This story is part of The Healthyish Guide to Eating for the Climate...Without Stressing Out, a collection of our best tips for living sustainably and eating well while doing so.   When the after-dinner crowds finish their kombucha cocktails and filter out the doors of west~bourne, a LA-inspired all-day cafe in New York’s trendy Soho neighborhood, a manager snaps a picture of the compost, recycling, and trash accumulated throughout the day. Each bag is weighed and added to a spreadsheet that’s been carefully updated for over a year in pursuit of one goal: to become the first certified zero-waste restaurant in New York.   In the U.S., the restaurant industry is estimated to generate 22–33 billion pounds of food waste each year. But as anxieties about the environment and calls for a more ethical industry coalesce, climate consciousness is becoming the newest buzzword since “CBD.” We’re less than a month into 2020, and already this decade has been awash with talk of sustainability in food—but not much in the way of definition. Is sustainability making burgers with plant-based meat or using the whole, meat-based animal? Cutting down on single-use plastics or using “biodegradable” containers?   Now, a handful of New York City restaurants like west~bourne and Rhodora, a natural wine bar in Fort Greene, are upping the ante. They’re using a zero-waste philosophy to overhaul supplier networks and traditional restaurant dynamics in hopes of building a transparent, sustainable system.   In February, west~bourne owner Camilla Marcus plans to file their application with Green Business Certification Inc., an organization best known for the pioneering LEED green building certification. Businesses are required to submit a year of data proving that 90 percent of waste has consistently been diverted from a landfill or incinerator, and earn additional points for actions like providing staff with sustainability training and establishing zero-waste relationships with suppliers. A third-party assessor inspects the business, which pays a $1,200 to $1,500 registration fee, plus a certification fee priced per square foot. If all goes according to plan, west~bourne will be the first restaurant in New York to complete the program.   “Everyone is throwing around the word ‘sustainability’ and the word ‘zero-waste,’ but if we have this certification from a certain board, someone who dines with us can look that up and understand what that means,” says west~bourne’s chief of staff Jamie Faas, who spearheads the restaurant’s participation in the certification program.   In Brooklyn, Rhodora’s zero-waste mission is printed right onto the (recyclable) menus. The natural wine bar doesn’t have a chef—instead, each member of the small staff greets guests, pours wine, and assembles food in equal measure. In another departure from traditional kitchen dynamics, there’s no trash can on the premises. Instead, an on-site composter turns diners’ leftovers into mulch for the mini gardens bordering the sidewalk. Pending soil tests, it will also help fertilize the rooftop gardens at Brooklyn Grange.   But in dense Soho, there’s no room for a composter. Instead west~bourne pays a private hauler to bring their organic waste to McEnroe Organic Farm in upstate New York, between 1,400 and 1,700 pounds each month. Marcus says neighbors without access to composting programs ask to drop off their own food waste at the restaurant, but they can’t afford to pay to haul away organics from the whole community too.   But compost is just the end game—real waste reduction begins with the menu. west~bourne is strictly vegetarian to avoid stepping in meat’s carbon footprint; Rhodora’s menu, which largely consists of easily prepped conservas like mussels escabeche and cheese, is governed by what can be delivered by its network of largely local suppliers. The tinned fish is shipped in compostable packaging, the cheese is picked up at the farmers’ market, and cargo bikes messenger over shipments of bread and pickles from She Wolf Bakery and Marlow and Daughters three times a week.   “We’re one tiny wine bar in a very large system, and it’s only through thinking creatively in partnerships that this becomes a broader mission,” says Hallee Chambers, deputy director of The Oberon Group, the umbrella restaurant group containing Rhodora. “Our ultimate goal is to be more than just working sustainability in the food space but envisioning a sustainable future and economy.”   After months of radically reimagining operations, zero-waste restaurants are faced with a new challenge: customers. Rhodora doesn’t have a dumpster to accommodate gum wrappers, juice boxes, and other flotsam often left behind by guests. Anything that can’t go into the usual recycling bin gets sent to TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that transforms hard-to-recycle materials. It’s meant to be a last resort, not a new landfill, but convincing customers to carry out their trash has a learning curve.   “How do we relay this to customers without sounding aggressive, like you can't enjoy your time here?” says Rhodora staffer Calla Camero.   At a time when the word “vegan” has been replaced by the friendlier-sounding “plant-based” and burgers made from soy protein are prized for their ability to “bleed,” chefs and restaurant owners are loath to come across as overly didactic. Both restaurants negotiate a delicate balancing act, explaining the sheer amount of effort that goes into sustainability while trying to prove that radical can feel normal—and provide customers with all the typical amenities you’d expect from a “normal” restaurant. But negotiating customer expectations can spark a myriad of new problems.   Rhodora’s limited, conservas-based menu was designed to be carbon conscious, but the original offerings were expanded when vegetarian and vegan guests requested more fish-free options. Currently, Westbourne is searching for a climate-conscious way to meet another common customer expectation: delivery services.   It took four months to secure Westbourne’s compostable to-go packaging, which isn’t assessed by the TRUE Certification. Their bowls and utensils are made from bioplastics derived from plants like sugarcane— a pricier yet increasingly popular alternative to plastic that’s recently faced criticism for being less sustainable than it may appear. Bioplastics can only be processed by industrial composting facilities, many of which reject the material because it takes much longer to break down than other waste and creates poorer quality compost. Customers who don’t have city-provided brown bins or other access to industrial compost facilities end up tossing those bowls in the trash, so Westbourne is trying to start a conversation with their delivery platforms about a reusable solution.   “I think in a city like New York, not offering to-go or delivery isn’t really meeting your guests where they have needs so I didn't really think that [eliminating takeout] would be a possibility,” says Marcus. “We have to be a profitable business to be able to do the things that we do and make that impact.”   Of course, the hope is that being visibly sustainable in the age of climate anxiety will ultimately be a profitable move. Westbourne offers a robust zero-waste catering service to mission-driven (and optics-driven) clients like AllBirds and Vogue, serving grain bowls and coconut chia pudding on ceramics that get returned to the restaurant after service.   “We have a huge events and catering business and do a lot of interesting partnerships on that end,” says Marcus. “To see people seek us out because of our food philosophy and sustainability goals for me has been the bigger surprise and something I’m really proud of, because that allows us to expand our reach and impact.”   Being an early adopter can also give restaurants a head start on adapting to new operational standards initiated by local government, like the plastic bag bans coming into effect in March. Currently, New York City only requires organics recycling for restaurants with 15,000+ square feet or those part of a chain with 100 or more locations in the city, but in late 2019 the sanitation department began pushing to expand the mandate to smaller restaurants. Should the initiative pass, thousands of restaurants across the city will have to follow in Rhodora and west~bourne’s footsteps, training employees to sort compost and setting up contracts with organic waste haulers.   It’s possible to imagine a not-too-distant future where organics collection is universal and cooking with food scraps is expected. But the reality is that these practices are still far from mainstream.   “I hear it a lot: ‘It’s just restaurants, that’s just the way it is,’” says Marcus. “I think [this certification] is just to prove that it is very doable. I think if this industry is going to survive, we constantly have to innovate and be responsible in what we’re doing.”

