MAY 2020
Impact Report
Metabolic is an ecosystem of organizations striving for systems change. Our mission is to build a sustainable economy – a broad and urgent goal that no entity can achieve alone. Together with a growing network of partners, we’re working to equip organizations all over the world with tools and insights to catalyze this change.
See how we did in 2019.
As we approach the midpoint of 2020, we can see that our organizational mission has never been more critical than it is today. People around the world have a more tangible understanding of the importance of resilience, and of the scale of challenges we need to be prepared to address as a civilization.
Eva Gladek, Founder and CEO, Metabolic
2019 at a glance
117
Projects
18
Countries
24,859
Publication views
30
Cities
26
Industry clients
- 117 Projects
- 18 Countries
- 24,859 Publication views
- 30 Cities
- 26 Industry clients
About Metabolic
Metabolic supports governments, businesses, academia, and NGOs in adapting to a fast-changing global context, while creating disruptive solutions that can dramatically shift how the economy functions. In all of our work – research, strategic advice, the development of tools, and the building of new ventures – we use systems thinking to understand how different sustainability challenges are interlinked, and to identify their true root causes. Working in this way helps us understand where it’s most effective to intervene, and where we can have the greatest impact.
Impact Strategy
Transition the CURRENT system
Attempt to transition the existing global system as rapidly as possible by working with influential decision-makers to drive sustainability stewardship and organizational change.
Build parallel systems
Build parallel systems based on principles that are fundamentally different to the current system, in the form of disruptive new ventures and pilots of new governance and finance models.
Six Transitions
To accelerate the global systems change we envision, we must collectively re-imagine and re-design our systems and institutions. Metabolic’s focus is on six key transitions, four of which are expanded upon in more detail in this report.
Cities and Regions
Finance
Food and land-use
Governance
Products and Services
Mindset
Products and Services
Mindset
We need to change the way we shape our habitat as a species. Cities need to reconnect to the natural systems upon which they rely, and become regenerative producers of materials, energy, and human prosperity.
Gerard Roemers, Cities Team Lead
We must accelerate the transition to sustainable communities by sharing methodologies, data, and creating open source tools – so that every city and its inhabitants can drive their own transition.
Tamara Streefland, Cities Program Lead
Our cities team focuses on four key outcomes:
Consumption and production systems
Sustainable urban consumption and production systems.
Circular urban development
New methodologies and guidelines for circular urban development.
Stewardship
Supporting city governments to become stewards of a circular economy.
Decision-support tools
Tools that provide insight into resource flows and facilitate circular decision-making.
In 2019, we worked with city governments, developers, architects, and other urban professionals on:
City and region-wide strategies
Area development
Policy support
Built environment design
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The City of Amsterdam is an internationally renowned hub for circular economy innovation. With Metabolic’s headquarters in Amsterdam, we have been fortunate to work with the City and its stakeholders on a trajectory of pioneering projects over the last six years.
De Ceuvel
A circular community hub
De Ceuvel is an award-winning circular economy innovation hub hosting a vibrant community and experimenting with technologies and processes to close urban resource cycles.
Buiksloterham
A circular neighborhood
For Buiksloterham, a 100 ha post-industrial site in Amsterdam North, we co-developed a vision, roadmap and action plan for the area to transition to a fully circular neighborhood.
Urban Mining
Mining the city?
Together with AMS Institute, we developed a method to assess the metal contents of buildings in Amsterdam, matching demolition to construction and promoting the circular use of materials.
Circular Tendering
Changing the rules of the game
With partners SGS Search, we developed circular tendering procedures to help municipalities, developers, and construction companies embed sustainable innovation in the city.
Monitoring Circularity
Measuring circular progress
Amsterdam has been engaged in the circular economy for several years and wanted to be able to systematically monitor its progress. We helped the Metropolitan Region create the right framework to do so.
REPAiR Tool
Geo-design tool turns waste into value
REPAiR is an interactive online application that maps resource flows in peri-urban Amsterdam, creating opportunities for circularity.
H-Buurt
Circular and socially inclusive area development
A circular and inclusive area development plan for Amsterdam’s H-neighborhood, demonstrating how sustainability and social development goals can strengthen one another.
Schoonschip
Sustainable homes on Amsterdam’s canals
With partners, Metabolic developed the sustainability masterplan for a cutting-edge community of floating homes in Amsterdam North. The project was unveiled in 2019.
