SDG – CalWave

Social Responsibility

At CalWave, impact is the driving force that propels our work forward.

Our aim is to unlock wave power for people and planet. We believe that it is our responsibility to ensure that our impact is socially, environmentally, and economically sound.

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Sustainability

CalWave’s mission is aligned with and facilitates several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

MEETING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

UN Sustainable Development Goal #7: Affordable and Clean Energy

At the core of our business, Calwave is focused on providing clean renewable energy to communities around the world. In concerted effort with cross-sectional industry experts, we operate to reduce carbon emissions, tackle climate change, and create value for all stakeholders. We believe that harnessing the untapped power of wave energy will be the key to social mobility, economic growth, and improving quality of life at a universal level.

UN Sustainable Development Goal #13: Climate Action

In order to address climate change and its impacts, CalWave is offering a unique solution to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. We have developed a new, state-of-the-art technology that harvests energy from ocean waves, thus providing coastal communities with a reliable, renewable source of power at a carbon-neutral cost. With mass adoption, we believe that it is possible for wave energy to produce over 4000 GWh/year, offsetting over 3 million tons of GHG emissions by 2030. Assuming wave energy development follows the similar trajectory anticipated for offshore wind, this production can exponentially increase to achieve our target of displacing 500 million tons of GHG equivalent annually by 2050.

UN Sustainable Development Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

As global migration continues to place pressure on coastal regions, Calwave believes that pursuing our mission means prioritizing efforts to ensure the resiliency, safety, and sustainability of these cities and human settlements. CalWave’s ocean-powered solution produces an annual average energy density of 20-60 kW/m depending on the location, providing greater energy accessibility for end users located in coastal cities and communities.

UN Sustainable Development Goal #14: Life Below Water

Knowing that our oceans drive global systems that make Earth habitable for humankind, Calwave’s technology protects marine and coastal ecosystems through intentional design and functionality. To address the real concern regarding the potential for marine animals to collide with the moving parts of tidal devices, our alternative energy solution operates fully submerged, leaving ecosystems unharmed and shorelines more accessible. Further, by ethically unlocking the power of our oceans to provide energy, we can very well curb the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.

UN Sustainable Development Goal #9: Industries, Innovation, and Infrastructure

CalWave offers a solution to generate decentralized renewable energy from ocean waves, ultimately facilitating lower overhead costs for local manufacture and infrastructure.

UN Sustainable Development Goal #6: Clean Water and Sanitation

CalWave’s solution can provide process power in the form of pressurized salt water to facilitate sustainable desalination. The coastline communities, besides the environmental degradation and health concerns, usually lack roads, running water, and, ultimately, electricity supply.

UN Sustainable Development Goal #12: Responsible Consumption and Production

CalWave’s solution facilitates sustainable infrastructure, and provide access to basic services, green and decent local jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.

FAST FACTS AND FIGURES

Scale of Resource and Emission Reduction Potential

Emissions of selected electricity supply technologies in gCo2eq/kWh.

Source: IPPC, 2018.

Ocean-based mitigation options could reduce global GHG emissions by nearly 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per annum in 2030 and by more than 11 billion tons per annum in 2050, relative to projected business-as-usual (BAU) emissions. Reductions of this magnitude are larger than the emissions from all current coal-fired power plants worldwide and more than China’s total emissions in 2014. Ocean-based mitigation options could reduce the “emissions gap” (the difference between emissions expected if current trends and policies continue and emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increase) by up to 21% on a 1.5°C pathway, and by about 25% on a 2.0°C pathway, by 2050.

The figure to the left provides emissions projections of various electricity supply technologies, with ocean energy resulting in the least lifecycle emissions.

IPCC Special Report recognizes ocean energy as a means of mitigating climate change. According to the report, rapid actions to reduce greenhouse gas emission can still help limit the changes in the ocean and cryosphere and preserve ecosystems and livelihoods that depend on them. To do that, cooperation among authorities across sectors and jurisdictions needs to be enhanced, taking into account the local and indigenous knowledge.

The United Nations report: “Tidal, wave and other marine energies will escalate”. The report also outlines prevention and restoration actions that can help protect the ocean and cryosphere ecosystems. The report further suggests that the urgent need for low-carbon energy sources is likely to create economic opportunities for the ocean energy sector.

Ocean-based Mitigation Options

Ocean-based Mitigation Options and Associated Annual Mitigation Potential in 2050.

Source: The Ocean Panel, 2019.

Social Impact & Sustainability