• The companies will collaboratively launch Bausch + Lomb Every Contact Counts recycling program in eyecare offices across Canada, allowing people to recycle their disposable contact lenses and blister pack packaging
• The goal of the initiative is to provide an opportunity to eye care professionals and patients to collect waste with an aim to increase the number of recycled contact lenses and their associated packaging thus reducing their overall impact on the environment
• Contact lenses and blister packs are collected at Every Contact Counts, shipped to TerraCycle recycling facility to get recycled into plastic that can be remolded to create new products. Additionally, Bausch + Lomb has similar recycling programs in the Netherlands, the US, and Australia

How fine arts students can contribute to a circular waste system

  With sustainability and climate action becoming an increasingly omnipresent factor in everyday life, the ways in which we must change our habits in an effort to become more environmentally conscious are becoming more apparent.   We’re taking the steps to reduce plastic waste and taking to the streets to protest for climate change, so why do we stop where our individual practices are concerned? For those invested in climate action, making art can feel restrictive. There is no doubt that creating is wasteful: paper, paints, brushes and canvases are discarded freely when they no longer serve a purpose.   While certain student groups, such as Concordia University’s Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR), are making an effort to implement sustainable practices, not everyone in the Greater Montreal community can access these resources. We asked the Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) if they had any comments or upcoming plans regarding sustainability and they refused to comment on the matter.   Currently, CUCCR diverts waste from within Concordia, and offers it to students free of cost. These materials include everything from wood to office supplies, and have helped avert approximately 14 tonnes of materials from waste.    CUCCR coordinator, Arrien Weeks, is researching how Concordia’s Fine Arts departments is teaching sustainability for his Masters in Art Education, and a team of CUCCR’s artists-in-residence are working on developing a sustainable-painting workshop, as well as several other sustainable-oriented skillshares, in the near future. Paint poses a particularly interesting conversation because of it’s very materiality. Oil paint can be toxic and acrylic paint becomes plastic when it dries, making proper at-home disposal impossible.   Recently, art supply store DeSerres introduced a new recycling program in partnership with TerraCycle that could solve this problem. TerraCycle is a volunteer-based recycling program, with a focus on collecting hard-to-recycle items, such as razors. Instead of discarding waste, they reuse and upcycle it to create a circular waste system rather than a linear one. The program, titled “(Re)Art,” was created in an effort to instill sustainable practices into the art-making process and allow artists to create freely. Described as a “social responsibility program,” the DeSerres (Re)Art motto is “give back. recycle. recreate.”   Student artists looking to recycle their materials can do so by visiting a participating DeSerres store, to place their items in the “(re)art recycling box.” Accepted items include paint containers, paint brushes, markers and pencils. Locations in the downtown Montreal area include Alexis Nihon and Ste. Catherine E.   The CUCCR Used Material Depot is located at the GN building, at 1200 Guy St., and The Shed is located at the Hall building, at 1455 de Maisonneuve. For information regarding their hours, events and workshops visit www.cuccr.ca.   Further information about the (Re)Art program and participating DeSerres locations can be found at www.deserres.ca/en/reart-program.   More information about TerraCycle can be found at www.terracycle.com.   And finally, for more information about Montreal’s sustainable resources, consult this map, created by past CUCCR intern, Caroline Alince.

