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There is no better way to celebrate Earth Day than to divert waste from the landfill. For their Earth Day Celebration at Maya’s Farm in Phoenix, FOR Energy partnered with Green Events Services to provide waste, recycling, and composting services for over 150 attendees. Keep Phoenix Beautiful helped our team coordinate the waste and recycling bins, while Recycled City handled the compost bins. The event consisted of a farmer’s market, petting zoo, food and drink, and a sustainable cooking demonstration with Chef Elizabeth Mienz. We led our Green Team to bin guard at several waste stations set up throughout the area, instructing event-goers on proper disposal etiquette. Additionally, because of the event’s smaller size, we were able to interact more with the attendees, and took great pride in educating them about the importance of recycling and composting. For example, we let people know that typically over 50% of municipal waste is actually compostable. Hopefully, some people were inspired by our efforts and will start composting more on their own. The Green Team ended up achieving a 68% waste diversion rate by generating more compost and recyclables than waste. Our efforts complemented the overarching mission of the farm, which uses no pesticides, herbicides, or commercial fertilizers to grow their organic produce. We look forward to future events with both FOR Energy and Maya’s Farm as we continue to grow and find ways to make the local community more sustainable.
Our Partners:
FOR Energy: FOR Energy specializes in residential solar energy systems, helping homeowners enjoy free energy while helping the environment. They offer residential free consultations in Phoenix, AZ, to provide individuals with valuable information about solar panel systems and how they can benefit. Maya’s Farm: Maya’s Farm is a small, sustainable operation which produces high-quality specialty vegetables, herbs, flowers and eggs for local markets, restaurants and schools. A community-supported agriculture (CSA) program gives subscribers a weekly supply of produce that is cut by hand in the field daily. Keep Phx Beautiful: Founded in 1982, Keep Phoenix Beautiful is a local, sustainably-minded non-profit 501(c)3 organization that aims to empower diverse communities to improve their overall quality of life. They host numerous events every year that focus on recycling, composting, and greening local landscapes. Recycled City: Recycled City is a full-circle service in the Phoenix Valley that makes it easy to turn your food waste back into farmland. They are returning nutrients to the soil and using it to grow fresh, local, chemical-free produce. The Green Team: Ashley Weisman Bryce Campbell Gemini Boudrie Jessica Simon Author: Bryce Campbell Bryce Campbell is a senior at Arizona State pursuing a degree in business and a minor in sustainability. Outside of GreenLight, he is a Renewable Energy Intern for Seaside Sustainability, focusing on analyzing state programs concerning the transition to cleaner energy. He enjoys finding ways to leave an impact on his local community and likes to play guitar and cook in his free time.
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Celebrate Mesa is an annual, family fun style festival for the local community with music, vendors, and food. Roughly 15 food trucks are at the event every year, however, composting had never been done before. All the food waste had been previously thrown away and sent to the landfill. There, food decomposes under anaerobic conditions and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that has approximately 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. Composting, on the other hand, is the perfect way to help mother nature recycle. The aerobic process of composting does not produce methane because methane-producing microbes are not active in the presence of oxygen. Celebrate Mesa, which is run by the City of Mesa, wanted to increase the sustainability of their event, which led them to reach out to Green Events Services to provide composting services for their 6,000 attendees. We recruited 4 volunteers from GreenLight Solutions to help us compost at this event. The so-called “Green Team” was mainly responsible for bin guarding and making sure attendees knew exactly which bin to place their food scraps in. The team was also responsible for sorting the bins, as needed, to make sure what went in the bins was correct. Bin contamination can lead to the bins being completely rejected at the composting site, which would have wasted the efforts of our volunteers. However, the team was properly trained in knowing what could be recycled, and were successful in their bin guarding efforts. By the end of the event, the Green Team was able to divert 120 pounds of compost, which, in terms of emissions, is equivalent to 93 miles driven by an average four-door sedan. The compost was then distributed to our partner, Recycled City, a local small business that has the resources to properly carry out the full composting process. Every year, U.S. food loss and waste embodies 170 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to 42 coal power plants. We must lower these emissions if we are to reduce Earth’s rate of warming, and composting is one solution. Green Events Services is looking forward to serving Celebrate Mesa’s needs in 2024, and providing composting services at other events as well!