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Rotterdam has bold ambitions to become a waste-free city by 2030.
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Rotterdam has bold ambitions to become a waste-free city by 2030.
Opportunities
Proposed interventions can help Rotterdam achieve:
reduction in food waste
reduction in packaging waste
of construction emissions prevented
tonnes
of construction waste prevented
Outcomes
The City's food department is using an integrated sustainable food vision to inform future policy decisions.
The City's urban development team is considering a strong urban mining business case that promises reallocation of 11,000 tons of materials and savings of up to €25,000,000 in material value.
Charlotte, USA
Charlotte is committed to becoming the first circular city in the United States.
Charlotte, USA
Charlotte is committed to becoming the first circular city in the United States.
Opportunities
Proposed interventions can help Charlotte achieve:
103,000 – 145,000
tons of waste diverted from landfill
jobs created
tons CO₂-eq emissions a year avoided
Outcomes
Charlotte is exploring business case viability and partnerships for the other business cases outlined in the report.
“We are thrilled to implement the circular economy strategy in Charlotte. The strategies outlined in the report will help Charlotte address key issues impacting the entire city – economic and social mobility.”
Marcus D Jones, Charlotte City Manager
Brainport, Netherlands
Brainport Smart District (BSD) in Helmond, the Netherlands, strives to be the smartest neighborhood in the world.
In 2018, Metabolic worked with leading architects UN Studio and partners to develop an urban vision for Brainport Smart District. Over the next ten years the BSD will develop 1,500 new homes and 12 hectares of business premises, characterized by the application of the latest technologies and knowledge in order to achieve the goal of a sustainable, circular, and socially cohesive neighborhood.
Brainport, Netherlands
Brainport Smart District (BSD) in Helmond, the Netherlands, strives to be the smartest neighbourhood in the world.
In 2018, Metabolic worked with leading architects UN Studio and partners to develop an urban vision for Brainport Smart District. Over the next ten years the BSD will develop 1,500 new homes and 12 hectares of business premises, characterized by the application of the latest technologies and knowledge in order to achieve the goal of a sustainable, circular and socially cohesive neighborhood.
Opportunities
155 hectares of new, circular, and sustainable urban development.
A new standard for area development, integrating circularity not only for materials, energy, and climate adaptation, but also for biodiversity, human health, and new economic opportunities.
Outcomes
BSD is working with Metabolic and partners to operationalize the BSD vision, starting with a plan for circular water practices within the neighbourhood.
The BSD urban design concept has won a 2020 Rethinking The Future Award.
Boulder, USA
The US city of Boulder is a community deeply rooted in its surrounding environment and committed to sustainability.
In line with Boulder’s zero-waste and climate-focused goals, we worked with the city to map local material consumption, waste, and emissions and develop a vision and roadmap for Boulder to transition towards a circular economy.
Boulder, USA
The US city of Boulder is a community deeply rooted in its surrounding environment and committed to sustainability.
In line with Boulder’s zero-waste and climate-focused goals, we worked with the city to map local material consumption, waste, and emissions and develop a vision and roadmap for Boulder to transition towards a circular economy.
Opportunities
Even a small change in circularity can have an enormous effect on Boulder’s overall impact.
$2.3 million worth of valuable materials are currently being sent to landfill.
Food waste is enough to feed close to 20,000 people.
Embodied emissions (nearly 1.8 million metric tons) are larger than all local sources of emissions put together (around 1.7 million metric tons).
Outcomes
A vision and actionable roadmap for Circular Boulder, co-created with the local community and City stakeholders.
The city will continue to engage the community throughout 2020 to prioritize actions and mobilize climate action, with a broader focus not only on managing waste, but also on managing materials.
“This report is one of the first steps in broadening the city’s focus from how we manage waste to how we manage materials. Boulder is a leader in waste reduction, however, in order to really address the climate crisis, the city needs to lead the way in implementing deep, systemic change through coordinated action to foster a circular economy.”
Kara Mertz, City of Boulder Sustainability Manager
Friesland, Netherlands
Friesland aims to be the most circular region in the Netherlands by 2025.
Metabolic has a long-running strategic partnership with the Dutch Province of Friesland, where we work together to inspire entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, (social) organizations and governments to take action on circular opportunities.
Friesland, Netherlands
Friesland aims to be the most circular region in the Netherlands by 2025.