One of top five largest companies in the personal care industry to achieve this recognition   IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 28, 2020 /CNW/ -- Today, Arbonne International, LLC (Arbonne) is proud to announce its newly earned B Corporation (B Corp) certification, celebrating the brand's strong environmental commitments to sustainability and responsible corporate citizenship. Through this certification, Arbonne is committing to not only consider profit but people and the planet, while leading change in the wellness industry.   B Corp certification is the only one of its kind, comprehensively measuring a company's social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Businesses are verified by the nonprofit B Lab for their measurable impact on people and planet, and unlike traditional corporations, are required to consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders: customers, workers, communities, and the environment. Achieving B Corp certification further signifies Arbonne's commitment to be a mission-driven company that empowers people to flourish.   With 40 years of expertise, Arbonne continues to pioneer clean, plant-based products. Arbonne's new brand platform focuses on a holistic approach to healthy living that improves the MIND. BODY. SKIN.™. With 84% of the world experiencing stress, Arbonne is looking to address a positive mindset in tandem with a healthy gut to innovate around the MIND. BODY. SKIN.™ connection, bringing nutrition and skincare to a new frontier.   "Sustainability is a journey, and our B Corp certification is just the beginning," said Jean-David Schwartz, CEO of Arbonne. "Arbonne is using its business success as a force for good as we build a more inclusive economy for the world. We hold ourselves accountable to support a thriving planet and improved community well-being. We have set impactful goals and will not waiver from our commitments."   One of Arbonne's newest sustainability programs is ArbonneCycle™, a new recycling program for its hard-to-recycle packaging and componentry in partnership with TerraCycle^®. Arbonne is making strides to empower business leaders and clients to live waste-conscious lives. The program recently launched in the U.S. with plans to expand globally in the future.   "Arbonne's sustainability pillars that guide all decision making are: Environmental Impact, Employee Welfare, Company Governance, Customer Welfare and Community Impact," said Schwartz. "Through this major milestone, we voice our commitment to always balance people, planet and profit."   Through B Corp certification, Arbonne joins a global network of more than 3,000 companies including Patagonia, Toms Shoes, Ben & Jerrys, and Athleta. As a member of this purpose-driven B Community, Arbonne has set its sights on being not only the best in the world, but the best for the world.   "We are proud to welcome Arbonne to our growing community of Certified B Corporations who are redefining success in business to balance both profit and purpose," said Andy Fyfe, Senior Manager, B Corp Growth & Activation. "Arbonne's move to certify as a B Corp signals a wider societal interest in the power of business to provide long-term value for all stakeholders, including workers, community, and the environment."   For more information about Arbonne's company mission and values, please visit www.arbonne.com.  For more information on B-Corp Certification, visit https://bcorporation.net/about-b-corps.   About Arbonne International Since 1980 Arbonne International, LLC, has created personal care, beauty and wellness products crafted with premium plant-based ingredients grounded in science and clinical research. Arbonne's healthy living product philosophy and entrepreneurial business opportunity foster a positive mindset that helps individuals and communities flourish. The brand core values are empowerment, transparency, and sustainability, with the vision that everyone can flourish by being good to themselves, their community, and the planet. Arbonne products are available at arbonne.com or through an extensive network of Arbonne Independent Consultants across the world. Arbonne is a privately held company and is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. For more information, please visit www.arbonne.com.   About B Lab B Lab is a nonprofit that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. B Lab's initiatives include B Corp Certification, administration of the B Impact Management programs and software, and advocacy for governance structures like the benefit corporation. B Lab's vision is of an inclusive and sustainable economy that creates a shared prosperity for all. To date, there are over 3,000 Certified B Corps in 150 industries and 70 countries, and over 70,000 companies use the B Impact Assessment. Visit bcorporation.net for more information.   Arbonne is a proud member of the Direct Selling Association. View the Code of Ethics by which Arbonne abides or contact the DSA directly.

In the face of large-scale global challenges — from poverty and hunger to social justice and the climate crisis — businesses with an eye toward the future can make small changes and collaborate with other organizations to create collective, effective change.  

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 by the United Nations member states are a call to action to leave no one behind in the face of global challenges that threaten our planet and societies. The SDGs touch on issues that require companies to rethink their approaches to value generation. In this context, B Lab is working with the UN Global Compact to develop a tool for launch in 2020 to help companies chart their next decade of progress on the SDGs. Learn more about this development here.

 

In the fourth of a series of insights on the SDGs (find links to previous articles below) and how they can guide and inspire Certified B Corporations and other businesses, B the Change contacted Max Mintz, partner and financial advisor at B Corp Common Interests, and Steve Distante, CEO of Vanderbilt Financial Group. At Common Interests, based in Metuchen, New Jersey, Mintz and business partner Bob Goellner (the founder of the firm) and their office manager Ruth Arriaza provide values-based impact investing and holistic financial planning for clients. Distante and the Vanderbilt Financial Group team based in Woodbury, New York, aim to bring about positive social, environmental, or governmental change through their business and investments.

 

Distante and Mintz will be part of the Impact Forum, set for December 4–5, 2019, at the United Nations that will include a film festival and impact investing conference. Read on to learn more about how Distante and Mintz support the SDGs through their work and why they encourage other businesses to chart their progress on the SDGs.

  Let’s start at the highest level. What do you think is most valuable about the Sustainable Development Goals?

 

Steve Distante: The SDGs were created collaboratively by 193 governments over a three-year time frame around 2015, addressing some of the world’s toughest challenges and most pertinent problems. The global goals were given an ambitious deadline of 15 years to be addressed and resolved, which speaks to the urgency of many of these issues. The most valuable aspect of the SDGs are that they are not just for global governments or larger corporations to tackle — they also empower citizens, entrepreneurs, leaders, employees and activists to all come together under a common language and intention with the backdrop of the UN. It is truly an inclusive movement from formation through implementation.   The most valuable aspect of the SDGs are that they are not just for global governments or larger corporations to tackle — they also empower citizens, entrepreneurs, leaders, employees and activists to all come together under a common language and intention with the backdrop of the UN. It is truly an inclusive movement from formation through implementation.  

 

Max Mintz: To me, the most valuable part of the SDGs is that they give us a visual language to discuss the issues facing society and the planet. Too often, I’ve seen people become overwhelmed by the scope of these issues and either fall into despair or inaction. The SDGs allow people to identify the issues that they want to focus on so that they can take action in a way that is meaningful to them. The SDGs are a positive, uplifting message built to inspire, not cause people to get depressed.  

2030 is only a decade away. Where do you think action needs to focus in order to get there?

 

SD: I think we need to create more awareness of the SDGs in general. One project I’m working on is to use storytelling as a medium to educate, inspire and celebrate entrepreneurs who are using the SDGs in their businesses. I recently released my second film, Igniting Impact, which shares the stories of eight entrepreneurs doing just that.   It’s important we begin focusing our businesses on the benefits of aligning purpose with profit and engage leaders in meaningful ways using the SDGs as a framework for doing so. Becoming a B Corp is definitely a step in that journey, but also focusing on one or more of the SDGs (as they are very interdependent) elevates businesses to exist in service of finding real solutions to the problems that matter.  

MM: The power of the SDGs is that they allow us to focus our efforts on the issues that matter most to us. As we have met with clients and discussed the SDGs in detail, I’ve found that every time I bring them up, a different SDG speaks to each client. If we each work on the issues that matter most to us, together we can accomplish great things! I’m reminded of a saying we have around the office: Do what you do best, and pay for all the rest. To me, this means that we should each be working on those issues that speak to us, that inform our passions, where we can do the most to move the needle on these issues.

 

The SDGs have been called the closest thing to a sustainability strategy for humanity. Do you think this strategy has enabled business to meaningfully take action?