Our Partners: City of Mesa: We partnered with the City of Mesa, who was organizing the whole event. They coordinated the vendors and music, as well as the waste and recycling services through their Mesa Recycles program. Recycled City: Recycled City is a full-circle service in the Phoenix Valley that makes it easy to turn your food waste back into farmland. They are returning nutrients to the soil and using it to grow fresh, local, chemical-free produce. The Green Team: Ashley Weisman Bryce Campbell Chiara Moore Gemini Boudrie Author: Bryce Campbell Bryce Campbell is a senior at Arizona State pursuing a degree in business and a minor in sustainability. Outside of GreenLight, he is a Renewable Energy Intern for Seaside Sustainability, focusing on analyzing state programs concerning the transition to cleaner energy. He enjoys finding ways to leave an impact on his local community and likes to play guitar and cook in his free time. What better way to start off the new year than by diverting tons of waste from the landfill? For the 2023 Mesa Marathon, GreenLight Solutions partnered with Brooskee and the City of Mesa to divert as much waste as possible from the landfill through our Green Events Services. We are proud to announce that we diverted 6,380 pounds—over 3 tons of recycled materials from the landfill. Sustainability by the Numbers:
So how did we achieve these results? Volunteers for this event consisted of only 14 passionate GreenLight supporters spanning across our organization. Our committed team of volunteers, which we call the ‘Green Team,’ were responsible for:
The 3 tons of waste The Green Team diverted from the landfill is equivalent to carbon sequestration by 11 acres of U.S. forests each year! Efforts like our Waste Diversion Services are essential for reducing carbon emissions. Not only were we able to divert recyclables, food, clothing, and linens from the landfill, but we were also able to curate and cultivate relationships with volunteers in the GreenLight community. As a nonprofit organization, we are driven by our volunteers and community support. We look forward to future green event opportunities as we develop and influence social impact within our organization.
Our Partners: Brooksee: Brooksee led the operations for the Mesa Marathon. Brooksee 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. Streets of Joy: As part of our commitment to the community, we partnered with Streets of Joy for clothing and food donations from the marathon. The donated food from the marathon will go to families and individuals supported by Streets of Joy. The Streets of Joy 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. City of Mesa: We partnered with the City of Mesa to provide recycling services and bins for the marathon. The City of Mesa offers a variety of recycling programs and services in hopes of minimizing the amount of waste that enters the landfill. The Green Team: Ashley Weisman Gemini Boudrie Alec Gonsch Alen Jakupovic Bryce Campbell Carissa Fowler Dan Boudrie Grace Reiter Isabella Constante Jane Hill Jay Boudrie Joe Boudrie Justin Weisman Matthew Koester Author: Carissa Fowler  ONWRDS is a technology startup that focuses on optimizing supply chains. They plan to release numerous simple and effective technologies that will help suppliers address inefficiencies in their shipping and transportation. ONWRDS came to GreenLight Solutions because they are passionate about sustainability, and wanted to integrate sustainable practices into their business model. ONWRDS wanted to minimize their own and their clients’ impacts on climate change with carbon sequestration. More specifically, ONWRDS was interested in utilizing algae because it has the potential to sequester significant amounts of carbon dioxide at a relatively fast rate. While these features of algae technology are impressive, algae aren’t currently accessible to the average consumer in a convenient form. As a result,, ONWRDS intended to create an at-home algae bioreactor. ONWRDS wanted GreenLight Solutions’ to determine the carbon capture potential of an at-home algae bioreactor, and whether this type of device can count as a carbon offset.  Our team’s first objective was to calculate how much carbon could be captured from the bioreactor. We met with Dr. Bruce Rittmann, ASU professor and director at the Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology. Due to time constraints, we were not able to physically test the device; however, we obtained formulas from Dr. Rittmann and calculated the approximate carbon capture potential of the device. The bioreactor was found to sequester roughly 1.9 grams of carbon per day, a figure too low to make a significant impact. Knowing this, our team researched additional solutions for ONWRDS. Our second objective was to explore 4 carbon capture alternatives. Preliminary research focused on large-scale algae farms, typically upward of 3,000 acres, which capture a considerable amount of carbon. Although this option is capable of selling carbon offsets it is expensive and not accessible to the average consumer. Our other focus was on houseplants, an option that is more affordable but not capable of sequestering significant amounts of carbon. We discovered that peace lilies, prayer plants, snake plants, and ficuses were the most effective. However, they capture less than 1 gram of carbon per day. Furthermore, we researched the prospects of composting food waste instead of sending it to the landfill. In a landfill, food breaks down anaerobically, releasing methane as a byproduct, which is up to 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide. Composting, on the other hand, breaks down food aerobically and turns waste into products similar to soil or fertilizer. Although composting can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is difficult to measure and cannot be counted as a carbon offset. The last alternative we researched was forestry, an option that uses the power of trees to capture vast amounts of carbon. This option was viable for carbon offsets, but because of its scale, was not accessible to the average consumer. With this research, the team created a cost-benefit matrix that compares each technology based on a set of qualitative metrics. Red signifies low scores, and green signifies high scores.  