Based in the UK, a team of students have developed a cow feed that uses seaweed to reduce the amount of methane entering the atmosphere, and facilitate an environmentally friendly dairy industry.
Poppy Newly-Bayliss and her fellow Ecologeco team members never imagined they’d be spending so much time focusing on cows when they started their studies at the University of Nottingham. However, today the team are using their STEM skills to transform the environmental impact of dairy farming.
Ecologeco is a team of eleven students who are building a business concept that will reduce the amount of methane entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is about 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the planet. And around 40% of annual methane production comes from the 1.4 billion cows in the world, making cattle farming a key factor in global warming.
The team was formed from Enactus UK, a youth entrepreneurship non-profit, with the ambition to create a cow feed that reduces methane gases from livestock. Through research and product development, the team of students have now developed a seaweed-based eco feed that could reduce cow-based methane by up to 99%.
And who knew cows loved the salty taste of seaweed?!
The group are hopeful their business can facilitate an environmentally friendly range of dairy products - with a major supermarket and dairy producer already keen to stock their produce. The team are using their STEM skills to innovate change that will allow consumers to enjoy good quality dairy with little environmental impact.
"STEM, in general, is so important to everyday life, especially the problems we currently face. We need STEM and knowledge of science to be able to think of ideas to tackle these challenges. It is also something that as women we are passionate about because on our team we have 50% gender representation and this project is a great way for everyone to get involved in STEM and learn.” Poppy Newly–Bayliss, Ecologeco team member
Fellow team-mate Izzaty Abdulla added: “I love the combination of innovation and business. We need environmental scientists to develop the product and business and finance specialists to commercialise the concept. We have a diverse range of backgrounds and we all learn from each other, bounce ideas off each other and that’s the part I enjoy most about working on Ecologeco.”
UN Sustainable Development Goals
13: Climate action
15: Life on land
17: Partnerships for the goals
Read more insights
Unexpected error: .NET Consultant needed urgently
Whether it’s a 24-month contract, or a 2-day contract, every day we partner exceptional contractors with pioneering companies.
Encouraging students to save the planet by choosing a career in the green sector
Inspiring young people to turn their passion for the environment into a career.
Finding niche STEM talent teams to help renewable energy clients grow fast
Infinis required niche electrical and engineering skills to help them focus on their expansion into a new solar energy division.
Finding female leaders for a MedTech client
How people with different backgrounds, expertise and viewpoints can help teams make more effective decisions.
Supporting a sought after specialist through a mid-career switch
How a candidate returned to the banking sector after the pandemic led to hiring freezes and volatility in the market.
Providing access to medical testing through mobile and logistics technology
This health tech start-up uses mobile and logistics technology to provide access to medical testing, including COVID-19 in rural Nigeria.
Improving mobility and quality of life through 3D printed prosthetics
Improving mobility and quality of life through 3D printed prosthetics
Digitising water utility operations to reduce water shortages in Africa
How the WayPoints team developed software that brings water utility operations in Africa into the 21st century.
Tackling bacterial diseases in agriculture and beyond
The Uniphage team are hoping their innovative STEM business concept will create platform technology to cure bacterial diseases in agricul...
Alleviating single-use plastic in the fast food sector
A team of students from India developed sustainable food packaging to reduce the amount of plastic packaging being produced
What if you could turn single-use face masks into clean energy?
Living Energy are hoping their innovative STEM business concept will turn our global single-use plastic problem into a clean energy source.
Transforming the construction market with a low-carbon alternative
A team of young entrepreneurs from India have developed a low-carbon alternative that could transform the global construction market.
Finding local talent for a major US food and beverage manufacture
Solving a problem during the pandemic required a new approach when additional staff were needed during lockdown when demand soared.
Helping Arevon Energy reach its growth goals
How building a trusted relationship helped source a varied range of skilled professionals.
Building a new flagship store app on a tight timeline
Even when you’re a large global e-commerce retailer, finding experienced mobile developers at short notice presents a challenge.
How can we achieve an equal future for leadership in STEM?
Learning from experience: hear from six female leaders across various industries about their leadership journey in our roundtable discussion
Choose to challenge this International Women's Day 2021
IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group, or organisation specific.
It's okay to not be okay - why should you care about your mental health?
This article looks at why you should care about your mental health, especially during a pandemic this World Mental Health day.