Solar C鲁ITIES Solutions, an organization founded by PCGS Climate Concentration Director,
Dr. T.H. Culhane, focused on promoting sustainable solutions through biogas, has won
four awards in three categories at the 2023 AD and Biogas Industry Awards, organized
by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association and the World Biogas Association.
On March 27th & 28th, Dr. T.H. Culhane and his team from NGO Solar C鲁ITIES (鈥淐onnecting
Community Catalysts Integrating Technologies for Industrial Ecology Solutions鈥�) attended
the AD and Biogas Industry Awards in Birmingham, England. The conference brought together
system thinkers, professionals, and academics in various domains, who were all unabashedly
enthusiastic about technologies and policies that revolve around problems associated
with production and consumption residuals. Solar C鲁ITIES was indisputably one of the
highly recognized organizations of the event with 6 finalist nominations and 4 awards
in 3 different categories.
Dr. Culhane, with his prolific work in the biogas sector, won 鈥淎D Hero of the Year.鈥� Solar C鲁ITIES co-founder, Kathy Puffer received the 鈥淲omen in Biogas鈥� Award, and their other co-founder and Solar C鲁ITIES CEO Janice Kelsey was short-listed as a 鈥淲omen in Biogas鈥� finalist. Furthermore, Solar C鲁ITIES was nominated for 鈥淓ducation Campaign of the Year,鈥� while Kathy Puffer鈥檚 online Biogas Education Hub received the 鈥淗ighly Commended鈥� award. Janice was brought up on stage to accept the winning of Education Campaign Award for Solar C鲁ITIES colleague Boma Mohammed Chi, who took his own training with the organization. He has since become a world-renowned trainer-of-trainers, founding the 鈥淐ommon Initiative Group/RRECAM Group,鈥� teaching his small-scale biogas in his native Cameroon.
Dr. Culhane and his team first incorporated Solar C鲁ITIES in Cairo, Egypt, in 2006 when they were living and working with the Zabaleen trash-recycling community: 鈥淥ne man鈥檚 trash is another鈥檚 treasure.鈥� For the last 17 years, Solar C鲁ITIES has been teaching their applications of sustainability ideas within their international network. 15 of those have built their own household and community-scale biodigesters, teaching others around the world how to craft and operate their own. Their objective is to eliminate 100% of so-called 鈥渙rganic waste鈥� at the point of generation and rendering the rest of the trash amenable to efficient and cost-effective recycling 鈥� even 鈥渦pcycling.鈥�
At PCGS, Dr. Culhane has been sharing and teaching his work for the last 7 years in several courses: Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Climate Mitigation and Adaptation, Envisioning Sustainability, and Waste Not Want Not: Repurposing Refuse as Resource. All his teaching, along with Solar C鲁ITIES, has always focused on connecting community catalysts, inspiring others to see things through the circular economy and zero-waste lens, and applying hands-on training and life-tested experience to eliminating waste.
Indeed, attaining such achievements at the AD and Biogas Industry Awards is a testament to Dr. Culhane and Solar C鲁ITIES 鈥檚 dedication and contribution to sustainability. However, this mission of creating a sustainable planet still has a long journey ahead. 鈥淚t is our continued focus on this very realistic goal that will drive our problem-solving work into the future, a future where we know there is only one place for humanity to put and keep its 鈥榞arbage鈥�: in the past!鈥�, said Dr. Culhane.