Based on our team’s research, we recommend that ONWRDS diversifies its carbon capture portfolio. A diversified portfolio will allow the company to reach each of its goals. If the company intends to officially offset its emissions, we recommend forestry. However, we recognize that carbon offsets through forestry are not accessible to most consumers. Therefore, to fulfill ONWRDS’ vision of spreading awareness about carbon emissions and algae technology, they should utilize a more accessible option (i.e., the at-home device). However, the at-home algae bioreactor is small-scale, and does not sequester a substantial amount of carbon. The device itself cannot be considered an offset and should not be marketed as such. On the other hand, the at-home device can educate consumers about algae sequestration technology and help inform consumers more aware of their carbon footprint. With this reminder of carbon technology in their home, consumers can make conscious decisions to improve their carbon footprint through behavioral changes (e.g., fossil-fuel-free transportation, meatless diet, and reduced energy usage).
Written By: Bryce Campbell｜Madison Harris Bryce Campbell is a senior at Arizona State pursuing a degree in business and a minor in sustainability. Outside of GreenLight, he is a Renewable Energy Intern for Seaside Sustainability, focusing on analyzing state programs concerning the transition to cleaner energy. He enjoys finding ways to leave an impact on his local community and likes to play guitar and cook in his free time. Madison Harris is a senior at Arizona State University, studying business with a focus on sustainability and a minor in urban planning. This semester, she was a project lead at GreenLight for the ONWRDS project. Additionally, she conducts research as a Barrett Honors College Fellow at the ASU Grimm Lab, where she works to optimize public participation in planning sustainable futures. In general, she’s very interested in sustainable cities and how public-private sector collaboration can promote a more sustainable future for people and the planet.  Overview and Purpose We envisioned the development of a model to transform plastic bottle caps into useful products to tackle plastic pollution and support underserved communities. We hoped to find opportunities to recycle plastic by 3D printing and create valuable products. The project aimed to increase the accessibility of recycling a protocycler, a machine that transforms plastic waste into valuable 3D printer filament, which can be used to create products that are helpful for those in need. Our team supported Arizonans for Children by creating 3D-printed toy cars for kids in foster care.  Our Project Partner Our project partner was Tyler Eglen, Associate Project Manager at Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Services. He also has his own 3D print lab on the ASU Polytechnic campus.  Our Project's "Why" Our project uses a circular economy, which means turning waste into valuable products, therefore all materials are used and there is no waste. We had to troubleshoot to assess creative ways to recycle plastic using a protocycler since it is hard to recycle in the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). We also wanted to provide support for local communities in need by using 3D printing. We collaborated with Arizonans for Children, an organization working with children in foster care in Arizona. They needed more toy cars for their children to play with. Our project supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #12 because it ensures sustainable consumption and production. More specifically, it supports target 12.5 i.e., by 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. Our Strategy Step 1: Establish a partnership with a nonprofit organization Step 2: Research product designs for 3D printer Step 3: Confirm printed product design Step 4: Research Protocycler Step 5: Troubleshoot Protocycler Step 6: Create 3D-printed products Since Arizonans for Children was in need of toy cars, we researched different car designs before landing on one that we felt provided the most function and could be easily mass-produced. Then, we spent 50 hours troubleshooting the protocycler and 3D printer and created a How-To guide for both machines. Finally, we 3D printed 32 toy cars and distributed them to the organization's facility. Our Objectives and KPI's Objective 1: Partner with a nonprofit organization. KPI: Reach out to 12 different organizations; 3 per person Objective 2: Print and distribute chosen project design. KPI: 30 total cars Objective 3: Become sufficient using the Protocycler. KPI: 50 hours total; 12.5 hours per person  Troubleshooting
Results
 In the Fall of 2022, Greenlight Solutions started their journey with Envision You (Victory Over Violence) to help survivors thrive, find sustainability, and move forward by organizing a Night of Miracles fundraising gala, “Survivors Finding Their Way Forward” at the Mesa Convention Centre on April 29th, 2023.
