Mindful Businesses: Recent Episodes
Mindful Businesses
Africa with its rich arts and crafts have so much to offer to the world. We are excited to find online or in a nearby store a unique, one of a kind piece from a land far away. But we should pause to think as to how much of what we pay actually goes back to the artisans and their communities. Today we talk with Jenny Nuccio, Founder and CEO of Imani Collective - Global Social Enterprise Empowering Artisans, who wanted to not only promote the art from Kenya, but make sure that the artisans are paid two to three times the average wage and gain access for their art. She joins us from Mombasa, Kenya sharing her life's mission to provide a fair and living wage to the folks who work alongside her. Learn more in the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.
Natural gas used to heat our homes, cook our meals and sometimes even to move our cars comprises mainly of Methane - a know greenhouse gas. While we go on this journey to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and green house gasses, there needs to be a sustainable alternative to conventional natural gas. The anaerobic activities in landfills creates Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). RNG is a hundred percent match to conventional natural gas and can thus be piped and supplied using the existing natural gas distribution pipelines. We talk with Grant Gibson, co-founder and CDO of Synthica Energy - that does exactly that. Their anaerobic digestion facilities receive industrial food wastes, organic by-products, brewery washout and they use them to produce biogas for commercial power plants. Learn more about this exciting solution on this latest episode of Mindful Businesses.https://synthica.com/https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
We like to check in with some of our previous guests to see how their business has changed, what goals were achieved and the ones that were not. How they may have pivoted or continued the path they had chosen. It is a pleasure to have Shameek Ghosh, CEO of Trustrace -Tracing for Fashion. He joins us once again from Stockholm, Sweden. We talk about fashion traceability and regulations on this industry in Europe and North America. How they have changed and the impetus for these changes. Conversation about how a responsible and mindful brand can navigate the journey of traceability and abiding by the regulations smoothly. Trustrace offers a path and solution to these brands - from enterprise to mid-sized sustainable businesses. To learn more about their solution listen to the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.#Trsutrace#Mindfulbusinessespodcast#fashionindustry#sustainablefashion#traceability#supplychain#UFLPAhttps://trustrace.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Cotton fiber and fabric is considered to be one of the most natural material. Given that, who would have thought that the process of manufacturing cotton fabric uses materials and techniques that cause environmental damage. Cotton needs to be cleaned and the “trash” removed for the cotton to become white and more absorbent to dyes. Alkaline and other harmful chemicals used to bleach in this process need to be washed out completely. The dyes in itself are harmful and their effluence further pollute our environment. Fibre 52 replaces these toxic chemicals with bio-products that do the job more sustainably and efficiently. Their patent - pending process reduces the processing time by up to 25%, up to 70% reduction in water consumption and up to 40% reduction in electricity without reducing the quality or dyeability of the cotton. Fibre 52 prepares cotton – knit, woven, non-wovens or raw fiber - for a perfect dye job without using harsh, toxic chemicals AND without stripping the unique properties that make everyday cotton resilient, naturally soft and breathable. It can be done using existing machinery and without additional capital investment. In this episode we chat with Graham Stewart, Executive Vice President of Fiber 52 who shares how their product helps the cotton mills consume less heat, energy, water and time. Learn more about this unique product on this episode of Mindful businesses.https://www.fibre52.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