Metabolic has a long-running strategic partnership with the Dutch Province of Friesland, where we work together to inspire entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, (social) organizations and governments to take action on circular opportunities.
Opportunities
100% circular Friesland, with plenty of employment and thriving, future-proof companies and organizations.
3 key focus areas: circular building, symbiotic agriculture, and green chemistry.
Outcomes
The birth of the Circular Friesland Association, founded by 25 different organizations: a major step forward towards a circular Friesland province.
40 frontrunners in circular business advised on how to innovate and scale up circular business.
Strong collaborations forged between the Northern provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, and Friesland, as well as the Municipality of Leeuwaarden.
Capital Region of Denmark
The Capital Region of Denmark is committed to becoming a fossil-free and circular region by 2050.
In 2019, the Region tasked Metabolic’s Copenhagen office with undertaking a material flow and environmental analysis of the region’s waste system to identify impact hotspots and circular opportunities.
Capital Region of Denmark
The Capital Region of Denmark is committed to becoming a fossil-free and circular region by 2050.
In 2019, the Region tasked Metabolic’s Copenhagen office with undertaking a material flow and environmental analysis of the region’s waste system to identify impact hotspots and circular opportunities.
Opportunities
By reusing avoidable food waste, and recycling plastics and unavoidable food waste, the Capital Region could achieve:
reduction in mixed residual waste
tonnes
of CO₂-eq. emissions avoided
Outcomes
Metabolic’s analysis underpins the remaining two years of the project Across Waste Resources, set up to explore the current waste system of the Capital Region and identify new opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and stakeholder networking.
The initiatives within this project will be translated into a roadmap for systemically transitioning the Region’s waste system to a circular economy.
“We need to fundamentally change how the world feeds itself. By providing food companies with insights from data science and systems thinking, we can help them be a part of that transformation.”
Brian Shaw, Agrifood Lead, Metabolic
Our food team focuses on four key outcomes:
Adaptive and resilient
An adaptive and resilient food system.
Nutrition
Nutritious food for all.
Planetary boundaries
Food systems within planetary boundaries.
Livelihoods and wellbeing
Supporting livelihoods and wellbeing.
In 2019, we worked with private and public sector food professionals on:
Sustainability strategies
Science-based target setting
Packaging analysis and design
Sector-wide impact assessment
WWF
Metabolic’s longstanding partnership with WWF has led to a number of exciting project collaborations over the years. Below are some of our key joint projects on food systems.
Global Food System Analysis
Vision and roadmap for a sustainable food future
Published with WWF in 2016, this global analysis identified key behavioral patterns and structural causes that result in the negative impacts of the global food system. It also identified intervention points to trigger structural change and bring the system to a healthy and sustainable state.
Consumer Behaviour and the Food System
Shifting to sustainable diets
Following on from the Global Food System Analysis, this report on consumer behavior is an in-depth look at one of the key intervention points outlined for a sustainable food system: changing the everyday food-related decisions consumers make on a daily basis.
A Systems Thinking Guidebook
A European food system case study
In this project for WWF, Metabolic applied systems thinking to identify leverage points for addressing challenges facing the European food system. The result is a guidebook highlighting how to apply systems thinking principles to complex sustainability challenges.
Alpro Science-Based Targets Pilot
Setting science-based targets beyond carbon
Metabolic worked with WWF, Alpro, and a consortium of research institutes to test science-based targets for land, water, nutrients, and biodiversity that respect planetary boundaries. The pilot focused on Alpro’s almond and soy supply chains, progressing efforts to develop a science-based target approach for all companies.
Alpro Science-Based Targets
Danone subsidiary and plant-based food and drink producer Alpro is on a mission to produce “One Planet Products.”
In 2018 and 2019, Metabolic worked with Alpro, WWF and other partners, to pilot assessment methodologies across four planetary boundaries on almond and soy farms. Building on this work, Alpro wanted to take the next step in the form of on-the-ground interventions in production practices.
Alpro
Danone subsidiary and plant-based food and drink producer Alpro is on a mission to produce “One Planet Products.”
In 2018 and 2019, Metabolic worked with Alpro, WWF and other partners, to pilot assessment methodologies across four planetary boundaries on almond and soy farms. Building on this work, Alpro wanted to take the next step in the form of on-the-ground interventions in production practices.