The gala will include dinner, special guests, a silent auction, awards, and fun with Westwood Mesa High School to honor the partnership of the voucher box program for all household items we have for survivors. We partnered with Kimberly Miner, the CEO of Envision You. Through personal experience, Kimberly knows how challenging it can be to get back on one’s feet after unforeseen domestic circumstances. For the past 25 years, she’s been paving the way for other women and individuals in the community to access the resources they need to do just that. She helps people claim their lives and self-confidence, and move forward with an empowered purpose. We were honored to work with her. Our mission was to support event outreach, event greening, and content creation efforts for their April fundraising event. Envision You wanted to incorporate sustainability into its event, increase attendance, and create video testimonies. Our partnership targets UN Sustainable Development Goal #5, Gender Equality because we are empowering women as they transition out of violent relationships. We began by splitting our project into three phases or objectives. Objective 1 was event outreach. Our goal was for each team member to connect with 10 contacts per week. We reached out to local businesses and organizations for sponsorship and donation matches. Our focus was to connect with the best businesses, organizations, and people. Consequently, we compiled lists of local enterprises that related to Envision You’s mission. By using the power of the web, LinkedIn, a list of contacts (from Kimberly), and previous event donors we were able to easily surpass our goal. Thus far, we have made initial contact with hundreds of individuals and numerous organizations. This step took the most time and collaboration, as we created and revised the list of contacts. Objective 2 aimed to make the event sustainable. Luckily, GreenLight Solutions can make just about anything green! We agreed on four focus areas for the event that could incorporate sustainability: A Culture of Sustainability (Sustainability Communications / Education), Waste Diversion, Transportation, and a Green Menu. The major goals covered by this focus area are: ·Encouraging the use of already durable materials (ex. stickers for reusable water bottles, etc.) ·Establishing waste partnerships & supplies as needed. ·Recruiting & training bin guarders ·Providing bin signage for the bins caterer ·Using sustainable decorations ·Encouraging/rewarding attendees for carpooling/using public transportation (promoting sustainable Transportation) ·Choosing the most sustainable menu options Our final objective was to develop virtual content to show how Envision You’s mission contributes to sustainability by empowering affected women and those supporting them to develop their sense of self-confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem. The goal was to create video testimonials to show during the event itself, one for the start of the event, the middle, and the end. Kimberly introduced us to survivors who had gone through the Envision You program and seen its impact on their lives. We provided them with a curated list of questions to understand Envision You’s impact. We are currently in the process of interviewing and recording them. This semester showed us the power of planning, coordination, and follow-up. Seeing these moving parts come together is one of the miracles that we hope attendees will feel while attending the gala. We look forward to coming together as a community to support survivors and Envision You’s mission to empower them. Written By: Harshit Tyagi|Collins Carrington
In the fall of 2022, Dynamic.RE reached out to us for their fourth project with GreenLight Solutions to create an educational tool about energy efficiency for their clients. In past semesters, Dynamic and GreenLight worked together on many projects to make homeownership sustainable. This semester they aimed to expand their website to include more resources for their clients. After looking at currently available energy efficiency resources for homeowners, we found that there is a lot of guesswork and money that goes into making a home more energy efficient. We tackled that issue by creating 2 resources: a video detailing the process of getting an energy audit and an ebook that lists easy and cost-efficient “Do it Yourself” home energy