as part of “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” in order to protect the planet and develop solutions that balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Nearly a decade later, the urgency of this call has only grown, particularly from a climate perspective. The Earth is dangerously close to climate “tipping points” – events related to ecosystems that, if triggered, could set in motion a self-repeating cycle of environmental collapse with catastrophic changes for the well-being of people and nature. This was highlighted in a study co-authored by Johan Rockström, leading scientists on global sustainability and climate change, underscoring that actions to limit global warming in the current decade are critical for planetary stability.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “the pace and scale of what has been done so far, and current plans, are insufficient to tackle climate change” – a sentiment echoed in the SDG Progress Report 2024: “As we begin the second half of our journey to 2030, signs of a determined, sustained global comeback have yet to emerge. This year’s report reveals that only seventeen per cent of SDGs targets are on track to be achieved, nearly half are showing minimal or moderate progress, and progress on over a third has stalled or even regressed.”

As alarming this sounds, it highlights the urgent need to prioritize swift realizable solutions with a long-lasting effect on climate and ecosystems. To still turn the corner, various NGOs at COP29 presented a statement advocating for a stronger link of National Climate Targets (NDCs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to enable systemic change.

Biochar can contribute decisively to systemic change, as it has a variety of positive effects on the climate and ecosystems. Biochar is produced by pyrolyzing biomass, thereby reusing plant residues. This process captures biogenic carbon while producing regenerative surplus energy. Novocarbo’s biochar solution can help to achieve both National Climate Targets and Sustainable Development Goals by tackling various SDGs at once:

SDG 2 “Zero Hunger”

This goal is about ending hunger, achieving food security and promoting sustainable agriculture, with a special focus on implementing resilient agricultural practices that help maintain ecosystems and progressively enhance land and soil quality. Biochar can make a significant contribution in achieving this goal by improving efficiency in agriculture. Due to its porous structure, biochar can store nutrients and water, which increases plant yields and reduces the need for irrigation and fertilizers. Biochar itself is also rich in nutrients like phosphorus and potassium, which are essential for plant growth. To sum up: Biochar makes plants healthier and protects them from damage by diseases, thus enhancing resilience of agricultural practices.

SDG 6 “Clean Water and Sanitation”

A key focus of this goal is to improve water quality by reducing pollution. Biochar can absorb pollutants from water and is being used in cities to have street runoff water naturally cleaned before it enters nearby lakes and rivers. A research project by Priyanka Kudige Prakash for Novocarbo together with HafenCity University in Hamburg examined the effects of co-composted biochar on stormwater management systems. In cities, stormwater runoff carries pollutants into aquatic systems. The study took a closer look at trace organic contaminants (TrOCs), which are omnipresent in water bodies harming the aquatic ecosystem and humans. The research team tested to what extent co-composted biochar of Novocarbo with different physicochemical properties can remove selected trace organic contaminants in blue-green infrastructures. The results showed: the higher the concentration of biochar in substrates, the lower the contamination with selected TrOCs. Biochar proves beneficial as a general safeguard for water resources.

SDG 7 “Affordable and clean energy”

While pyrolyzing biomass to biochar, regenerative surplus energy is generated. At Novocarbo, we offer this energy to industrial companies or municipal utilities in the form of Heat-as-a-Service partnerships, guaranteeing stable prices in the long term. The heat is 100% climate-neutral and can be provided as warm water, hot water or process steam. For example, at our Carbon Removal Park Baltic Sea in northeast Germany, we feed the green surplus heat directly into the local district heating network, accelerating the decarbonization of heat grids. This contributes to increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, as targeted with SDG 7.

SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth”

As a biochar company we promote sustainable economic growth by integrating innovative climate technology into local labor markets. Our biochar production sites (Carbon Removal Parks) are mainly located in more remote areas with limited job opportunities. By doing so, we create long-term jobs in economically disadvantaged regions.

SDG 9 “Industry, innovation and infrastructure”

Novocarbo’s mission is to accelerate the economy’s transition to net zero through biochar. We do this by creating a net-zero infrastructure with our Carbon Removal Parks: We are building a decentralized production chain by re-using locally available biogenic waste materials and creating networks for climate-neutral heat. We decarbonize hard-to-abate industries by reducing fossil fuels with our green heat solution and offer innovative biochar products for industrial materials, e.g. in the building segment, to lower their carbon footprint. Our research & development team cooperates with leading research institutions to further develop the use of carbon in biochar for sustainable products. This actively supports the “upgrade of infrastructure and retrofit of industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes”, as demanded in SDG 9.

SDG 11 “Sustainable cities and communities”

As part of blue-green infrastructure projects, biochar can play a key role in making cities more climate-resilient and helping to mitigate flooding, heat waves and water pollution. The main benefits of biochar for urban greening lie in its ability as soil conditioner and to retain and conduct water. Due to its porous structure, biochar acts like a sponge, increasing microbial diversity. It holds water and nutrients in the ground where the plant needs them and prevents them from being washed away. For example, when used as a layer in road construction, biochar can channel stormwater to supply nearby trees – thereby improving stormwater management and plant health at the same time. Biochar plays an important role in Skanska’s first climate-neutral office building in Hyllie, Malmö, that opened in 2023. The twelve-story building includes planted terraces utilizing biochar – contributing to water absorption, storm water treatment, biodiversity, low weight and the well-being of tenants.

SDG 12 “Responsible consumption and production”

“Achieving the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources by 2030”, is one of the main items of this SDG. Biochar production contributes to waste management by utilizing agricultural and forestry residues, which might otherwise be burned or left to decompose, releasing greenhouse gasses. According to the European Biochar Industry Consortium (EBI), the recycling of essential nutrients such as phosphorus through biochar application on agricultural topsoil underpins the environmental co-benefits of biochar, potentially boosting humus quality and biodiversity.

SDG 13 “Climate action”

In this SDG it’s all about taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. To stop global warming, we must balance the amount of CO₂ released into the atmosphere with the amount removed. This requires drastically reducing emissions while actively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. Novocarbo’s biochar solution takes climate action in various ways: on one hand we reduce fossil fuel emissions by offering climate-neutral heat to hard-to-abate industries. On the other hand, we actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere: by converting waste biomass into biochar, we capture and store the carbon contained in biomass. In the natural carbon cycle, this carbon would eventually return to the atmosphere as CO₂, through processes like decay or forest fires. With our biochar carbon removal solution, we disrupt the natural biogenic carbon cycle by preventing carbon emissions from re-entering the atmosphere and putting that carbon into meaningful use in innovative, sustainable products.

SDG 15 “Life on land”

This SDG aims to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. Biochar actively contributes to this goal by enhancing soil health and fertility as well as helping with sustainable land use and land restoration. It improves plant-available water in the soil, reduces coarse pores and increases water storage capacity. According to the European Biochar Industry Consortium (EBI), this can retain nitrate in the soil, improve water conductivity, and benefit root development and soil microbiome.

SDG 17 “Partnerships for the goals”

To build a net-zero infrastructure with our Carbon Removal Parks, we partner with industries, local communities and municipal utilities. With our biochar and green heat products we support them in reaching their sustainability and climate goals: whether by increasing the share of renewable energy in heating networks or reducing the carbon footprint of industrial materials – these partnerships are meant to transform the economy in the long term and push boundaries.

The list of positive effects of biochar and its co-benefits on nature, society and climate is extensive. By rapidly scaling our biochar solution, we are taking action to save our planet. We’re dedicated to transforming the economy to net zero and thereby aim to make systemic change possible and feasible.

The huge potential of biochar to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals was recently recognized by Novocarbo being a finalist at EUTECH SDG Awards 2024. We were selected among ten leading companies for “SDG 15 – Life on Land!”. A great recognition and proof, that the potential of biochar to protect terrestrial ecosystems and climate is more and more seen and promoted!

With only five years remaining to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we aim to contribute as much as possible by rapidly scaling our biochar solution. We call on all political and economic decision-makers for joint action to do as much as possible to (still) save our planet!