Opportunities
Outcomes
“We are proud to have pilot-tested the implementation of planetary boundaries within our supply chain”
Greet Vanderheyden, Senior Sustainable Development Manager at Alpro
EIT Climate-KIC tasked Metabolic with advice on how best to use its resources for the greatest impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation in food systems.
EIT Climate-KIC
EIT Climate-KIC tasked Metabolic with advice on how best to use its resources for the greatest impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation in food systems.
Opportunities
Priority intervention areas:
Land-use change
Food waste
Production of animal products
Outcomes
An essential piece of Climate-KIC’s decision-making toolkit to be used for selecting, assessing, and funding startups and research projects related to food.
Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency
The Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) is one of the biggest public organizations in the Netherlands, with 38 locations, 13,500 employees, and responsibility for more than 11,000 detainees at a time. The organization has committed itself to Dutch national goals regarding CO₂ emissions, the circular economy, and waste reduction.
Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency
The Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) is one of the biggest public organizations in the Netherlands, with 38 locations, 13,500 employees, and responsibility for more than 11,000 detainees at a time. The organization has committed itself to Dutch national goals regarding CO₂ emissions, the circular economy, and waste reduction.
Opportunities
A reduced ecological footprint through:
Renewable energy
Food waste reduction
Optimized waste separation practices
Outcomes
A full baseline analysis and recommended interventions that provide the organization a starting point to begin strategically reducing their impact to comply with the Dutch government’s national ambitions.
“By thinking in systems, we can find solutions for the most complex challenge we face: supporting human well-being within the boundaries of our planet.”
Pieter van Exter, Industries Lead, Metabolic
Our team focuses on three key outcomes:
Environmental impact
Reduce the environmental impact of large organizations.
Circular products
Develop new circular products and services.
Tools
Develop holistic material and product assessment tools.
In 2019, we worked with pioneering organizations on:
Circular economy strategies
Impact assessments
Tool development
Sustainable procurement
Critical Metal Demands for the Energy Transition
Meeting Paris Climate Agreement targets requires a rapid global rollout of renewable energy technologies. Many of these technologies – from solar panels and wind turbines, to electric vehicles – are reliant on specific rare metals for production.
With partners Copper8 and University of Leiden, Metabolic has developed a series of studies that investigate the metal demands of a carbon-free economy. The aim is to understand what can be done to move rapidly and safely towards this new economy with both societal needs and critical raw materials in mind.
Wind turbines and solar panels
This study analyzed the demand for critical metals for wind turbine and solar panel production in the Netherlands. It reveals a necessity to manage specific input metals in a circular fashion to ensure that we have enough for the technologies critical to a low-carbon future. As a key outcome of this work, the Dutch delegation tabled this issue at the COP United Nations Climate Change Conferences in both 2018 and 2019.
Electric vehicles
Designing low-carbon passenger transport with complex metals supply chains in mind means reducing dependence on privately owned vehicles and creating a circular economy for maximum resource efficiency. This report lays out Dutch metal demand projections, and suggests future-proof pathways forward.
Vitens Circular Drinking Water Production
A circular economy strategy for the largest drinking water company in the Netherlands.
Every day Vitens’s Spannenburg facility pumps millions of litres of water to over 300,000 people and companies across the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Vitens brought in Metabolic to help them identify opportunities for circularity through industrial symbiosis.
Vitens Circular Drinking Water Production
A circular economy strategy for the largest drinking water company in the Netherlands.
Every day Vitens’s Spannenburg facility pumps millions of litres of water to over 300,000 people and companies across the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Vitens brought in Metabolic to help them identify opportunities for circularity through industrial symbiosis.
Opportunities
Outcomes
Climate-neutral and Circular Procurement
The Netherlands has the ambition to become 100% circular by 2050.
In line with Dutch policy ambitions, Metabolic was commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat to map various instruments and frameworks for measuring the impact of Green Public Procurement. In addition, Metabolic has done extensive private sector work with airports, food catering, and financial institutions to develop circular procurement offerings.
Climate-neutral and Circular Procurement
The Netherlands has the ambition to become 100% circular by 2050.
In line with Dutch policy ambitions, Metabolic was commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat to map various instruments and frameworks for measuring the impact of Green Public Procurement. In addition, Metabolic has done extensive private sector work with airports, food catering, and financial institutions to develop circular procurement offerings.