solutions. Our first objective was to conduct a home energy audit to use as a case study to document the process. Our team met to collect information on what an energy audit is and what it would look like for homeowners who may be interested. We reached out to a local company, FOR Energy, which specializes in home energy audits. We set up an appointment with them to do an energy audit on the Dynamic home office. We set out to record 15 clips and ended up with 34 clips for the audit. During the audit, we asked questions related to home energy efficiency and gathered a great deal of information to use for our final deliverables. Once the audit is completed, FOR Energy offers a follow-up report review for all of its clients. This review goes over all of the collected data and provides solutions to home issues. By attending this meeting, we gained insight on areas where a home is most likely to be losing energy and what improvements can be made. We also realized how expensive it can be to replace or repair different areas of a home to make it energy efficient. As a result, we came up with the idea for our Ebook. The second objective of our project was to accumulate all of the information we had learned, along with additional research, to create our Ebook. The Ebook aimed to provide people with ways to reduce their home energy usage without having to break the bank. To do this, we came up with a list of 11 DIY home improvements. This list included a variety of easy switches that can be made in the home, such as replacing light bulbs with LEDs, switching to a smart thermostat, improving weatherstripping around doors, and more. Each home improvement listed in the Ebook is accompanied by a detailed paragraph that explains how and why making these switches is important for decreasing energy usage to create a sustainable home. Now, Dynamic has new resources on its website where its clients can go to learn more about home energy efficiency and the energy audit process. Readily available information for their clients helps real estate and home ownership become sustainable. Our team of Solutioneers gained valuable hands-on experience in home energy audits, learned about the most notable areas of the home where energy is wasted, and what solutions exist to prevent energy waste. Making a home more energy efficient can be a daunting task, especially considering the high cost that companies charge. This project took the guesswork out of the process and gave Dynamic’s clients and anyone looking for more information, clarity on what the energy audit and implementation process looks like, and gave easy and cost-efficient solutions to help property owners everywhere make an impact. Written By: Lauren Taylor Lauren Taylor is a Sophomore at Arizona State University studying for a Bachelors of Science in Sustainability with a concentration in Energy and a minor in Project Management. This was her second semester in GreenLight Solutions and she held the role of Project Lead for the Dynamic RE team. Outside of GreenLight Solutions, Lauren is an Energy Efficiency Specialist for the Industrial Assessment Center at ASU and is currently working on a project funded by the USDA to provide energy audits for rural areas of Arizona.  This summer, GreenLight Solutions had the pleasure of guiding students from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) through a GreenLight Bootcamp where they helped a brand new corporation, Alarivean. Alarivean shared some new technologies with these students, such as nanobubble oxidization and vessel mounted delivery systems. These technologies introduce concepts and practices of sustainability to local and foreign bodies of water. Alarivean recognized that the bodies of water in Saudi Arabia have been immensely harmed by human caused stressors. The new technology provided relief to the waters in order to continue their cycle of self-repair and environmental well-being. KAUST aims to have its students leave their mark on the world through research and experience and this group was able to do just that by essentially “speed-running” a typical GreenLight Solutions project. They went through all of the steps and outlines that every solutioneer works through but in a much shorter time frame. This included filling out a VMOSTT and creating a work plan. This time around there were three student projects each with different focus.
