Last night at the ASN Bank World Price Final in Rotterdam, Blue Harvest Netherlands was the only finalist to get a spontaneous ovation from the audience after a passionate plea from founder Elvira de Rooij. She explained how the climate impact of Blue Harvest can be compared to turning a very polluting diesel car into an electrical vehicle: Blue Harvest turns ‘normal’ cows into climate neutral cows. By feeding them a very special species of seaweed!
It is of course still better for the climate to eat less meat and dairy products – same as it is to drive less. But when we do choose to eat meat and dairy products, we can now choose a climate neutral alternative!
The audience was clearly moved by this speech, as was the jury – Ynzo van Zanten / Tony’s Chocolonely, Ineke van Zanten / Greenwish, Faizah Oulahsen / Greenpeace, Olof van der Gaag / Ned. Ver. voor Duurzame Energie. All present were convinced of the need to start feeding cows this special seaweed called Asparagopsis taxiformis, and slash global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.
There are still a few hurdles to take before Blue Harvest can really start making climate impact. One of them – the growing of Asparagopsis – was tackled in the past week: Blue Harvest is starting up a full cooperation with a seaweed-specialist, who can grow Asparagopsis. All that needs to be done now is to prove that this specific seaweed works its miracle in The Netherlands the same as it does in Australia: up to 90% reduction in methane emission in living cows.
Being the only initiative in the final without so-called proof of concept, and still in an early stage of setting up the business, the jury choose another initiative – SunData – as the winner of the ASN Bank World Prize 2017. SunData makes solar panels more effective by monitoring their output. Direct & quick climate impact, proof of concept and a sound team convinced the jury, who were looking for the initiative that could bring the biggest impact as soon as possible.
Blue Harvest claimed the 2nd place in the ASN Bank World Prize 2017 – out of a total of 246 initiatives. This is something to be very proud of, and it has brought a lot of attention and recognition. With our new partner we hope to give proof of concept as soon as possible, and our plan is to start feeding cows Asparagopsis before the end of 2018!