Breathing Buildings, a Cambridge UK CleanTech company, has had its e-stack natural ventilation system honoured as a top 100 sustainable solution at Rio+20.

Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, co-founder and managing director of Breathing Buildings said: “We are proud that e-stack has been included in this prestigious list, especially when we consider that the Sustainia100 solutions were gathered from 56 countries spread over six continents.”

Using the principles of low energy mixing ventilation in winter and natural upward displacement ventilation in the summer, Breathing Buildings’ e-stack system provides a cost effective, energy efficient alternative to traditional ventilation methods.

The e-stack systems are controlled by a programmable logic controller responding to variations in temperature and CO2 levels. The system also includes low energy mixing fans, which may be used to enhance the flow in extreme conditions and thereby provide a reliable, engineered low energy ventilation system.

Cambridge solar technology pioneer, Eight19, also muscled in on the initiative – chaired by Hollywood star and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Its Indigo pay-as-you-go solar technology has been honoured as a top sustainable solution at Rio+20 in Brazil; Eight19 enters a pantheon created by Arnie’s new Sustainia100 venture, listing the best CleanTech solutions on the planet.

Sustainability legend Gro Harlem Brundtland, media guru and philanthropist Ted Turner, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard, and 150 VIP guests celebrated the first concrete outcome at Rio+20 – Sustania’s launch.

By combining mobile and solar technology, the Indigo solution provides the benefits of solar with the affordability of pay-as-you-go phones delivering energy, health and economic benefits for rural communities in developing countries.

Sustainia100 is a complete guide to innovative and scalable solutions instrumental in creating sustainable societies.

Building on ready and available solutions only, Sustainia100 is as a tangible tool for sustainability professionals – from politicians to CEOs – dedicated to create desirable and sustainable societies.

Individually, the solutions represent sustainable innovation in areas such as city planning, energy, fashion, water and waste management, high-tech and transportation. Collectively, they provide a guide of the building blocks available for transforming our societies.

Sustainia100 is a cornerstone in Sustainia. A construction site for the desirable society we could live in if we implemented ready and available solutions. Developed by world-leading companies, organizations and experts in close collaboration with UN Global Compact and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s initiative Regions20, Sustainia is the first holistic introduction to the attractive sustainable future.

Sustainia100 solutions are nominees for the Sustainia Award, which honors outstanding performance within sustainability. The winner will be announced at a ceremony later this year in Copenhagen.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, honorary chair of Sustainia said: “I am very excited and inspired by this as it makes it absolutely clear that our mission is possible. That we do have the ammunition we need to tackle this challenge. That we have what it takes to create fun and attractive societies without destroying our planet.”

Eight19’s CEO Simon Bransfield-Garth said: “Eight19 is delighted to be included in the first Sustania100 list of innovative and scalable solutions for building sustainable societies.

“The Indigo pay-as-you-go solar solution is providing affordable power in Africa, where still 4 out of 5 people lack access to mains electricity, instead relying on expensive and potentially dangerous candles or kerosene for light. Indigo is currently available in Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and South Sudan and will extend to other countries in Africa later in 2012.”

Also this week, Eight19 was awarded a highly coveted World Business Development Award at Rio+20. The double honour follows just three months after Business Weekly named Eight19 its CleanTech company of the Year.