 

SD: For many businesses, yes; however, for others it often takes creativity to align their businesses in a meaningful way. Not every business has sustainability baked into its core, but I believe every business can be sustainable.  

A real issue in the strategy of the SDGs is awareness that they exist and that successful entrepreneurs and businesses are already utilizing their framework to infuse meaning and purpose in their business. Those of us working in the space need to share our story and spread the word to companies and entrepreneurs to show that this purpose can also be profitable. This is one of the main drivers for my creating a documentary film. I want entrepreneurs, leaders and students to see a range of businesses that are working on a wide spectrum of issues while also achieving economic success.

 

MM: Absolutely! The SDGs provide a framework to understand how we can move toward a more sustainable future. The SDGs are global and must be understood through a regional lens. Great strides have already been taken to galvanize companies to take action, most prominently in Europe, where the EU has launched its Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities, which provides a roadmap to achieving the SDG targets that the EU has identified as critical — namely climate action, sustainable natural resource management, and good work and economic growth, all of which are supported by and aligned with their sustainable finance initiative. In the US, we’re far behind this regulatory framework, but the impact of the EU’s actions, as the world’s second-largest economy, will be felt globally.  

Can you give us an example of a business that gives you hope that we will achieve the Sustainable Development Goals?

 

SD: We cover a wide range of examples in the film, but two that are top of mind are John’s Crazy Socks and World Tree.

John’s Crazy Socks is a great example of two SDGs intersecting in one business: SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 10, Reduced Inequalities. In providing meaningful job opportunities to people of differing abilities, John’s Crazy Socks taps into an underemployed and often underpaid workforce. John’s Crazy Socks gives us the playbook.  

World Tree directly correlates with SDG 13, Climate Action. They use a for-profit business structure to benefit both farmers and investors while using the regenerative power of the Empress Splendor tree to have dramatic effects on our fight against land and air degradation: It reduces carbon 11 times more than any other tree, reinvigorates even the most decimated soil, and is one of the fastest-growing trees in the world. Not to mention, World Tree is a heart-centered, female-founded and female-operated business fighting for gender equality and representation.

 

MM: One of our most exciting projects this year was our first private impact investment in a company called TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company that is committed to eliminating waste through materials science and upcycling. Discussing this business with our clients has inspired many of them and given them hope that businesses are in fact working to create a more sustainable economy.

 

How will the online platform that B Lab is developing alongside the UN Global Compact serve the 2030 agenda?

 

SD: From my understanding, the online platform will begin to quantify the effectiveness of B Corps in an SDG matrix. It’s been a struggle to quantify the impact the SDGs have had inside of businesses. We desperately need tools like this to help make the business case for the SDGs and show the impact we’re having in the world to all our stakeholders.  

MM: As a Certified B Corp, our firm has used the existing B Impact Assessment as a roadmap to improve the sustainability of our firm, and we’ve made huge strides! This platform will give us and others the next step: tools to align our mission with the SDGs and report back to our stakeholders. We don’t have the infrastructure to develop this kind of platform on our own, so we rely on B Lab to provide these kinds of tools.

 

Which SDG is top of mind for you right now, and why?

 

SD: SDG 17: Partnerships. The SDGs are incredibly interconnected between issues and the stakeholders of people working on them. Entrepreneurs and companies offer solutions; investors drive capital toward those solutions. We need to harness the power of collective action and work together with others to multiply our effect on the SDGs.  

MM: I’m in an interesting position: as a fiduciary, I’m obligated to put my clients’ interests ahead of my own, so my work on the SDGs is motivated by my clients’ wishes rather than my own. In our recent impact report, we conducted a survey of our clients to understand how they prioritize the SDGs, and we’re driven by that data.

 

Interestingly, our clients’ priorities fall into the areas of basic needs: Clean Water (SDG 6), Zero Hunger (SDG 2), and Quality Education (SDG 4) topped the list, while Gender Equality (SDG 5), Good Health (SDG 3), and Climate Action (SDG 13) were close behind. We’re actively searching for investments that work to achieve these goals.

Let’s face it, the world is overwhelming. The climate crisis may seem like something we can’t stop, but we promise you, any changes to your habits will be of benefit. Here’s a few small changes you can make right now to transition to an ecofriendly beauty routine.     If you’ve been following our Instagram, you will already know we’ve been slowly transitioning specific aspects of our lives towards more sustainable practices. (Check out this IGTV story on how we made the kitchen more eco-friendly.) In the last few months, we’ve been focusing on our beauty routine.   The beauty industry is wasteful. We love skincare and makeup, not to mention this job requires us to explore new products, which has been sort of an excuse not to focus on it too hard. It’s part of our job, so what can we do to change? But, as the world becomes more conscious, our options for sustainable practices become more common, which is very exciting. That being said, here’s a few small changes we’ve done to transition to an ecofriendly beauty routine  

Reusable Cotton Pads

  Are you a daily micellar water user? If you’re like us, you probably use up to two cotton pads a day. Multiply that by 7 days a week, 365 days a year and you can imagine the amount of waste we’re producing, just by cleaning our face. Cotton isn’t made of plastic, but you can’t recycle it. It naturally ends up in landfills. Moreover, cotton production requires a massive amount of water. Swapping for reusable cottons pads seems like an easy way to eliminate a huge amount of waste in your routine.   We like these ones from Amazon, but there’s a ton of other options made out of bamboo. These are made of organic cotton, but you can find other brands that use bamboo. It takes a hot minute to figure out how to use them, but once you get the hang of it, it’s very easy. Make sure to wash them with clean, non-fragrant laundry detergent and to use a laundry bag  

Refillable Fragrance

Did you know this was a thing? Refillable fragrance bottles make a huge difference. We’re daily user of the Angel Eau de Toilette (US$84), enough to empty a bottle every four months. That’s a lot of bottles a year, and have you seen how beautiful they are? It’s very sad recycling them, and worst of all, we don’t even know if all their parts are recyclable. The Mugler Fountain, which has recently been revamped, allows you to refill your Angel or Alien bottle. For our Canadian readers, your local Shoppers Drug Mart will have refillable stations. (Most importantly, you only pay for the fragrance, so it’s more cost-effective as a consumer.) Mugler is an example, but many brands have or are release refillable fragrance bottles–to cut down on waste and cost. Less waste, less energy spent on a new bottle, on packaging, shipping, etc.. it’s genius.  

Prioritizing Brands Making A Difference

  Prioritizing brands that are making a difference is a way to reward those making a change. Let them know they’re doing the right thing (because it’s not cheap, unfortunately), by giving them your time and money. For example, we can’t stop preaching about the earth-friendly initiatives behind REN. Our fave, the Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Anti-Fatigue Body Wash (CA$36/US$27) is made with 100 percent recycled plastic, 20 percent of which is reclaimed plastic found in our oceans. The REN Clean Screen Mineral (CA$47/US$36) bottle is made up of 50 percent recycled plastic and the cap is 100 percent recycled plastic. They even went as far as to ensure packaging was made of a single type of plastic, to facilitate further recycling. We constantly re-purchase from REN and shout it from the rooftops, to reward them for their eco-friendly ways.  

Terracycling

  We recently discovered the Body Shop has a partnership with Terracycle, which is an incredible company. (Since then, we’ve noticed other brands doing the same, namely Burt’s Bees.) Terracycle collects plastic and works with companies that take hard-to-recycle materials. You can basically be assured your beauty products are being recycled properly. Why should you worry about it? Recycling isn’t as straightforward as we like to think it is. Each city does its own thing (in general) and a lot of the things we put in our blue and black bins aren’t fully processed by certain plants. For example, your greasy pizza box can be considered a contaminate. At the end of each month, we round up our empty (and clean) beauty products and deliver them to our local The Body Shop. It’s a total game-changer if you’re transitioning to an ecofriendly beauty routine.  

Last year I washed 42 pair of reusable tennis shoes of which were donated to homeless. That doesn’t count the hundreds of other tennis shoes that were either singles or completely destroyed and the amount of tennis shoes that were put in the trash. It has become obvious that even tennis shoes have become a disposable item, a sad sorry when you consider that an estimated 300 million people in the world do not have shoes.   Just about everyone has old running shoes lying around their homes, filling up much-needed closet space. It can be easy just to toss them away, not thinking twice about it. However, this is not only dangerous for the environment, but it also increases your carbon footprint. Don’t let your running shoes wind up in a landfill or the beach repurpose them!   There are several ways to repurpose old running shoes, all of which require minimal extra effort. This little effort needed by you can create a world of difference for the environment. All you need to do is get creative!   Our Favorite Way to Repurpose Sneakers   Running Shoe Drive Fundraiser   This idea is particularly effective as a nonprofit fundraiser. If you aren’t already involved with an organization, no worries! Partner with a local nonprofit, school or Terracycle to make sure the running shoe drive funds are used for community advancement. For instance we have a local business Randalls Sandals who collects shoes and does beach clean ups.   Running shoe drive fundraisers are an excellent way to repurpose unwanted sneakers while also supporting the environment. By spreading the word, you’ll encourage the community to join together for a worthy cause. Here’s how they work:   1.    Partner with a running shoe drive coordinator. 2.    Collect gently worn, used and new athletic shoes. 3.    Fill and send the shipping bags provided by your facilitator. 4.    Receive a check based on how many pairs you send. 5. That’s it! Instead of throwing out perfectly good sneakers, encourage supporters to declutter their homes and make room for new ones while you generate some extra income for your cause.   Parting with sneakers you’ve depended on for so long can be difficult. Knowing they’re being put to good use (instead of decomposing in a landfill) makes the process much easier.   How to Repurpose Athletic Shoes At Home     If you’re not willing to part with your beloved sneakers (and understandably so), reuse them around your home. No matter their condition, there are ways you can give them a new purpose that only take a bit of handy work.   Here’s where you can get really creative. Whether your child has outgrown their athletic shoes or you’ve worn your sneakers into the ground, the possibilities are endless. The only limit is your imagination!   Planters Give your garden some flare by using your old sneakers as planters. This art project works for even the tiniest (and dirtiest) sneakers, so it’s a fun activity the whole family will enjoy.     Personally, I just put in dirt and added cactus. But if you want to sterilize start by cleaning and disinfecting them. You can apply outdoor acrylic sealer both inside and outside the athletic shoe, so the sneakers can face and survive the weather. Drill holes in the sole of the running shoe to create a drainage system. Now, you can fill them with dirt and pick which plants will call them home.   You can grow anything from tiny succulents to clusters of flowers. Plant greenery of all shapes and sizes to create an intriguing and colorful garden. If your foliage will bloom at some point, make sure the flower color and athletic shoe color complement one another.   Get creative with your display, too. For instance, you can attach several planters to a stump or hang them on a tree or fence. You can even paint each sneaker to give it an extra splash of color.   Birdhouse or Feeder   Encourage wildlife to visit your home by turning your old running shoes into a birdhouse or bird feeder. There’s no better place to start giving back to the environment than in your own backyard.   Just like you would when making planters, you’ll want to start by disinfecting them. Remember to stuff the toe with something so that birds don’t get stuck when they decide to visit. Then, nail your creative birdhouse to a tree through the heel. From here, all you have to do is wait. It may take a while, but be patient. Hopefully, a family of birds will make a nest out of your old running shoes.   Another idea that birds will love is a feeder. To do this, remove the sole from the sneaker and nail it to a tree or fence. Alternatively, you can hang it from a limb by its strings. Keep an eye on it and regularly fill it with birdseed. Birds will flock to your backyard in no time.   Paint Them   If your sneakers are in wearable condition but look a little rough, whip out a brush and some eco-friendly paint.⁴   Painting works best with white sneakers but can really be done with any solid-colored athletic shoes. To get started, clean the running shoes. Then, remove the shoelaces and apply painter’s tape to any areas you don’t want the paint to touch. Finally, prime your surface and get to work.   Use your innovative canvas to display colorful scenery and designs. Don’t be afraid to express yourself!   This idea works well for young children who need an outlet for their creativity. Encourage them to paint a story (maybe about where those sneakers have been), and watch as their imaginations flow. They’ll be excited to show off their “new” kicks to their friends.   How to Repurpose Running Shoes With Your Community   If you truly want to make a difference, you’ll need to band together with the rest of your community. While you can influence positive change on your own, you’ll make a much more powerful transformation with others.   Explore these community-driven ideas, and take your green efforts to the next level!   Walkathon   Not only are walkathons effective peer-to-peer fundraisers⁵ for any cause, but they also serve as excellent opportunities for recycling running shoes.    A running shoe drive fundraiser is a natural addition to any athletic event—especially walkathons. Once you’ve lined one up, encourage registrants (and spectators, too!) to donate their sneakers. You can even offer a discounted registration fee in exchange for a pair of gently worn, used and new athletic shoes. Whichever route you take, make sure to advertise well in advance, so participants know to bring a change of sneakers.   To fully immerse attendees, get creative with your walkathon’s theme.⁶ Leverage eco-friendly themes, such as:  