This episode was previously aired on April 23, 2023.________________________________________________________________________________________________________Oil spills in our world where engines are omnipresent are almost inevitable. Larger accidental spills on land and water have catastrophic effects on the environment, plant and animal life. Ironically some of the industrial spill clean-up solutions often used may not always be eco-friendly. SaveSorb is a totally natural, sustainable plant material. Using sphagnum peat moss in a proprietary method, it is dried, sieved, blended and pH balanced to create the most effective absorbent of hydrocarbons (oil based compounds) and chemicals available. SaveSorb absorbs almost all hydrocarbons, chemicals and their vapors. It encapsulates them within its molecular structure and will not leach contaminants into the environment, even under pressure. SaveSorb is very safe to handle. In its natural state it partially absorbs the fumes, making it useful for cleaning up small spills containing flammable liquids.SaveSorb is available as a loose product in bags and in a variety of manufactured products from Spill Kits, absorbent mats and socks. Listen to the world renown jockey turned entrepreneur, Ronnie Ebanks who seized the opportunity when he was introduced to this “miracle-product”. https://savesorb.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#oilspill #sustainablesolutions #ecofriiendly #ecofriiendlycleanup #sphagnumpeatmoss #mindfulbusinesses #savesorb
As we open our kitchen faucets and fill a glass with drinking water, we probably don’t realize that around 2 billion people globally do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. Clean and safe potable water is such a basic necessity but is still inaccessible to one-fourth of the population in the world. For them, bottled water is not a luxury but a necessity for a healthy and disease-free living. In the United States, municipalities are equipped with water treatment plants and the water is tested regularly, but old and often crumbling pipes tend to leech contaminants into the water. The tragic case of Flint, Michigan comes to mind. Our mindful guests Jess Page and Nicole Doucet, Co - founders of Open Water set out to offer a product to exactly this segment of the population. They explored a variety of options and came up with a rather elegant solution. Firstly, bottle the water close to their customers, reducing the carbon footprint of transportation. Secondly, using aluminum cans as against plastic bottles. Aluminum recycling rates far exceed the plastic recycling rates (around 65%) and do not lose their integrity - that means aluminum can be recycled infinitely. In fact, 50% of all aluminum used is post-consumer recycled. We asked our guests why aluminum is superior to even cartoned water, does water have a taste, and what was their journey and motivation to start this venture. To learn the answers these and other questions listen to the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.#mindfulbusinessespodcast#potablewater#cleanwater#recycledaluminum#aluminum#Water #aluminumbottlehttps://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/https://drinkopenwater.com/
Friendship and support is what creates a community and a sense of belonging. That is exactly what our guest Priyasha Shah, Founder of Sakhya wanted to create amongst the women who love South Asian fashion and styles. She started the platform Sakhya where sellers could post their pre-loved saris, salwar kameez, lenghas to offer it to buyers who would love to own a piece of South Asian fashion. These outfits and saris woven with the memories, may it be a shopping trip with cousins in India or a special purchase for a wedding or Diwali - give the sellers a way to share that joy and warmth with the buyers in the Sakhya community. Sakhya’s mantra is “shop what you love, sell what you don't - but always keep it in rotation” From guidance on how to photograph the item to pricing strategies - Priyasha and the Sakhya team has created a sustainable community around South Asian fashion. These fashion articles are exquisitely designed with embroidery, in vibrant colors and made with unique fabrics are given a new life and maybe …glam to the wearer. Sakhya is A South Asian Fashion Resale platform for truly sustainable and accessible South Asian clothing. A community where anyone can recreate their South Asian wardrobes with ease and trust. Learn more about this sustainable business on this episode of Mindful Businesses.https://shopsakhya.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#sustainablefashion #desifashion #desis #saris #lengha #prelovedfashion #diwali #mindfulbusinesses #sakhya #southasian
In this episode we chat with Ben Wan, Principal at RODE Architects about the roles architects can play in reducing the impact of climate change on our planet. Given that over 40% of all energy produced is used to run the buildings, how can architects reduce the energy consumption of these structures is the question we asked Ben. One of the goals is to use sustainable materials, may they be ones made out of recycled materials, easily recyclable, or far more durable than conventional products. We talked in detail about the Brucewood homes, a series of three single-family homes in West Roxbury, nestled into a rocky hillside overlooking the V.F.W. Parkway, - Boston’s first internationally certified Passive Houses and designed by RODE Architects. Massing, orientation and a compact design are the starting points of designing an energy efficient home. The Brucewood homes are airtight and have heavily-insulated shells with the facade R values of 40 with roof R Values of 60 - thus significantly reducing energy usage for heating and cooling all year round.
