Build Neutral Inc.

🌱 Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Crop-Livestock Systems Efficient nitrogen use is essential for sustainable agriculture, especially in crop-livestock systems like egg supply chains. Inefficient nitrogen use contributes to economic losses, health risks, and environmental impacts. A comprehensive review published in the Journal of Cleaner Production highlights key strategies and technologies for enhancing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) across supply chain stages. ✨ Key Findings on NUE Improvements: Feed Input Production: Implementing "4Rs" practices (Right source, Right rate, Right time, Right place). Adding biochar to cropland to enhance soil health and reduce emissions. Feed Formulation: Reducing crude protein diets and supplementing them with synthetic amino acids or enzymes to minimize nitrogen losses while maintaining animal productivity. Manure Management: Poultry Housing: Ventilation systems, bedded flooring, manure belts/scrapers, and ammonia scrubbers. Manure Storage: Covering manure and adding biochar to reduce emissions. Land Application: Incorporating manure into the soil to improve nutrient utilization. The study emphasizes that strategies must consider all reactive nitrogen species and their interactions across supply chain stages. Using detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is critical to minimize unintended burden shifting and ensure a systems-level approach to sustainability. Improving NUE in crop-livestock systems is an impactful step toward mitigating environmental impacts and promoting sustainable practices in the agricultural sector. Need more information? We would be happy to connect and discuss any questions you may have around this topic! 📖 For more in-depth insights, you can read the full article in the Journal of Cleaner Production https://lnkd.in/gNURx_ja #Sustainability #NitrogenUseEfficiency #LifeCycleAssessment #Agriculture #EggIndustry

Celebrating a Milestone for Build Neutral and Women in Entrepreneurship! We’re thrilled to share that Co-Founder of Build Neutral, Shiva Zargar, has achieved a major milestone of becoming a recognized verifier of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for the CSA Group in accordance with CAN/CSA-ISO 14025. Shiva is the first recognized verifier for the CSA Group in the Province of Alberta. This is a huge milestone, not just for Indigenous businesses like Build Neutral, but also for women in entrepreneurship. This accomplishment highlights her dedication, hard-work, and leadership in sustainability. If you’re looking to develop an EPD or need an EPD verified to CSA, we would love to help. Please reach out and we will help get your journey started! Congratulations Shiva! #epd #lca #indigenousbusiness #womeninentrepreneurship #womeninbusiness #sustainableconstruction #sustainablematerials

Navigating Vancouver’s Building By-Law (VBBL) Embodied Carbon Compliance and Upcoming Changes in 2025 As Vancouver accelerates its climate action plan, builders and developers must navigate current and upcoming changes to embodied carbon reporting requirements under the Vancouver Building By-law (VBBL). In our latest Build Neutral Journal post, we break down the current and upcoming changes, including the significant updates coming in 2025, to embodied carbon reporting requirements for Part 3 buildings and share how we take the complexities of calculations and reporting off the builder with our expertise in whole-building LCA, EPD data collection, and carbon benchmarking. Need more information? We would be happy to connect and discuss any questions you may have around this topic! Click the link to learn more about how Build Neutral can help you meet and exceed Vancouver’s embodied carbon guidelines. #BuildNeutral #SustainableConstruction #VBBL #EmbodiedCarbon #LowImpactBuilding https://lnkd.in/gyvdaGKn