Geographical Analysis Team one consisted of interdisciplinary students who focused on technical business development. They aimed to provide a solid framework of recommendations for where in the Persian Gulf Alarivean should deploy their vessels. The geographical analysis team made it their goal to research 3 different geographic areas, pinpoint 3 locations, and then identify 2 significant points of contact for each location. In order to accomplish this, the students had to take into account various factors about each location and general area. Including economic, social, and ecological risks. They also had to consider government support, the aquaculture of the local area, and more when choosing the location. The team successfully created a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis document to provide Alarivean with all the information they promised and more in order to help them establish their final location for vessel deployment. To learn more about team one’s project take a look at their Project Portfolio. Boat Design Team two was made up of mechanical and electrical engineering students whose goal was to design an operational model. The operational model the team chose was a boat tasked with distributing nanobubbles at different depths. The team's goal was to purify the body of water it would be stationed in all while having the least negative impact on the surrounding waters’ health. The team aimed to provide a prototype layout sketch of the boat design including 60% of the intended boat equipment (solar panels and additional machines). As well as to provide a small framework of suggestions listing 2 pros and 2 cons for both energy and hydraulic systems. Not only was the team able to meet their goals but they exceeded them by including 100% of the boat’s equipment in the final layout and creating a full list of 2+ pros and cons of each system. Additionally, the team tackled other recommendations for the optimization of the Alarivean boats and helped to maximize the nanobubble operations. Check out the team’s Project Portfolio here! Bromine Sensor Evaluation The third team was composed of a group of students majoring in physics, biology, and mathematics. The students made it their goal to help develop a model that could detect dangerously high levels of algae in a body of water and then automatically distribute the correct amount of nanobubbles needed to reverse the problem. In order to accomplish this goal, the team needed to delve into current instruments being used to accomplish similar tasks such as bromine sensors and nanobubble dispersion processes. They then needed to put all of their findings into a recommendations report including the summarized costs for the optimization of bromine sensor technology that Alarivean could adopt. This group’s key progress indicator goals were to utilize the evaluation of equipment included in the NOAA results to identify and summarize 2 current instruments used to optimize the performance of nanobubble technologies. Ultimately, the team was able to accomplish these goals by providing specific and accurate information on existing tools used to measure bromine levels in water. While simultaneously creating a concise recommendation and conclusion for Alarivean to utilize. The full scope of the team’s work is found in their project portfolio! By the end of the bootcamp, the KAUST students were able to accomplish some very impressive work by using their ever-growing knowledge and experience. As well as wisely utilizing the resources provided to them by Alarivean. The teams were able to excel in this project due to suggestions made by Michael Corridan who co-founded Alarivean, advice from Kait Decker with ASU Global Launch, and feedback/guidance from GreenLight Solutions bootcamp facilitators. Written By: Yasmin Calderon Feliciano Yasmin Calderon Feliciano is a second-year student currently at Mesa Community College with plans to transfer to ASU to complete her BA in Sustainability. She has been with Greenlight Solutions as a solutioneer since Spring 2022 and hopes to continue working closely with them in the future. Our team is very excited to share our 2021 Annual Impact Report. We welcome you to share this report with our community.
GreenLight Solutions is actively developing our new programs to bring our mission and vision to life, making the future of sustainability in business an exciting one -- for the GreenLight team and for all. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again -- a movement of people with shared, fiery passion is a force to be reckoned with. I challenge you to bring your unique strengths to propel our mission forward. By contributing to the GreenLight Solutions mission, you are showing up to realize your full potential in making the world a better place -- you are showing up for future generations, our global community, your loved ones, and yourself. Get involved, think outside the box, lead the way; and we will do great things together. -Ashley Weisman, Executive Director Click here to view the report in a new tab.  You may have sipped on a delicious New Belgium beer, but did you know that inspiring social and environmental change is just one of their core values? They are the first certified carbon neutral beer in the United States and are committed to making all their beers carbon neutral by 2030! GreenLight Solutions was asked by New Belgium to lead the zero waste efforts at this year’s Tour de Fat in Tempe. We brought on a “Green Team” of 11 volunteers and ensured they were all educated and comfortable with recycling best practices for large events. Our dynamic “Green Team” lead the zero waste efforts by ‘Bin guarding’ or directing & educating attendees on recycling etiquette; transporting and exchanging full bins; Sorting the recycling bins to ensure all possible materials are being recycled; and picking up any litter left behind by attendees.  The Green Team! Sustainability by the Numbers: 4,500+ Cyclists and Guests. 320lbs. of recyclable material diverted from the landfill. 1,200lbs. of waste. Our Partner: New Belgium: New Belgium is a popular brewing company founded over 30 years ago. Through their mission and core values, they are committed to proving that “business can be a force for good”. As a certified B Corp, they use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems, bringing benefit to coworkers, beer drinkers, suppliers, community, and the planet.
