Lab
BRICK Lab
Cleaner Brick Manufacturing in Bangladesh
Brick manufacturing constitutes a substantial portion of the economy and employment opportunities in Bangladesh. The kilns used to make bricks also generate enormous pollution. Estimates suggest that the brick kiln sector alone may be responsible for up to half of all particulate matter in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.
The problem is a matter of global significance: each year the global gasses from brick kilns in South Asia is equivalent to the climate impact generated from the entire US passenger car fleet. Brick manufacturing demonstrates the complex tradeoffs between growth and the environment, and demands a new approach. Efforts in the past thirty years have focused on constructing capital intensive modern kilns, or relied on government regulations and enforcement. Due to the high costs of these new kilns and the inability to enforce regulations, progress has been slow. The lab is working with civic organizations and environmental advisory firms to generate scientific evidence on how to increase adoption and use of new technologies that can drive profits up and pollution down.
Our team:
Stephen Luby, Professor of Medicine, Senior Fellow, Woods Institute of the Environment, Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Principal Investigator
Debashish Biswas, Assistant Scientist, icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nina Brooks, PhD, Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Joint-MA in Economics, Stanford University
Grant Miller, Associate Professor of Medicine, Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Fellow, Woods Institute of the Environment.
Bangladesh Brick Manufacturing Owners Association (BBMOA)
Greentech Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd
Website: A Better Brick: Solving an Airborne Health Threat
Related content: