Financing tends to be on the top of the list of hurdles for sustainable companies looking to scale. A business does not survive on a mission alone, and in order to generate profits and revenue, it needs capital to operate. But for sustainable enterprises setting out to meet the triple bottle line (“Planet, People, Profit”) while minimizing impacts, attracting and raising funding can be a particularly challenging task.

Wealthy individuals and accredited investors often take up the mantle of infusing capital into eco-ventures because they have the money to do so. But the “do-good” mindset has no income bracket, and average consumers do care about the environmental and social justice issues that have increasing salience with the global community.

Financing tends to be at the top of the list of hurdles for entrepreneurs setting out to start their small business. But, when I started TerraCycle as a college freshman at Princeton University, our original business model of vermicomposting (converting garbage into worm poop fertilizer) came to me only after the Entrepreneurship Club's annual Business Plan Competition caught my attention with a grand prize of $5,000.

October is Campus Sustainability Month (CSM), an international celebration of sustainability in higher education. One focus of this year’s CSM is the conservation of water, a natural resource that humans need to survive. As it stands, one in ten people (663 million people — twice the population of the United States) are currently living without access to safe water.

We meet for it, offer it, pick it up and put on pots of it: whether you drink it or not, coffee culture is a real thing. A coffee-drinking consumer today has their choice of café (Internet to Cat [yes, the pet]), style (espresso, americano, cold brew, to name a few) and easy ways to obtain their brew of choice at home and on the go. Even those who prefer tea, hot chocolate or cider can agree that the market for hot beverages is one that offers convenience and quality, just the way they like it. But as it is with many products that are fast and convenient, the trade-off is often a lack of sustainability along the supply chain. This can include diminished equity for producers and negative environmental impacts. Thus, the International Coffee Organization created International Coffee Day. Recognized on September 29 in the United States (the world’s second-largest importer of coffee beans), the event is a way to acknowledge that something as ubiquitous as coffee has varying degrees of sustainability. Being aware of these can help us make better choices.

Everyone has their own way of staying organized, and the good old 3-ring binder still has the affinity of all age groups. A school supply requirement on many grade school lists, binders can play a role in supporting collegiate and post-graduate study and keeping bills and

Getting people excited about environmental issues can take a bit of strategy. Natural resource depletion, global warming, landfill waste and water contamination are topics that can be intimidating when presented to the average consumer, especially for the demographic we most hope to reach: young people and future stewards. With so much on the line for establishing sustainable infrastructures for future generations, it is important that we find ways to engage youth and make motivations for environmentalism positive and fun.

Demand for cosmetics is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. TerraCycle chief executive officer Tom Szaky highlights how consumers can demand that their favourite brands reduce waste from cosmetic products and packaging.

For some recycling ideas, TerraCycle has a variety of recycling programs for common school supply waste streams. Empty pens and markers, for example, can be recycled through the Writing Instrument Recycling Program. In partnership with Newell Brands (makers of Sharpie, Papermate, Uniball), TerraCycle can collect any brand of common writing instrument and recycle them into new products, like park benches and playgrounds for schools.

D’Addario’s commitment to serving musicians is deeply embedded in their core values, but their impact on the Earth has always been top of mind. Recently, D’Addario has added to their sustainability record by partnering with my company TerraCycle to start the Instrument Strings Recycling Program. But D’Addario has long demonstrated its commitment to the planet, and here’s how.