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 | In the spring of 2022, we had the opportunity to work with Jyl Steinback, the founder of Shape Up Us. Shape Up Us is a nonprofit organization working to empower children and families to lead healthier lives through awareness, education, and action-oriented programs. Our partnership with Shape Up Us challenged our project group with creating a new booklet containing ideas to make any event more sustainable. While the booklet presented Jyl the opportunity to guide her organization’s events. It also, if distributed to the public, would serve as a general resource for anyone planning events and therefore encourage sustainable events across the nation. Therefore, it became our challenge to gather information on how to make any event more sustainable- whether it was a small event such as family reunion or birthday party, or large event such as wedding or sporting event. |
In Spring 2022, Dynamic RE teamed up with GreenLight Solutions for a third time, aiming to provide sustainable solutions accessible to homeowners and investors. Previous cohorts worked to compile resources for Dynamic’s website and create sustainable ideas for short-term rentals and properties. The team was led by Lukas Gutierrez, who worked alongside solutioneers Adina Guntermann, Alexandra Pesternikova, and Madison Harris.
The team’s mission was to expand access and understanding of the local utility sustainability resource landscape to homeowners and real estate investors via publicly accessible media. To meet the challenge of creating outreach for resources, the team was tasked with interviewing utility companies and local municipalities in the Phoenix Valley. After the interviews were completed the videos were posted on YouTube to create accessibility for those in the real estate space and homeowners alike.
The team’s mission was to expand access and understanding of the local utility sustainability resource landscape to homeowners and real estate investors via publicly accessible media. To meet the challenge of creating outreach for resources, the team was tasked with interviewing utility companies and local municipalities in the Phoenix Valley. After the interviews were completed the videos were posted on YouTube to create accessibility for those in the real estate space and homeowners alike.
Green Living Magazine is a lifestyle magazine focused on promoting the best ways to be eco-conscious in all areas of life. Due to this, Green Living Magazine aims to be as sustainable as possible in every aspect of their business. With the plan to host two separate events during Earth Day weekend, Green Living Magazine of course wanted to make these events were as sustainable as possible by implementing green event practices. They reached out to Greenlight Solutions for advice, recommendations, and support for hosting their green events as they sought to improve their waste diversion practices, recruit green-minded volunteers, and market their events to a wider demographic. Throughout the 2022 spring semester, our student team and project partners worked towards our vision of two low-waste and sustainability focused earth week events.
Our project team’s biggest objective for the earth week events was to divert as much waste as possible from the landfills. From there we set our goal to achieve 60% of total waste accumulated at the event to be diverted from the landfill. We started out by researching best practices for waste diversion, as well as researching local organizations and facilities that could help with recycling and composting. The next step was determining waste hauler needs and planning accordingly. For the Future of Sustainability event on April 22nd, our Green Living Magazine project team ended up diverting 85% of the event’s total waste from being placed into the landfill, which greatly exceeded our team’s expectations. This included 12.4 lbs of recycling, 21.4 lbs of compost, and 67.4lbs of excess food donated to a local group. The total waste diversion from the Earth Day Extravaganza event on April 23rd also ended up exceeding our team’s original 60% goal, with 77% of the event waste diverted from the landfill. With 74% of the diverted waste being composted food, and 26% being recycling.
Our project team’s biggest objective for the earth week events was to divert as much waste as possible from the landfills. From there we set our goal to achieve 60% of total waste accumulated at the event to be diverted from the landfill. We started out by researching best practices for waste diversion, as well as researching local organizations and facilities that could help with recycling and composting. The next step was determining waste hauler needs and planning accordingly. For the Future of Sustainability event on April 22nd, our Green Living Magazine project team ended up diverting 85% of the event’s total waste from being placed into the landfill, which greatly exceeded our team’s expectations. This included 12.4 lbs of recycling, 21.4 lbs of compost, and 67.4lbs of excess food donated to a local group. The total waste diversion from the Earth Day Extravaganza event on April 23rd also ended up exceeding our team’s original 60% goal, with 77% of the event waste diverted from the landfill. With 74% of the diverted waste being composted food, and 26% being recycling.
| SPS+ Architects is a full-service architecture firm based in Arizona that innovatively works towards creating purposeful, inclusive, and adaptable design solutions for its clients. The company’s forward-thinking approach to collaborating with its clients develops lasting relationships that ultimately bring Arizona communities together. SPS+ Architects values social responsibility and environmental consciousness, such as providing LEED and solar services, in addition to creating a Green Initiative Policy. |  |
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 [...]
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