Sustainability In Your Ear

Caroline Vanderlip, CEO of Re:Dish, joins the conversation to discuss making cafeteria, institutional and restaurant food service sustainable. Re:Dish provides reusable food service items, collecting, returning them to a dish washing facility each day, and delivering a fresh supply to its customers, which include corporate and school cafeterias, hospitals and . Re:Dish containers offers several #5 plastic (polypropylene) clamshell and round meal containers that are rented on a per-use basis to institutional customers. These containers do not include the PFAS used to prevent leakage in many compostable food service products. Customers are provided with informational guides for diners and branded collection containers that Re:Dish empties each day.Re:Dish claims that a company cafeteria that reuses an average of 500 containers instead of molded pulp single-user containers every business day for a year can prevent 125,000 items from going to a landfill and that it will use 67% less water and produce 77% fewer Scope 3 emissions, those produced from sourcing, making, and shipping the single-use containers. The company has also declared its own zero-waste goal, which it wants to achieve by next year, 2023 — they currently divert 76% of the waste in its facilities from landfills. You can learn more about Re:Dish at https://www.redish.com/

Ewaste recycling falls woefully short of the levels necessary to reduce the need for mining and producing new raw materials that involve toxins that frequently reach the environment. We talked with John Shegerian, cofounder and CEO of ERI, a Fresno, Calif.-based ewaste recycler with 8 U.S. processing locations that serve every ZIP Code in the country and partnerships with recycling companies in 40 countries. John explains how ERI manages recycled electronics, the importance of choosing R2- and eStewards-certified electronics recyclers, and how the Basel Convention on shipping ewaste can be improved.  We also talk through how retailers and technology manufacturers can participate in a closed-loop, regional recycling system to dramatically increase ewaste recycling.ERI has also introduced what it calls the most comprehensive ewaste tracking platform to enable full transparency into the deposition of the materials it collects. Called the ESG Impact Report and  Calculator, the tool provides accountability both regarding environmental performance and the personal data on digital devices it recycles. 
John pointed out in ERI’s 2020 ESG report that virtually every device we use today — from PCs and smart phones to video doorbells and smart watches — can carry personal data that can fall out of our control and potentially into the hands of hackers that can use it to steal identities, launch ransomware attacks, or simply post something embarrassing on the web. Send ERI an email to receive a copy of their book, The Insecurity of Everthing, to learn how to safely erase personal data before recycling a PC, laptop, smartphone or other smart devices. Your can learn about ERI at https://eridirect.com/

The story of a sustainable world will unfold in many places and across many websites, social networks, and video channels. Jane Velez-Mitchell, a former Headline News/CNN reporter and anchor, launched UnChainedTV to provide a dedicated source of video storytelling about vegan living, the environment, and animal welfare. It offers free video programming through an app for iPhone and Android devices, as well as on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire Stick, and LG and Samsung smart TVs. The network covers stories about vegan cooking and living, animal rights, climate, and activist actions that seldom reach the air or get covered in mainstream media channels.She says UnchainedTV will focus on solutions, documenting the benefits of vegan living and discouraging cruel treatment and slaughter of animals. Jane launched the network saying "I covered crime for decades. Climate change is the ultimate crime of the century as it could kill us all. Yet, obvious solutions are largely ignored by media, government and corporations. It's time to fill in that gap." UnchainedTV has launched several series, including PEELED, a vegan cooking competition program, and Pig Little Lies, a series about the cruel practice of buying and dumping so-called teacup pigs. You can learn more about UnchainedTV at https://unchainedtv.com/