Opportunities
Circular procurement as a means to achieve:
CO₂ reductions
Primary resource consumption reductions
Outcomes
For Rijkswaterstaat, a 5-year roadmap to arrive at a more uniform impact monitoring framework for climate-neutral and circular procurement. This roadmap will help the Dutch government develop a clear monitoring framework that helps public organizations compare purchase options and make sustainable purchasing decisions more easily.
One Planet Approaches: A Guide
Eight steps organizations can take to map operational impacts against planetary limits.
Originally produced with WWF and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, this synthesized guide introduces organizations to the growing field of science-based targets for climate and other planetary boundaries. It lists steps that organizations can take to understand their impacts and set science-based targets, and real-world examples of organizations applying it in practice.
One Planet Approaches: A Guide
Eight steps organizations can take to map operational impacts against planetary limits.
This guide, originally produced with WWF and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, introduces organizations to the growing field of science-based targets for climate and other planetary boundaries. It lists steps that organizations can take to understand their impacts and set science-based targets, and real-world examples of organizations applying it in practice.
Opportunities
More than 550 companies are already engaged in setting science based targets to reduce their climate footprints. Building on this experience, there is a significant opportunity to help companies set science-based targets for other environmental impacts, such as biodiversity, land-use, water, and biogeochemical flows.
Outcomes
“The financial system is in many ways the ultimate leverage point for transitioning to a sustainable economy. Small tweaks in the financial sector can have massive effects in virtually all areas of the ‘real’ economy, turning it from a bottleneck into a driving force for good.”
Seadna Quigley, Finance Lead, Metabolic
Our finance team focuses on four key outcomes:
Resilient economy
Financial institutions support a more sustainable, fair, and resilient economy.
Planetary boundaries
Financial portfolios are aligned with planetary boundaries.
Tool development
Tools providing insights into the financial risks associated with system dynamics.
Mission-driven
Finance becomes mission-driven, focusing on financial and non-financial outcomes alike.
In 2019, the team worked with a number of private and public institutions on:
Financial impact assessments
Risk Modelling
Metrics and Indicator Frameworks
Financial Risks in the Blue Economy
Exploring sustainability pressures and financial risks to ocean-related assets.
WWF asked Metabolic to estimate the financial risks to asset managers resulting from environmental impacts in the Blue Economy. Our finance team used a systems modeling approach to map the risks, piloting the method on the fisheries and ports sectors of the Baltic sea.
Financial Risk in the Blue Economy
Exploring sustainability pressures and financial risks to ocean-related assets.
WWF asked Metabolic to estimate the financial risks to asset managers resulting from environmental impacts in the Blue Economy. Our finance team used a systems modeling approach to map the risks, piloting the method on the fisheries and ports sectors of the Baltic sea.
Opportunities
Outcomes
WWF is sharing the findings with key stakeholders and networks, such as data providers, commercial banks, other asset managers, and multilateral development banks (MDBs) to get feedback on the approach and its applications, in order to better tailor the approach and model to the needs of the financial sector.
ABN Amro Circular Portfolio Assessments
ABN Amro aimed to reduce 1m tonnes of CO₂ with €1bn worth
of investments in 100 deals.
Metabolic was tasked with assessing the bank’s absolute investment portfolio performance against this target. In addition, we were asked to assess the impact of ABN Amro’s real estate portfolio. Our data science team combined databases from different sources to calculate the portfolio footprint along a holistic set of indicators.
ABN Amro Circular Portfolio Assessments
ABN Amro aimed to reduce 1m tonnes of CO2 with €1bn worth of investments in 100 deals.
Metabolic was tasked with assessing the bank’s absolute investment portfolio performance against this target. In addition, we were asked to assess the impact of ABN Amro’s real estate portfolio. Our data science team combined databases from different sources to calculate the portfolio footprint along a holistic set of indicators.
The Metabolic Ecosystem
The formidable sustainability challenges we face require a multi-pronged approach. Driven by a common overarching mission, the interdependent entities within the Metabolic ecosystem tackle emerging challenges with unique approaches and strengths. Alongside our consulting work showcased above, the following key developments happened within the Metabolic ecosystem in 2019.
Metabolic Institute
Building collective intelligence through open data
2019 marked the launch of the Metabolic Institute, a non-profit think tank that complements the work of Metabolic’s consulting and venture-building divisions. The Institute works at the intersection of academic research and real-world experimentation, connecting society, industry, policy, and academia to tackle critical knowledge gaps and build collective intelligence around pressing global sustainability issues.
“We are quickly moving towards a world where the types of problems we are trying to address are far too complex for any one expert at any one scale to solve. So the challenge becomes not how to be clever at any one scale, but how to be clever about connecting these scales together.”
Liz Corbin, Director, Metabolic Institute
From 2020-2025, the Institute’s primary focus will be to conduct public-facing applied research and experimentation on three critical global sustainability challenges. The two challenges already defined are:
Bioeconomy
A bioeconomy fit for the 21st century.
Planetary boundaries
Regenerative cities within planetary boundaries.
Projects championed by the Institute in 2019/2020
Circular Cities Program
The Metabolic Circular Cities Program brings groups of cities together around high-impact sustainability goals. Our first working group focuses on helping four Polish cities to develop locally-tailored, zero waste strategies as an entrypoint into the circular economy.
DLT4EU
Funded by the European Commission, the DLT4EU Programme aims to curate a vibrant and sustainable ecosystem of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) applications for public and social good across the EU.The programme is led by a consortium of Metabolic, Digital Catapult, and Ideas for Change.
REFLOW
REFLOW is a European Commission-funded project that seeks to understand and transform urban material flows and to co-create and test circular and regenerative solutions at business, governance and citizen levels. The project spans six European cities – Amsterdam, Berlin, Cluj-Napoca, Milan, Paris, and Vejle.
State of the World
The State of the World report series provides investigative research into the current health of the planet, with a goal to support sector-specific action. The first edition, launching December 2020, focuses on the bio-economy, exploring the potential for a widespread shift to bio-based production, including risks, gaps, and possible solution pathways across multiple sectors.
Food-E
This 4-year project – spanning 15 European pilots – explores citizen-driven urban food initiatives which are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. Metabolic Institute will lead the development of an open-source aquaponic farm in Amsterdam North as a showcase and educational center for urban food production.
Materiom
Materiom is an open access platform for creating sustainably-sourced biomaterials, made from locally-abundant natural ingredients. This library of recipes supports companies, cities and communities to create and source materials from locally abundant biomass.
REFLOW
REFLOW is a European Commission-funded project that seeks to understand and transform urban material flows and to co-create and test circular and regenerative solutions at business, governance and citizen levels. The project spans six European cities – Amsterdam, Berlin, Cluj-Napoca, Milan, Paris, and Vejle.
Materiom
Materiom is an open access platform for creating sustainably-sourced biomaterials, made from locally-abundant natural ingredients. This library of recipes supports companies, cities and communities to create and source materials from locally abundant biomass.
Metabolic ventures
Scaling up important ideas
Metabolic Ventures is the newest division of the Metabolic ecosystem. The Ventures team aims to catalyze ambitious social enterprises that use innovative frameworks and financial mechanisms to address global sustainability challenges at scale.
“Through building new ventures, empowering entrepreneurs, and providing investors the critical knowledge to help focus their efforts on the right impacts, we aim to address gaps in the transition to a healthy, restorative economy.”
Chris Monaghan, Ventures Director
Metabolic Ventures is a non-profit organization established to apply systems thinking and science-based targets to building new, transformative ventures. We identify critical gaps within our economic system and create new organizations that can address them.
The Metabolic Ventures team focuses on the following key outcomes:
Building ventures
Building ventures that demonstrate a new way forward.
Finance innovations
Demonstrating replicable innovations in finance and ownership.
Capacity building
Educating and building capacity in entrepreneurs and financiers.
Metabolic has founded three ventures and continues to incubate new ideas to address pressing societal gaps.
Spectral
Engineering a smart energy future
Founded in 2015, Spectral develops technological solutions that unlock the value of energy storage, demand flexibility, and locally produced renewable energy, propelling the evolution of smart energy networks.
“We believe that one of the most urgent issues to solve is providing for our energy needs in a sustainable way. Leveraging the full potential of the nearly limitless source of energy from the sun is the first step towards dealing with the rest of the systemic challenges we’ve encountered. That is why Spectral has chosen to begin with transitioning the global energy sector towards 100% sustainable energy supply.”
