“EnviroHouse” is a conceptual design project made by “Linné Innovation AB” in order to improve the existing agriculture industry and resolve most of its existing problems. We have utilized the Flower of Innovation development method which is based on defining the project via Systems Engineering, identifying the elements, environment, boundaries, and such. We applied the Design Thinking method for developing the system and managed the process by Agile methodology.
This article is an NABC summary explaining more than one year of our work within a multidisciplinary team of professionals.
EnviroHouse Analysis
Need (NABC)
The most of our planet’s population has been fed by the existing agriculture industry so far. However, it requires proper management to address its direct and indirect disadvantages. We are paying a high price to keep producing food, and that is the major problem with our current agriculture. We can divide the most important impacts into 6 major categories as follows:
1. Land conversion, habitat loss, soil erosion and degradation.
The statistics by FAO collected in the following chart, shows our total available land for agriculture compared to all other applications:

Same data is visualized as the following map showing total available arable land:

The following map shows the intensity of food production compared to the available arable after implementing the efficiency of agriculture industry in every region:

We need to remember that the existing situation is currently exceeding the limits of the global arable area. We are not producing with 100% efficiently in all countries, including but not limited to Sweden.
Meanwhile, the conversion of land in the more efficient locations has resulted in drastic biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and degradation.
2. Water quality and aquatic ecosystems (either in fresh or marine waters).
Food and agriculture consume the largest amount of water. It is one hundred times more than what we use for personal needs. That being said, up to 70 % of the water we take from rivers and groundwater goes into irrigation. About 10% is used in domestic applications and 20% in industry.
In addition to 2800 cubic kilometers of annual water consumption in agriculture, water quality may be negatively affected as well. The presence of pesticide residues, nutrients from fertilizers, or sediments from soil erosion, all affects the water quality. This amount of water withdrawal resulted in natural disasters such as underground aquifer manipulation, the disappearance of rivers and lakes, and the loss of biodiversity and sand/salt storms in nearby lands.
3. GHG production including CO2, methane and nitrous oxides.
Agriculture activities generate about 24% of total GHG emissions directly. Taking into account the electricity, transportation, and other related industries to agriculture activities, we find that agriculture generates more than one-third of the whole global GHG emission. This is more than emission produced by all world’s Airplanes, Trains and Automobiles together.
The estimation and forecast of GHG production by agriculture in 2050 by FAO shows an increasing situation of 35 to 60 percent for different elements if we continue producing food with the existing methods.
4. World Hunger situation not covered yet.
Every 3.6 seconds, one child dies because of the hunger. About 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life (780 million in developing countries). That is 12.9 percent of developing countries’ population and about one in nine people on earth. The number of hungry in the world could be reduced by up to 150 million if women farmers had the same access to resources as men.
Although these numbers will increase due to the growth of the global population, WFP calculates that we need US$3.2 billion per year to reach only 66 million hungry school-age children.
5. Upcoming 10 billion population in 2050.
According to the United Nations’s report in 2017, the current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100. With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline.
Developing countries will experience nearly all of this population increase. Urbanization will continue at an accelerated pace, with about 70 percent of the world’s population living in urban areas (compared to 49 percent today). Income levels will be many multiples of what they are now. Food production (net of food not used for biofuels) must increase by 70% to feed this larger, more urban and richer population, .
6. Global resource consumption rates.
Unless economic growth is “decoupled” from current consumption rates, a UN report warns that humans could triple the natural resources they consume by 2050. In developed nations, individuals consume an average of 16 tons per capita of minerals, ores, fossil fuels, and biomass each year, and as much as 40 or more tons per capita in some nations, according to the report by the UN Environmental Program’s International Resources Panel. That rate doubled from 1900 to 2000.
Approach (NABC)
Our approach to re-think and design a better solution in agriculture industry intends to cover the existing disadvantages. They include but are not limited to the above-mentioned parameters. In this case, to be more specific, we are aiming for improving a closed environment systems to make it more efficient and environmentally friendly. In further development stages, it is desired as well to investigate the possibility of coexistence of different cultures. For example, growing chickens and tomatoes together.