Anna Yona, cofounder with her husband of Engelskirchen, Germany-based Wildling Shoes talks with Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe about making shoes that are easier on the planet. They make a wide range of shoes for women, men and kids, practicing sustainable design and manufacturing using a minimalist design philosophy the produces a light, comfortable and durable shoe. These high-cut shoe, which are made with certified organic cotton, hemp, and synthetic and recycled rubber and cork soles, have held up wonderfully over hundreds of miles of walking. A Certified B Corp., Wildling is working to reinvent shoes after starting out as a response to Anna and her husband became frustrated with the shoes available for their children. They work continually to reduce the environmental impact of their shoes, which are hand-made in factories selected for their environmental and labor practices. Many shoemakers are taking important steps toward sustainability, and Wildling is a leader.We recently tested a pair of Panther high-cut shoes from Wildling Shoes and named it a Greener Shopping Difference Maker. On our scale of three degrees of sustainability, Difference Maker is the second level and represents a product that reduces environmental impacts by at least 50% compared to traditional designs. These shoes are better for the planet. In 2020, Wildling’s shoes averaged 0.258 pounds of Scope 1 and 2 emissions per pair. Since Scope 3 emissions typically account for 90% or more of the total carbon emissions associated with a product, we estimated that the total carbon footprint of the average pair of Wildling shoes is about 4.5 pounds per pair. You can learn more about Wildling Shoes at https://us.wildling.shoes/

Dr. Ganesan Visvabharathy, founder of Hawthorne Development Corporation discusses the evolution of the built environment and green building standards necessary to achieve a zero-carbon society. A sustainable built environment is the foundation for lower energy use but will take a generation or more to put in place. Hawthorne recently completed two net-zero projects, the Eco Terra complex, a 348-unit luxury mixed-use apartment complex in Chicago that is the largest green project in the U.S., and MERU, a net-zero carbon and net-zero energy certified elder care facility in Virginia. "Dr. Vish" explains that the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program can set more aggressive standards to accelerate progress. We talk through the features to look for in a sustainable home or apartment, how construction is changing, and the most impactful changes a homeowner or landlord can make to reduce their environmental impact.Hawthorne has been using green construction ideas since it was founded in 1984. The company has worked to ensure that buyers were able to maintain their homes easily to keep energy efficiency levels high, and uses building practices that help prevent erosion and reduce costs by, for example, using bioswales, rain gardens and native plants instead of concrete stormwater runoff paths at building locations. You can learn more about Hawthorne Development Corporation at https://hawthorneworld.com/ and at https://solarmicronics.co/

How can we finance the myriad startups and small business transitions that will bring the sustainable economy to full flower? Our guest, Dimitry Gershenson, is cofounder and CEO of Enduring Planet, argues that the climate crisis has made the human and business response inevitable. Enduring Planet was launched to non-dilutive financing in the form of unsecured loans, to climate mitigation companies that help reduce emissions, carbon removal startups that capture CO2 from the atmosphere, and firms that provide climate adaptation and resilience services that will be needed in response to climate change. He shares the key trends in the market driving new financing and how his team selects companies based on similar criteria as a venture capital firm without taking stock, providing loans based on the borrowers’ cash flow. Enduring Planet also seeks out diverse and inclusive companies and organizations delivering goods and services in marginalized communities.Dimitry explains why Enduring Planet invested in Compost Colorado and AQUAOSO, an agricultural data company, as examples of recent deals. Interest in investing for sustainability has soared in recent years. Bloomberg reports that in 2021 more than $1.6 trillion of debt financing went to corporate and infrastructure transitions to renewable, low-carbon and low-impact business approaches. That brings the total invested in sustainable paths to more than $4 trillion, or about 4.2% of the value of the world’s economy last year. Tune in to get a sense of the financing activity at the grassroots of the sustainable economy and be introduced to debt financing for sustainability-focused startups. You can learn more about Enduring Planet at https://enduringplanet.com/