🌲 Industrial Ecology Methods for the Forest Product Industries Industrial Ecology (IE) methods are powerful tools used to quantify the environmental and economic impacts of industries, enabling data-driven strategies for promoting sustainable practices. At Build Neutral, we apply IE methods to assess the sustainability of various sectors, including the forest product industries. These methods provide critical insights into how forest products can contribute to a more sustainable future. A recent publication in Current Forestry Reports explores how IE methods, including the following, offer valuable insights into the sustainability of forest product industries: ✨ Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): The most frequently applied method in this review, LCA evaluates the climate change mitigation potential of forest products. Consistently, forest products show significant reductions in climate change impacts compared to fossil-based alternatives. ✨ Input-Output Analysis (IOA): IOA focuses on the aggregated forest sector, where individual products are not distinguishable. This method helps inform the economic implications of changes in supply-demand relationships between the forest sector and other sectors of the economy. ✨ System Dynamics (SD) Modeling: SD modelling is used to study the economic and environmental consequences of decision-making along the supply chain of forest bioenergy and biofuels. This approach helps in understanding the dynamic interactions and feedback within the system. ✨ Material Flow Analysis (MFA): MFA is applied to estimate the stocks and flows of wood in various formats, such as timber and residues. This method provides a detailed picture of how wood moves through different stages and industries. ✨ Industrial Symbiosis (IS): IS practices help minimize waste generation, stabilize material and energy supply, and reduce climate change impacts for participants from different forest product industries. Despite the valuable insights, this review identified common gaps that need addressing: ⚠ Data Availability and Quality: There is a need for better data availability and quality to improve the accuracy of these methods. ⚠ Harmonized Modeling Assumptions: Lack of standardized modelling assumptions can lead to inconsistent results. ⚠ Integration of Methods: Integrating different IE methods can provide more comprehensive insights but remains a challenge. For more in-depth insights, you can read the full article in Current Forestry Reports via Springer. #IndustrialEcology #Sustainability #ForestProducts #LifeCycleAssessment #MaterialFlowAnalysis #IndustrialSymbiosis https://lnkd.in/gNWZc3Dx 

**Exciting News!**    We are thrilled to announce that Build Neutral Inc. is now a Certified Indigenous Business with the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB)!   The CCIB plays a pivotal role in ensuring Indigenous businesses thrive at the forefront of the Canadian economy. Through fostering strong relationships between Indigenous entrepreneurs and institutional enterprises across the country, it helps build a foundation for shared prosperity and long-term success.  We are incredibly proud to join this dedicated group of Indigenous entrepreneurs and to be part of an organization committed to supporting Indigenous business excellence.  Here's to more collaboration, growth, and sustainability! #indigenousbusiness #ccib

Today, at Build Neutral, we honour the children who never returned home, the Survivors, and the families forever impacted by Canada’s residential school system. On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we reflect on the painful legacy of this system and its lasting effects on Indigenous communities. This day is about more than remembrance, it's about education, dialogue, and genuine understanding. Take time to explore the rich Indigenous cultures and histories that surround us. Learn about the profound impacts of the residential school system on Indigenous peoples across the country. Most importantly, today is a day to connect, listen, and learn. If you know an Indigenous person, reach out with empathy, listen with an open heart, and seek to understand their story. #truthandreconciliationday

Welcome to our Journal, where our aim is to bring you insightful articles and news about the world of LCA, EPD, and environmental stewardship. 🔢 Tackling Missing Data in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) In the world of #LifeCycleAssessment (#LCA), missing data presents one of the biggest challenges when assessing the environmental impacts of materials and processes. At Build Neutral Inc., while our focus is on driving sustainable solutions across industries, we recognize the importance of robust data in making those solutions effective. An insightful study, "A Review of Inventory Modeling Methods for Missing Data in Life Cycle Assessment", delves into methods for addressing these data gaps. The research highlights three approaches for tackling missing data: 🌟Data-Driven Modeling 🌟Mechanistic Modeling 🌟Future Inventory Modeling (e.g., projecting data to 2050) These methods were assessed across several criteria, including challenges in assessing data quality uncertainty, challenges in generalizability, and domain knowledge requirements; all essential for reliable LCA studies. At Build Neutral Inc., we’re applying insights from this research to enhance our LCA frameworks and deliver more accurate, reliable assessments to our clients. This not only helps us increase clarity on environmental impacts but also strengthens decision-making for sustainable industrial practices. For those interested in more details, check out the full paper on Wiley Online Library, published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology Let’s continue pushing the boundaries of accurate modeling through science and innovative approaches in LCA! If you are interested in implementing these practices into your LCA, reach out to us through our website and we would be happy to assist you in achieving your goals 🙂 #LCACanada #LCAconsulting #EPDdevelopment #IndigenousBusiness #IndigenousEntrepreneurship https://lnkd.in/ecxSeNQd