Blue economy

Soil cleaing

Soil cleaning not only provides a healthier environment, it also provides new high-quality secondary raw materials. Carmans’ soil remediation already runs 100% on renewable energy (the plant runs on solar panels) and today 80% of the treated matter is already being put back into the cycle as high-quality building materials.

Our short-term goal is to achieve 100% reuse of the material supplied. By investing in scientific research, i.c.w. KU Leuven, and by employing our own experienced experts, we believe this is certainly achievable. What is considered "waste" today is "new high-quality raw material" tomorrow. At Carmans this is not just a slogan, but reality! The definition of Cleantech that we use in conjunction with KU Leuven is:

Producing goods, providing services and performing processes with :

• minimal use of raw materials and minimal environmental impact
• high energy efficiency and minimal production of waste
• maximum use of renewable materials and energy
• view of economic added value.

So a low environmental impact is not enough, there must also be other economically valorizable benefits:

• preferably a technically better product, service or process being replaced,
• easier to use
• and certainly not more expensive.

(source: course 'industry and sustainable development' by Prof. Carlo Vandecasteele, K.U.Leuven)

Blue technology

Blue technology also means making maximum use of renewable energy. Carmans does this through both wind and solar energy. We have 2.2 MWatt of installed solar power and 6.15 MWatt of installed wind power. The result is an annual reduction in our CO2 emissions by 14 000 tons. Or in other words, about 10,000 families can drive 15,000 km by car (< 100 g CO2/km) or about 25,000 passengers can fly from Brussels to New York from it every year.