Jürgen Pretsch is the founder of SHÄP, a recently launched rental marketplace that focuses on connecting people with items to rent in local communities. SHÄP works to reduce unnecessary purchases and enable sharing without creating a shipping footprint by bringing neighbors together. Reuse and sharing are the best ways to minimize the environmental impact of the products you buy. But connecting with people who want what you have, especially people near you so that it is not necessary to ship something thousands of miles, is difficult. And if you don’t want to sell something because you may use it again, you may want to rent it to earn some extra income. SHÄP is available in Manhattan and will focus this year on urban metropolitan areas where there is a higher likelihood of finding a match for the products people want to rent.Clothing reuse company Thredup and market research firm GlobalData reported in 2021 that the secondhand clothing industry is growing 11 times faster than retail and could be work $84 billion by 2030. That’s just clothing. But the reuse/rental market has been challenging for companies, as previous guests in this business have explained. Bringing the transaction down to the local level, which has worked for tool- and car-sharing startups, for example, can also dramatically reduce shipping emissions while fostering local communities. SHÄP members also deliver the goods they rent to encourage new social connections. That may be a limiting factor for some who don’t want to handle the day-to-day management of their stuff, but it can also forge lasting relationships between members who value SHÄP as a connector. You can learn more about SHÄP at https://www.shap.market/

The flower industry has a heavy environmental footprint but some growers are changing their agricultural and shipping practices. Toine Overgaag, president of family-owned Westerlay Orchids,  grower and seller of live orchids, based in Carpenteria, Calif., joins Mitch Ratcliffe to discuss sustainable agriculture practices in the live plant industry. Westerlay uses natural predators instead of pesticides to deal with pests, energy and water management technologies, and recirculates waste exhaust CO2 to increase photosynthesis of plants.The company distributes more than four million orchids primarily through local and national supermarket chains, including Trader Joe’s, Kroger and Safeway.We talk through the environmental implications of the flower-growing industry and how to improve them. Westerlay uses slow shipping, ensuring trucks are full before moving the flowers to minimize the impact of sending flowers to stores and customers. The company produced CO2eq emissions of about 2.7oz per unit sold and reported 331 tons of emissions from ocean and freight shipping in 2021. That’s about the equivalent of the emissions of 23 average Americans, based on 2020 figures. Toine, whose family is Dutch, joined the MPS, a certification program for The Netherlands flower industry, which has awarded Westerlay an “A”rating each year. You can learn more about Westerlay Orchids at https://westerlay.com/

Are the laws of the United States fitted for sustainability? Our guest today, attorney Maya van Rossum, argues that it is time for a new approach, environmental constitutionalism. She is adjunct professor and director of the Environmental Law Clinic at Temple’s Beasley School of Law and founder of Green Amendments for the Generations, a campaign to add environmental amendments to state and the U.S. constitution. Our evolving insights into the uneven health, economic, racial and social impacts of climate change demand that we rethink our approach to legislation and the Constitution. We need to enable the creation of laws and policies that will make a tangible difference for the marginalized victims of climate change and future generations, not just the voters who are alive today.The second edition of Maya's book, The Green Amendment: the People's Fight to Secure a Clean, Safe & Healthy Environment, will be published by Disruption Books in November. We’ve made it legal to pollute, sometimes after jumping through a few hoops, but legal to pollute almost anywhere in the United States. A green amendment isn’t the silver bullet, but it can be the yeast to activate a vibrant legal and political discussion that, over time, can lead to significant changes. You can learn more about Maya and Green Amendments for the Generations at https://forthegenerations.org/

There is momentum around sustainability in society but millions of companies and billions of people are not engaged with the ideas and taking action. Many simply don’t know where to start. We talk about inspiring change in organizations with Susan Hunt Stevens, cofounder and CEO of WeSpire, which develops tools, services and informational campaigns that help companies improve their sustainability performance, their inclusivity, social impact and employee wellbeing. WeSpire’s technology uses behavioral science to present goals, motivating information and actions that employees can take to contribute to the organization’s sustainability goals. But choosing the practices to emphasize, deciding where to start, and understanding the best way to engage employees, partners, and customers in your mission is the hard work that is just beginning for so many companies.Across the board, these programs are more important than ever as employees, especially younger ones, are looking for purpose and meaning in their work as the pandemic continues to disrupt life. WeSpire’s programs have been used by companies with more than 2 million employees. It’s an opportunity to reset not just environmental goals but also the way your business shares information internally and externally, its role in the community and much more. You can learn more about WeSpire at https://www.wespire.com/