• A paint walk that features environmentally-friendly powdered paint or chalk
• A costume walk that encourages participants to wear up-cycled Halloween costumes
• A nature hike where participants follow a well-kept trail in your community

Door-to-Door Campaigning   Nothing rallies up support quite like a good, old-fashioned door-to-door campaign.   Recruit a team of enthusiastic volunteers and get to work. It should be particularly easy if you’re part of a political organization or an environmental nonprofit that aims to promote a greener planet.   First, partner with a running shoe drive coordinator so that you can trade the sneakers for cash. Then, assign each team to a neighborhood or two within the community. Team members will knock on every door asking for gently worn, used and new sneakers. All your motivated supporters will need is transportation, bags to hold the sneakers, and some strong hands to get the job done.   This idea works considerably well because donors won’t have to leave the comfort of their own homes. In fact, you’ll likely receive many more donations than if you were to coordinate it with an event.   Use this as an opportunity to spread the word about going green by encouraging people to take action right then and there. Chances are, they’ll know exactly which athletic shoes they’d like to give away but just need a little push to do so. Best of all, this is a great nonprofit fundraising method⁷ because it helps spread a positive, eco-friendly message associated with your cause.   Donate Your Soles   Even sneakers that are on their last legs don’t have to be thrown away. These athletic shoes, while unable to be re-homed, can still be put to good use. Bring the community together by having volunteers gather unwearable running shoes around local neighborhoods.   When donated to a dedicated program, running shoes that are falling apart can be recycled for their materials. Typically, the recycled materials are then used to create new athletic shoes or other clothing items.   If the collection goes well, consider making it an annual fundraiser, where you scour the community for old sneakers. A great day for this would be World Clean Up Day⁸ in September or America’s Recycle Day⁹ in November. When you choose a consistent date, supporters will come to look forward to it each year. They may even start hanging onto their unwanted running shoes just to show their support.   If your sneakers are still in wearable condition, consider bringing them into secondhand stores or donating them to an athletic shoe drive fundraiser. You can also continue wearing them until they can’t handle another mile. Then when they’re truly worn down, they can be donated for their parts.   From brand new sneakers to those that have run their last mile, there are innumerable ways to repurpose old running shoes.¹⁰ Hopefully, you found an idea here that works for your old athletic shoes. If not, use these ideas as inspiration for your craft, fundraiser, or community event.   Remember, when you get creative, the sky’s the limit. Don’t let your sneakers pile up in your closet or wind up in a landfill. Give them a new purpose with one of the unique ideas listed above today!   A Few Other Ways to Reuse Sneakers  https://www.pinterest.com/GreenEcoServices/reuse-recycle-shoes/  

Ilia beauty is redefining clean beauty. And it’s not just about the ingredients. Sasha Plavsic decided to start a company shortly after the 2008 recession. That too, she wanted to build a clean beauty company, which was a niche market and a largely unheard idea over a decade ago. She quit her job, moved back home to Vancouver, Canada, and started on the journey with one idea: how to make her tinted lip conditioner that she’d been wearing for years from more natural ingredients. Two years of exploration followed. Then, she took the leap to start her own company“People get so scared to just start. You cannot know everything when you start. But you have to jump in. If you wait, you may never be ready,” she says. Now, based in southern California, Plavsic is thinking through the environmental details of her beauty brand: from the packaging to maintaining a balance between natural and organic ingredients in her skincare-meets-color range. But the slew of clean beauty brands that have emerged in the past five years, Plavsic says, is a bit of a mixed bag. “Some of us had to really figure it out, working from the zero up,” she says, referring to early start-ups in the space. “It’s not been a straightforward path.” Now, it’s chaotic and confusing for customers, she admits. “Get educated. There isn’t one list you should be referring to. You have to dig further into a brand’s philosophy and understand where they’re coming from.” For her, it’s always been a balancing act between what’s natural and organic and what works. “At the end of the day, the product has to work. Yes, we have some products that are entirely natural, and have a high organic content, above 80 percent. But others, may not.” Her emphasis is instead on what’s safe for consumers. For instance, she notes when a product has water, a preservative is necessary to make sure the product doesn’t go rancid. Safety, in those scenarios, she says is more important than being entirely natural. But as a whole, most of the products contain 75% or more organic ingredients. Specific ingredients such as Vitamin E, she notes, are hard to find organic; so they opt for a natural source, stemming from sunflowers. There’s also the challenge of materials used in packaging: most of their lipsticks are housed in recycled aluminum cases. The boxes are 100% recycled paper and the print is all done with vegetable-based dyes. “More and more people want to know about these fine details.” Aluminum can be infinitely recycled; glass is bulkier, more costly to ship, and harder to recycle. Promotional bags that Ilia uses are made with silicone and designed to be reused. Lastly, as an animal-friendly company, they choose not to sell to countries that test on animals. “Brands and companies need to take the lead on this. Yes, the government can help by making more favorable policy and infrastructure, but companies can start choosing what they package in, how they sell, and so on.” Ilia is introducing an option with the recycling company TerraCycle to make it easier for customers to dispose of their empty containers—and those include any “empties,” she says, “they don’t even have to be ours only.” It’s a long list of deliberate decisions and choices that Plavsic says she has spent time thinking about. “This is all very nuanced. Some people want a beauty product to last for 24 hours and not come off. That’s harder to do with truly natural ingredients—and maybe that’s something we cannot offer.” Instead, the aesthetic and vision for the company, she says, has been about bringing together skincare and cosmetics—products that highlight elements of a woman’s face without completely masking them, she says. “It’s not about piling it on, but accentuating, and playing up a few features.” In 2015, Ilia started talking to Sephora, the ubiquitous brick-and-mortar beauty retailer. That transition to Sephora’s shelves, Plavsic says has helped them make clean beauty a more mainstream offering and continue to expand these conversations on sustainability from a small group of rookie brands to something that’s now being discussed in the big beauty houses of the world. In 2018, New York-based Silas Capital invested in the startup. Although Plavsic started the company with a loan and her credit cards, she had grown it significantly in 7 years; this month, they announced another round of capital from Sandbridge Capital, which has a series of investments in fashion and consumer brands. A decade later, the idea that Plavsic developed in her free time of transforming a lip tint into a more a natural product has developed into a global business. “The next big thing,” she says, “is sustainability — in a real form, not just greenwashing. That’s for very industry, not just our industry.” Plavsic’s hunch about more eco-friendly and people-friendly products, a decade ago, was spot on.