The specific and key differences in our project comparing to existing traditional closed system farms is briefly listed as follows:
- Growing vertically instead of spreading through the land.
- Using closed loop resource consumption system for irrigation and other resources.
- Substituting renewable energy resources instead of fossil fuels.
- Recycling or reusing waste material and energy from other industries as much as possible.
- Using organic farming methods.
- Distributed production model instead of mass production.
- Using renewable / re-usable resources for saving and converting energy.
All these parameters are already available as separate technology solutions. The main effort will be designing a compatible system where different technologies can cover and support each other as well as the growing facility itself. This will make the EnviroHouse a food factory with minimum (towards zero) environmental impacts. It then allows us to transfer the facility to the middle of urban areas.
Benefits (NABC)
- We occupy less land to produce the same amount of food compared to the traditional farming. In long term, it can even result in freeing some converted land into their original application as forests or such.
- The controlled environment will prevent more soil erosion or destruction. Also, it is highly controlling the outgoing pollutants of agriculture to the environment causing soil and water pollution and GHG generation.
- Closed loop resource management is a very effective way of fighting against our existing high consumption rate. This would be a noticeable solution for postponing the earth’s overshooting day.
- Controlled environment makes it possible to grow food even in inappropriate climate conditions or none arable areas. Also, it will result in round the year production instead of traditional seasonal yield.
- Utilizing renewable energy resources helps us to cut the direct and indirect environmental impacts of agriculture activities.
- Organic farming methods are very important in increasing the nutrition value of the products and at the same time will prevent a big amount of water, soil and atmosphere pollutions caused by synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
- We use renewable resources to prevent the environmental impacts of usage and disposal of chemical batteries in food production.
- By removing environmental footprint of agriculture in Envirohouse, it is possible to construct urban farms. This will decrease the transportation costs and impacts, increase the nutrition value by reducing the shelving time of products, and provide distributed generation which increases the availability and food safety.
- This solution will directly and indirectly provide more job opportunities in urban areas and can make the younger generation more interested in food production.
Competition (NABC)
As a matter of fact, feeding the upcoming population in the world will eventually make a high competition in both market and production industries of food and agriculture. Envirohouse can play a critical role in order to balance the situation as a feasible solution by producing food. At the same time the solution itself is a product to develop.
Besides the above benefits as a single project or a single solution, the Envirohouse is a specific concept which strongly covers multiple Global Goals at the same time.
EnviroHouse & the Global Goals
- World Hunger. With a part of money spent every year to provide food for starving population, we can provide an Envirohouse locally which will continuously provide local food.
- Health. Envirohouse produces healthier food and nutrition plays a major role in health.
- Water Sanitation. The resource management and closed loop system prevents introducing chemicals or pollution into water resources.
- Renewable Energy. Is one of the essentials and the key feature of the whole solution.
- Jobs & Economic Growth. We can build an Envirohouse in adverse or inappropriate climate condition. We can create local jobs, social and economic growth, even on non-arable lands.
- Innovation & Infrastructure. Preparing a combination of multiple innovative solutions and applying the existing advanced technologies in the Envirohouse’s infrastructure.
- Sustainable Cities & Communities. Reusing and recycling the waste or byproduct of other industries in addition to the controlled closed loop of energy and materials consumption makes this solution a favorite choice in increasing urban sustainability.
- Responsible consumption. The locally produced food which is available continuously and round the year will change the consumption attitude of the end users towards reduction in storing food at home and producing food waste.
- Climate Action. It makes the biggest environmental impact generating industry, more sustainable and greener.
- Life Below Water. Direct harvest of the natural resources has impacted the life below water. In addition, the indirect pollution in water resources caused by industrial fishing boats and ships reduces.
- Life on the Land. The solution helps saving the life and bio-diversities, affected by environmental impacts of agriculture industry.
- Partnership in Global Goals. To build a functioning version of Envirohouse, it is absolutely necessary for multiple organizations and individuals from different sectors to collaborate.
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