Creating an optimal (room) climate for people working and living

Through his study, a combination of biology and business administration, he discovered that certain characteristics of plants, such as their ability to absorb CO2, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fine dust, plus giving out humidity to the air, significantly increases the wellbeing of people around. By understanding these results, he decided to develop an indoor greening system in which plants are implemented to enhance people’s physical and mental health.

Two aspects should be considered. First, natural solutions including plants must be set up to increase air quality through their work of providing oxygen and absorbing CO2. Secondly, sensors should be installed to monitor these aspects to investigate solutions to better the air quality. This data can then be used to manage the overall building’s climate.

The lack of nature in cities

Thus, this vision did not stop at greening indoor areas. The benefits of green are as valuable outdoor in the built environment as well. Especially urban areas are missing environmentally friendly elements. The lack of nature in cities increases the risks of heat islands, flooding, and insufficient air quality. Little (horizontal) space is available in cities to create new parks or water surfaces. Therefore, already existing accessible spaces should be used to incorporate ecological essentials. Taking facades for example as a (vertical) base to cover with plants is a promising solution to fight these climatic challenges.

Create sustainable cities

Green facades are a very efficient climate mitigation and adaptation strategy which reduces the heat island effect, improves air quality, absorbs rainwater, and supports local biodiversity. Next to these ecological benefits of the plants, the whole composition of the green wall should be looked at to provide a worthwhile solution to create sustainable cities. The construction elements and the panel composition of the WallFlore System is made from steel which can be recycled and brought back into its life cycle without wasting materials. We try to use as little virgin materials as possible in the production. This circular process supports Cloud Garden’s mission of being a purpose-driven company focusing on sustainability by promoting – literally – a green product in its fullest form.

Our sustainable philosophy

At the office, energy from renewable energy sources is used to minimize our carbon footprint. Additionally, the employees’ cars run with biofuels or electricity. Minimizing waste generally is another step to lower the materials’ consumption and waste production. This philosophy is also represented in our supply chain and partners.

Therefore, Cloud Garden is determined to follow the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations. The following 7 goals impact Cloud Garden daily and this is how:

SDG #	Cloud Garden’s participation
	Providing green and natural solutions to enhance people’s physical and mental health, providing a better climate indoors and outdoors, using sensors to monitor indoor air quality and provide solutions to improve atmosphere.
	Maximising energy efficiency in buildings
	Innovative new chip technology to increase efficiency, software development
	Outdoor greening system WallFlore integrated in cities to support local biodiversity, reduce heat island effect, improve air quality, rainwater absorption, increasing building efficiency with smart building management system to reduce CO2 footprint
	Circular process in production of elements, recycled and reused materials
	Reduction of CO2 in atmosphere, rainwater absorption, reduce risk of natural disasters, awareness rising
	Supporting local biodiversity (plants, insects, animals) through giving them habitat

These 7 goals have a main focus on Cloud Garden’s agenda. To achieve them, it demands a purpose, true will- strength, determination, and hard work. We thrive and work towards achieving these goals in our everyday business activities and are never stopping to improve ourselves.

Let’s create a better world and integrating green in our daily surroundings.