Water, sustainable infrastructure and climate-screened real estate as well as waste management and recycling are our top themes. We’re hyper-focused on climate right now.   I absolutely believe over the next few years in asset management all we’re going to be talking about is artificial intelligence, blockchain and climate, and the intersection of those things. For example, investment in blockchain in tracking fisheries and the ocean environment is super-interesting right now, because people are going to get more concerned about that.   In the Fiji they are already relocating 43 communities because of climate change, and they are starting to use blockchain to track illegal fishing because of damage to the reefs and fish stocks and the economy. They’re issuing blue bonds — borrowing to fund projects that help the marine environment — for the first time this year. We’re going to see this new wave of climate awareness — even President Trump now is saying that climate change is not a hoax. The Australian fires are indicative of what is going to be top of people’s minds this decade. Between Greta Thunberg and all the kids, this is not going away.   On the high end, we’re going long water and desalinization and short water projects that don’t address the infrastructure. Investment firm Water Asset Management runs a strategy we are following closely. We don’t have any choice — our infrastructure is falling apart, so being thoughtful about that and doing that sustainably is going to be one of the biggest stories of the decade.   We also want to be short mortgage exposure to high-risk climate areas in flood zones. Moody’s just bought California-based climate risk analytics company Four Twenty Seven. We’re going to see the un-priced premium of climate risk in mortgages start to get priced in, so you have an opportunity in the market right now to be really picky about your bond portfolio.   On the private side, we’re seeing one incredible idea after another on both sides of recycling and waste management —  how to create packaging more sustainably and how to recycle it. Companies such as circular economy investor Closed Loop Partners and recycling specialist TerraCycle are going to take off. Big companies are going to be facing pressure on how to create products that make them look better.   Another way to play: California wines are actually a really good investment as wildfires grow. There is risk going forward that the pricing gets out of whack. Luckily a lot of the vineyards have escaped damage, but that’s really a temporary thing. In the last few fires, Sonoma got decimated. In Australia the vineyards are more and more at risk, so owning wine right now as the production gets more limited is a great investment.     Director, Rumah Group   Responsible investing has always been a mainstay at our family office, but with the environmental crisis escalating, breaking out of our comfort zone of equity and property has never felt so meaningful. What’s looking extremely exciting is the alternative-protein space. It’s a rapidly growing ecosystem changing the way food is produced by offering earth- and animal-friendly alternatives to meat lovers.   Alternative proteins are already disrupting the food industry. With increased awareness of the crippling effect of meat production on the environment, as well as increasing concerns around the impacts of factory farming on human health and animal welfare, consumer habits are gradually shifting and making the case for business investment.   From low-tech and high-tech plant-based meats that actually taste and feel like meat, to cultured meat (real meat grown without animals), to protein from microalgae — one has a diverse menu of opportunities to choose from. If these alternatives are able to compete on flavor, texture and convenience then scale and time have the potential to reveal investments that will perform on a global level.   As an avid scuba diver and freediver, my pick is cultivated seafood. Not only is seafood a less mature market segment, but it also offers an avenue to address overfishing — a grave threat to the ocean. Depending on your risk appetite and the players involved, one might consider backing an alternative protein start-up like Singapore-based Shiok Meats Pte., or perhaps a venture accelerator fund like Big Idea Ventures. Regardless of how you choose to invest, having a clear strategy to diversify your portfolio and manage risk is key. The international non-profit organization Good Food Institute is a good place to find out more — their team compiles industry reports, white space opportunities and other resources for investors.   Another way to play: My primary objective is to ensure that our family is climate positive over our lifetime and investing in carbon sinks is one way to manage our carbon footprint while keeping assets on our balance sheet. I’ve been researching blue carbon ecosystems, where mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes capture and hold large amounts of carbon in plants and sediment. Protecting blue carbon ecosystems also offers other benefits such as supporting healthy fisheries; providing livelihoods for locals; improving water quality; as well as protecting coasts from storm surges and erosion. If not blue carbon, a reforestation project in an emerging economy where biodiversity can be promoted and excess carbon credits can be sold would be my pick. Organizations such as Conservation International and New Zealand-based Ekos help create bespoke carbon projects to meet investor needs.     Founder and chairman of Tiger 21; Chairman, MUUS & Co.   The ocean offers a virtually unlimited source of renewable energy. Our family’s private investment company, MUUS & Co., is committed to deploying capital for sustainable energy producers and next-generation technologies that will shape the future of energy. We are currently investing in proven technology developed to produce energy from the power contained within ocean waves.   Ocean technology offers the chance to power floating computer centers with the added benefit of free cooling provided by the seas — eliminating two of the growing sources of carbon emissions (the power for the computers, and the power needed to cool the computer centers to allow the computers to function properly). The same ocean wave-produced energy can be used to power seaborne floating factories that produce low-cost renewable fuels, nutrient-dense food and minerals. The potential of harnessing carbon-free energy from the ocean is boundless and positioned to be a major clean power source in the future.   Investments like these have extraordinary risks, because this is a very early stage technology. Even the best ideas can fail from any number of problems a small company will encounter along the way to commercializing a new and bold technology. There are a few public companies that have tried to use the power of the waves to light buoys and for other uses, but we believe this new technology approach we are investing in has far greater potential in the future.   