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GreenLight Solutions was brought on by our partner, Brooksee, to divert as much waste as possible from the landfill from this year's Mesa Marathon. We were responsible for recycling collection, clothing donations, and donating the leftover food. We created branded recycling and landfill signage to ensure marathon attendees knew where to properly dispose of their waste. We brought on 12 volunteers in addition to our two lead volunteers. We made sure our whole team was educated on waste and recycling best practices. Our amazing team of volunteers were responsible for: ‘Bin guarding’ or directing and educating attendees on recycling etiquette; Transporting and exchanging full bins and bin liners; Sorting the recycling bins to ensure the correct materials are being recycled; and picking up any litter left behind by attendees.  Sustainability by the Numbers:
Coordinating the zero waste efforts for an event this large presented us with some challenges. We use these moments to reflect upon the lessons we learned during the process to continue to improve our efforts. Some of the lessons we learned during this process was to improve our branded signage and streamlining bin sorting. Having clearly labeled, separate receptacles for just bottles, towels, food waste, etc. is necessary for efficiency and to avoid contamination. For an event of this magnitude, we need to increase the number of volunteers and brand ourselves as a “Green Team”. With more volunteers, we will have separate teams for ‘bin guarding’, sorting, offloading, etc. This will help ease zone control and efficiency. For future events, we will use insights like these to help expand our sustainability impact. Our Partners: Brooksee: Brooksee, LLC is an endurance event management company that puts on the REVEL Race Series, the Portland Marathon, and now the Mesa Marathon. They are respected in the endurance events space and pride themselves on putting on events that participants will remember and want to share with their friends and family. Republic Services: Republic Services was our partner for recycling management. They are an industry leader in U.S. recycling and non-hazardous solid waste disposal. They have invested in materials recovery and other recycling operations that sort, process and sell recyclable paper, aluminum, glass and other materials. With their help, we were able to to divert literally tonnes of waste Streets of Joy: Streets of Joy was our partner for food donations for the marathon. Their vision is to assist individuals in overcoming incarceration, addiction, exploitation and homelessness. They provide individuals with comprehensive support services, which will enable them to return to independent living and obtain employment. The donated food from the marathon will go to families and individuals supported by Streets of Joy. Cornish Pasty Co.: Cornish Pasty is a restaurant local to the Phoenix Area. They stepped in to help us at the last minute and happily received the linens we collected. Team of Volunteers: Ashley Weisman (Lead Volunteer) Caitlyn Witharana (lead Volunteer) Alen Jackupovic Vrshab Sheregar Masur Huq Lee Bardon Kristen Keller Kiley Rath Juliana Veldhuizen Jeff Underdown Erica Droze Hannah Lazere Jasika Grover (not pictured) Deken Turmath (not pictured)
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As a project for the fall 2021 semester, our team partnered with Daniel Velez and his company Growly Delivers. Our team is composed of Project Lead Elnur Aliyev and Solutioneer Veronica Chen. Growly Delivers is an e-commerce company that sells alcohol and other non-alcoholic beverages online. Because Growly Delivers operates online, they offer a sustainable business model through the use of sustainable containers.
In spring 2021, Dynamic.RE reached out to GreenLight Solutions Foundation because the company wanted to inform and educate its clientele on making sustainable impacts in real estate. GreenLight Solutions, with the guidance of Dynamic.RE, integrated the company’s resources in the form of a website that was easily accessible and educational to its clientele. Due to the success of the last project, our project partner Masrur Huq became one of GreenLight’s Board of Directors and continued the partnership by presenting another sustainable solution that could be applied to Dynamic.RE. The new sustainable solution was focused solely on short-term rentals, namely, how Dynamic.RE could make short-term rentals sustainable and monitor changes for the benefit of its operators and investors. In Fall 2021, Dynamic.RE partnered with GreenLight Solutions Foundation for a second time. The team of Solutioneers consisted of Vrashab Sheregar, who previously worked with Dynamic.RE in the spring, along with Abby Hemmings, and Huiling Chen.
The issue of hunger has roots in many sustainability challenges. Often, rural communities are facing the consequences of climate change and environmental degradation, regardless of their part in generating it. Communities, like ones in Malawi, are trying to produce enough food for themselves in the midst of natural disasters, resource depletion, and disease. Food insecurity and malnutrition have become a growing problem throughout different areas, making sustainable farming a viable solution.
EverSmart City is introducing the world’s first smart city fully integrated with blockchain technology and renewable technology. It will be a pilot sustainable city in the Phoenix metro area that promotes a circular economy and sustainable technology by providing affordable and sustainable housing solutions. It will be a mixed-use, occupant-owned, self-sustaining community with over 300 buildings. The ground level will host commercial storefronts with business owners living above. The Smart Cities are being built with shipping containers to provide affordable housing with cutting-edge renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, smart home tech, blockchain, and more.
