​According to the 2021 Circularity Gap Report (CGR)— 70% of greenhouse gases emitted are directly linked to material handling and use (from extraction and transportation to processing and consumption). While CGR reports global circularity at 8.6% as of 2021, they suggest that an increase to just 17% would keep global warming well within 2 degrees by the end of the century. 

When Kyleigh Brown and I started Circular Earth to be sustainability partners for small businesses, we had no idea where it might lead. We had bright eyes and hope—that was about it. Nearly two years later, that four-letter word manifested into another impact-project success: waste turned into growth, young people creating lasting change, and the pure joy of the process.

Circular Earth partnered with the Mesa Youth Climate Action Fund, GreenLight Solutions, and St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) to turn this vision into reality. SVdP Mesa Dining Hall and Urban Farm feeds folks experiencing homelessness every day of the year. The Farm provides the freshest and most nutritious fruits and vegetables to the Dining Hall.

Nestled in the historic downtown of Mesa, Jarrod’s Coffee Shop is nothing short of magical. In the heat of summer, the coffeehouse was starting to struggle with poor ventilation, holes in the roof, and an AC system that couldn’t keep up. That’s where GreenLight Solutions stepped in. Through the Mesa Youth Climate Fund’s first round of microgrants, we conducted a full energy audit to pinpoint exactly what Jarrod’s could do to improve efficiency. The findings were clear: a lot of work needed to be done. And with the second round of funding, we began to plan solutions to address our original findings.