Stories

carbon emissions, city planning, emission calculation, sustainable cities, The Carbon Map, zoning

The Carbon Map – a guide for climate-conscious city planning

Read about the development process of The Carbon Map, a carbon emission calculator for more sustainable city planning. Avoin, Natural Resources Institute Finland, and Finnish Environment Institute have joined forces and produced The Carbon Map, a carbon emission calculator, which helps experts calculate how zoning affects the carbon stock of the built environment. The tool…
agriculture, GHG calculation, GHG emissions management, global research, mixed farming, ReLive, sustainable development

ReLive – working together for circular agriculture

Let’s discuss the many ways the global research project ReLive is looking to make farming more sustainable. Introduction It all started with professor Bruce Osborne from University College Dublin getting together with his colleagues Ibrahim Khalil, Cor Jacobs, and Bart Kruijt to discuss their common research interest in mitigating GHG emissions associated with agricultural activities.…
GHG calculation, sustainable development, transparency

Unlocking sustainability with transparency

TalTech’s open-source GHG tool developed in collaboration with Avoin ry Businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of sustainability and the need to reduce their carbon footprint. While larger corporations often have the resources to invest in understanding and calculating their net impact, it’s equally vital for small and mid-sized companies to take meaningful steps toward…
AI, algorithms, computer science, ethics of AI, transparency

The difference between a mixer and baking

An expert and a noob sat down to discuss bi-objective optimization. Here´s what ensued. In Autumn 2022, DALL-E 2 became available for all without having to sign up for a waitlist. Since then, we have witnessed the infinite potential of “generative” AI being pushed out of all tubes (like we say in Finnish) by the media.…
biodiversity, forest kids, game

Forest Kids — educating youth about biodiversity

Join us for a collaborative journey of game creation from concept to launch. In this article, you’ll learn about the creative process behind the online game Forest Kids, from its initial concept to its final launch. You’ll discover how the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Avoin, and the European Space Agency (ESA) worked together to…
agriculture, data management, sustainable development

Reliving the future

A retrospective approach to sustainable farming Reintegrating land and livestock (Relive) is a transnational project researching mixed farms, especially concerning greenhouse gas emissions and circularity. In the project, mixed farms refer to the integration of crops and livestock. Reintegration highlights how mixed farms were the norm in the past. Relive allows mixed farms to be explored…
biodiversity, forestry, sustainable development, virtual mapping

Building digital tools for sustainable forest management

Here´s a sneak peek into the development process of the forestry layer of Avoin Map, the virtual mapping tool for sustainable development. Sustainable forest management is not easy — but digital tools can make it a little easier. Avoin, a not-for-profit organization focusing on digital tools for sustainable development, has developed its virtual mapping tool Avoin…
agriculture, biodiversity, environment, future, sustainable development

The True Green Evolution — imagining the future of agriculture

Now it´s the time to ensure there is enough food for the generations to come. As a dancer, I like the word agriculture because it includes the word “culture” in it. This is not too far from the truth: the development of immaterial culture was indeed accelerated by the invention of agriculture around 12,000 years…
change making, game development, personal experience, sustainable development

The 5 carrots

Learnings after leaving my career to save the world Taking part in the ongoing Great Resignation — the trend where employees voluntarily resign in mass — I left my game industry job in Fall 2021 to pursue greater personal meaning: Societal change. In pursuing a more meaningful life, I forwarded plant-based initiatives, co-founded a non-profit…