My family office is investing with another family office that also focuses on carbon-free power solutions. Our strategy was to provide seed funding, based on our assessment of the enormous potential and the team behind a company in this area, and then wait for larger entities, with deeper scientific capability and deeper experience in bringing new technologies to market to validate the initial findings and concept.   We have to be realistic about the risks and size our investment accordingly. Typically, even with a very high degree of excitement, it would be wise to keep allocations to investments like this to well under 1% of overall assets, and maybe aggregate 10 or 20 such investments in a separate portfolio that probably, in total, remains well under 10% of a well-balanced portfolio.   Another way to play: I’ve been collecting handmade Japanese dolls (Ningyo) for many years. For centuries, the Japanese have been creating intricate and extraordinary Ningyo that can be as much as 1 meter tall. These are museum-quality dolls that can be 300 years old, made of ceramics, with eggshell faces and some of the most beautiful materials for their kimonos. In Japan these dolls have a long tradition for the Boys’ and Girls’ Day holidays. After World War II, the Boys’ Day dolls fell out of fashion and exceptional pieces could be acquired at relatively moderate prices. The better antique dolls are quite rare and can be worth up to $100,000 or more. When displayed, they can take the viewer’s breath away.     Portfolio Manager in the Responsible Global Equities team, BMO Global Asset Management   For a long time, we have not invested in solar despite the fact that it’s growing fast. We just don’t have enough confidence in the quality of companies to justify it. The low barriers to entry have, for the main, allowed further competition into the market, driving down pricing and, in turn, profitability.   That said, we are still benefitting from the rapid deployment of energy in renewable resources and one company we like is Orsted. This is an interesting one because it used to be Danish Oil and Natural Gas. Starting a decade ago, the company reoriented away from fossil fuels and embraced the development and maintenance of offshore wind farms. It already holds a quarter of the global market in offshore wind and provides power to about 9.5 million people. Its target is 30 million by 2025.   We are also taking a look at suppliers to wind farm operators, particularly those providing turbine blades. One name we are watching is Vestas Wind Systems, a Danish company that makes wind turbines. We haven’t invested yet because of the potential for increased competition, which in the past has undermined prices and reduced profitability. If there is a shakeout in the space we would likely have a more positive outlook.   What we really like to see in the wind sector is how much capacity a company has coming online. Orsted is currently producing 5.6 gigawatts of electricity but it has 15 gigawatts in development. While the company is already offshore in Europe, it’s made acquisitions in the U.S. that could be a springboard for growth in that market. Naturally, you’re going to get some pushback from local communities but they tend to have a lot more to say about onshore wind farms than offshore ones. So based on Orsted’s record and what they’re bringing to market we have confidence it should continue to win further bids and grow profitability. And there will be regulatory pressure globally for more energy from renewable sources so that provides a tailwind for Orsted.   Another way to play: In my time away from the office I’m a beekeeper. I manage two hives at my family’s home in west London with about 60,000 bees. I’m also a member of a local beekeeping association where we talk things through. Recently we’ve been working together to prepare for the Asian hornet, which has come across from France and can rapidly annihilate entire beehives. With colony collapse disorder and issues around pollination, I feel this is a way to support local ecology. Beekeeping also helps me think about issues around pesticides and farming practices that impact local biodiversity, and we engage with our portfolio companies on those issues. Every summer my bees do pay a dividend — a load of honey.     Co-chairman and CEO, Asia Philanthropy Circle;  Chairman, the Lien Foundation   We have often been told to reduce, reuse and recycle, in that order of priority. We can agree to that, but we still cannot stop waste production completely. In fact, changing people’s behaviors is especially hard. So waste volumes continue to rise, and existing methods of waste management and recycling are woefully inadequate to address the growing mountain of trash.   It is hence critical to invest in new technologies for solid waste value capture that substantially reduce the effort to sort and clean products, while at the same time result in much higher-value end products.   Imagine one integrated engineering technique that effectively treats unsorted waste — combining biological treatment methods to remove organic waste first, and then a mixture of thermal and chemical techniques to turn carbon-based waste into fuel oil, high-value carbon-based materials and valuable gases, and re-utilizing the minimal resultant ash and slag in construction materials. The value of the outputs must significantly exceed the cost of production and must be easy to scale close to the source of the feedstock. I think we are much closer to such a breakthrough today and I would invest $1 million towards such an effort, in collaboration with other funders.   Another way to play: I am invested in an impact fund, called Garden Impact, which has a sustainable development theme, and a sub-focus on researching and commercializing sustainable construction materials. There are many great ideas but a lack of top-notch entrepreneurs to grow them. So I am going upstream to be more hands-on to help identify, develop and mentor promising social entrepreneurs to take on much more ambitious efforts. This would have a much great impact than passively investing.

PopSockets has partnered with TerraCycle to create a free recycling program for PopSockets products and packaging, as well as any brand of cellular phone case. As an added incentive, for every shipment of PopSockets waste sent to TerraCycle through the recycling program, collectors earn points that can be used for charity gifts or converted to cash and donated to the non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.   Participation in the program is easy: sign up at terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/popsockets and mail in the accepted waste using a prepaid shipping label. Once collected, the waste is broken down, separated by material and the plastics are cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be remolded to make new recycled products.   The PopSockets Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office or community organization. For more information on TerraCycle’s recycling programs, visit terracycle.com.