The Sierra Service Project (SSP) is a Christian non-profit that does acts of service through home repair projects in their partner communities, promoting community service opportunities for various age groups. Their projects are usually done during the summer over the course of a week, and they host multiple service weeks throughout the summer session. For their upcoming summer program in 2022, SSP is partnered with three communities, including ones in Arizona, San Diego, CA, and Del Norte, CO.
 Living a sustainable lifestyle doesn’t have to stop at your reusable water bottle or your tote for groceries. Our homes are filled with products that are harmful to the environment in some [...]
 Our team is very excited to share our first-ever Annual Impact Report. It was a uniquely challenging year, but our team rose to the challenge and remained flexible to continue fulfilling our sustainability [...]
 Arizona has been a state of drought for twenty-one years. The Colorado River and the Lake Mead water reservoir are drying up and haven’t been able to replenish themselves. The Colorado River is [...]
 One of the recurring themes in sustainability best practices is that cross-sectoral, and cross-disciplinary, collaboration is key. Whether it’s across industries, departments, or job functions, from local to global scale, we all need [...]
 Rosebird Farms is a two-acre, certified naturally grown farm located in Kingman, Arizona. Utilizing techniques of high-density planting with a focus on soil health, the farm produces over twenty varieties of produce in [...]
 Sustainable agriculture is a global challenge that encompasses issues of hunger, water use, and environmental degradation. Many communities cannot afford to add elements of sustainability to their subsistence farming. In the Spring [...]
After one semester partnering up with GreenLight Solutions, Utopia Smart City has a vision to construct their sustainable society further and partnered up with GreenLight Solutions for another semester. During this semester, Solutioneers were asked to create an incentive program for future residents in their community. But… with a twist: to structure this incentive program to be used as a framework for other aspiring sustainable societies, worldwide!
 ShapeUpUs is a 501c3 non-profit that raises money through the promotion of health and wellness. ShapeUpUs strives to build a healthier future for all children by providing the knowledge and hands-on experience that [..
 Educating High School Students About the Circular Economy With an increasing amount of waste being produced and put into landfills, it is necessary to live more sustainably in our everyday lives and [...]
FOR Energy is a solar panel installation company that prioritizes sustainability and helping Arizona residents maximize the energy efficiency of their homes. After our initial discussion with FOR, it became apparent that they desired a shift in their social media strategy. More specifically, they felt that the absence of a consistent social media post aesthetic and post schedule hurt their online image.
The Fresh Food Collaboration Movement (FFC) is a collaborative effort between Green Living Magazine and Urban Farming Education. The movement seeks to alleviate food scarcity and food access issues caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. They do this by partnering with local farms and food providers to create boxes with fresh produce, fresh bread, and other organic treats to distribute to low income families in the Phoenix valley. Volunteers from around the city come together to help assemble the boxes for distribution.
Shape Up US is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that strives to build a healthier future for all children by providing the knowledge and hands-on experience that will shape their lives. With a focus on health and wellness, Shape Up US creates and implements comprehensive education to compliment with existing K-8 curriculum. Their education connects the entire community to create a circle of positive, healthy lifestyles.
Climate change poses significant challenges to the Phoenix Valley. Among these challenges are increased flooding, prolonged drought, groundwater depletion, loss of agriculture revenues, and temperature rise; yet extreme heat poses the greatest threat to Phoenix residents. The average nighttime temperature of central Phoenix is roughly 10-15°F hotter than in more rural areas. This phenomena is known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where temperatures are heightened by a ‘built’ city environment. For many people, such as public transit riders, this heat is unavoidable.
As the global population increases, there’s been an up-and-coming challenge about the methods to create housing developments without severe economic, social, and environmental consequences. As a pioneer in the field of sustainable societies, Utopia Smart City is developing a sustainable community that provides affordable housing while being environmentally conscious. This team of GreenLight Solutioneers collaborated with the mixed-use, occupant-owned, self-sustaining community in order to find and source sustainable building materials for their infrastructure.
Executive Director, Ashley Weisman, was featured on the J Cooper Travels Podcast - Sustainable Travel & Local Support: Students Making a Difference [...]
 GreenLight Solutions was highlighted in a recent Sustainable Career Pathways article as a great career-starting sustainability opportunity for college students. "GreenLight Solutions is [...]
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Tempe, Arizona Phone: 480-735-4113 Email: info@glsolutions.org © GreenLight Solutions Foundation. All rights reserved.
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