Philip Gladek, CEO, Spectral
Spectral’s 2019 highlights
Schoonschip
The award-winning Schoonship floating residential community, comprising 47 households, is the most sustainable urban development in Europe. Spectral, along with partners, Grid-Friends, led the implementation of the advanced smart-grid including batteries and smart heat pumps – revolutionizing renewable energy resource management.
This ultimately resulted in:
emissions reduction annually from imported electricity, or an annual 20,000 kg of CO₂ emissions reduction (equivalent to four conventional home’s annual energy use).
Windflex
Boasting the largest wind & battery plant in the Netherlands, the Windflex platform, which is being implemented across Greenchoice’s wind portfolio optimizes the control of the turbines and enables the delivery of grid balancing services. The platform utilizes a 3D digital twin of the connected assets, visualizing real-time data and operational statistics. Greenchoice plans to roll-out to an additional 150 MW wind farm in 2020.
This resulted in:
CO₂ annually avoided (in excess of 219 conventional home’s annual energy use).*
*Based on the battery utilizing wind energy instead of using fossil-fuel sources to provide the grid balancing service
Smart Building Platform
Buildings contribute to 40% of the total energy use within the energy sector. The Smart Building Platform (SBP) is the most comprehensive smart real-estate solution available on the market.
The SBP’s automated building control systems enable real-time predictive optimization to significantly improve energy efficiency and comfort levels. Artificial Intelligence-based algorithms continuously analyze building data and weather forecasts to adjust settings resulting in up to 60% in savings on HVAC energy usage.
In 2019, SBP avoided:
CO₂ emissions (equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of 28 persons)
Spectral is rapidly scaling up the SBP with leading real estate companies in the Netherlands, to exponentially increase the direct GHG emissions in the coming years.
Metabolic Foundation
Citizen-led solutions
Metabolic Foundation is a non-profit organization with the mission to empower people and improve cities through guiding community-driven development, building open source solutions, stimulating social entrepreneurship, and manifesting sustainable urbanism. The Foundation team is currently based on the island of Aruba.
“The democratization of technology gives communities the power to transition towards a sustainable future. Makerspaces using open source technology function as public laboratories to experiment and prototype practical solutions to real challenges. In this process people get their hands dirty and develop the mindset to tackle current and future challenges — to take things apart and build them back better.“
Christe Mettes, Metabolic Foundation
Metabolic Foundation’s 2019 highlights:
Brenchie’s Lab is a network of publicly accessible makerspaces. With its main location in the National Library of Aruba, the space is open to the public five days a week to support students, artists, hobbyists, entrepreneurs, and curious citizens interested in the potential of digital fabrication, open technology, and co-learning.
in 2019 for Workshops on 3D Printing, 3D Modeling, Electronics, Programming, Laser Cutting, Robotics & More
Plastic Beach Party is a community-driven effort to introduce plastic recycling to Aruba. The facility has a collection of open-access machinery that turns large volumes of the island’s plastic waste into reusable, plastic intensive products, and re-recyclable products and works with the community to develop ways to reduce plastic waste on the island.
In 2019, the project resulted in:
plastic received for recycling
aluminium cans received for recycling
glass recycled
CO2 emissions avoided
In collaboration with the Government of Aruba’s Futura Lab and the National Library of Aruba, Mo-B Lab is a mobile makerspace that visits schools on the Island of Aruba. The lab is equipped with tools like 3d printers and digital drawing pads, exposing children to the latest technologies and tools to be able to design, make, and fix in a future circular economy.
In the 2018/19 school year, Mo-B Lab resulted in:
individuals/students used Mo-B Lab (Aug 2018 – June 2019 School Year)
workshops
schools visited
SYSTEMIC
Scalable software solutions
Systemic is our software arm that builds decision support tools to make it easier for organizations to make the most sustainable decisions across their operations.
Systemic's 2019 focus areas
ChemDSS
Systemic’s first software product is ChemDSS, an eco-design tool that simplifies the design of green chemical formulations. ChemDSS makes it easy to design green formulations, reducing the amount of time it takes to assess the toxicity and environmental impact of a formulation from months to minutes. Learn more
Material Flow Analysis Tool
Critical to the transition to a circular economy is the mapping of resource flows within a given system i.e. sector, city, company. Sankey diagrams are a powerful method for visualizing resource flows and identifying impact and intervention hotspots. To accelerate this process, and make it available to more stakeholders, Systemic has developed an online tool which generates material flow Sankey diagrams via an automated process.