Fair and just transition is crucial. Sustainable solutions and in this context housing needs to be accessible. RODE Architects, a mission driven firm is now developing 106 units of family-oriented housing in their 52 New Street Project, that plans to be Passive House certified. Learn more in the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.
https://www.rodearchitects.com/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
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Most consumers are aware of the numbering 1 to 7, embedded in the recycle symbol under plastic items and they diligently put them in recycling bins. The numbers denote the type of plastic so that they may be recycled appropriately. The truth of the matter is that only the number 1 and 2 are easily recyclable and rest end up in the landfills. We ask our guest Donald Thomson, Founder and CEO OF CRDC Global (Center for Regenerative Design Collaboration) what happens to the numbers 3 to 7 and how they can be successfully recycled. In this episode, Donald shares how CRDC started as a simple program “Bag that Builds” that encouraged school children to collect the plastics from their homes to a now patented technology that offers a global solution. Their expertise lay in construction projects and the realization that the construction industry contributes around 38% of the CO2 emissions led them on the mission to reduce CO2 emissions of their projects. Their patented technology enables them to use the plastics number 3 to 7 to manufacture s lightweight yet durable aggregate to be added cement- that means they can utilize all kinds of plastics even multi - layer plastics. CRDC is a mindful company that employs REAP (Recover - Enrich - Appreciate - Prosper) - an approach that is based on a collaborative net-zero circular economy model that views the plastic and construction industries as a connected system to create inter-relationships between these industries where the plastic industry waste stream becomes the raw material and value stream for the construction and building industry. Learn about this fascinating technology and their approach to the market to bring maximum impact to the problem of recycling plastics.https://crdc.globalhttps://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#recyclingplastics#recycling#mindfulbusinesses#CRDC#bagthatbuilds,#circulareconomy#co2emmisions#netzero#construction#sustainablecement
Urban flight in America in the 1960s resulted in downtowns having empty abandoned buildings and structures. The city governments had to eventually demolish these structures and their debris ended up in the landfills. Our guests Michael Gainer and Ian MacDonald of Reuse Action, who live in Buffalo, NY, started thinking about the millions of dollars the demolishings would cost the city and the taxpayers and its impact on the environment. They believed that methodical deconstruction of the structures can create employment and be an economically viable business. They perform deconstructions and salvage floors, windows, doors, trims, kitchen cabinets, light fixtures and any other parts that can be resold, refurbished or transformed. They sell these articles in their store located on the Eastside of Buffalo, NY. Running a financially viable repurposed and salvage business is challenging with regards to understanding what to salvage, the customers wants and how much they are willing to pay. Learn about this truly sustainable business determined to make a difference in their community and the environment.
reuse #salvage #mindfulbusinesses #recycle #environment
https://www.reuseaction.com/ https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Sustainable products are priced out of reach of most Americans. They cost the consumers more due to a variety of reasons - higher costs of inputs and innovation, demand is higher than supply and sometimes…just because.. people are willing to pay more. If we are on this global journey to make our world sustainable we need everyone on board. Our guest on this episode Reid Edgar, Owner of Spot Detergent is committed to making his sustainable products accessible to everyone. His eco - friendly detergent sheets cost 12.5 cents per load comparable with conventional laundry detergents and clean just as well. Spot detergent sheets are made in Sweden with a plant-based formula that is paraben, phosphate and 1-dioxane free. The product has plastic free packaging and since the detergent sheets weigh around 90% less than liquid detergent it reduces their transportation carbon footprint substantially. Their sheets are environmentally-friendly but without the traditional “eco” price markup. With Spot’s unique entry to market strategy by targeting Dollar Stores and large discount stores like TJMaxx and Marshalls their green product will reach consumers who are often left out by sustainable brands. Learn more in the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.
ecofriendly #sustainability #zerowaste #gogreen #climatechange #spotdetrgent #mindfulbusinesses #sustainableliving #sustainableliving #ecofriendlydetergent
https://spotdetergent.com/ https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Today we talk with Ryan McPherson, Chief Sustainability Officer at University of Buffalo. He heads the Climate Action Plan at the university. The University has the goal of climate neutrality by 2030. They plan to achieve this goal by having 10 strategies to achieve it. Strategies such as “Not all electricity is created equal”, “Waste not”, and “putting a price on pollution”. These goals were driven by the availability of sustainable solutions, policy changes and by students demanding immediate action. These are actions for other universities and corporations to emulate. Learn more about these goals will be achieved in our latest episode.
https://www.buffalo.edu/climate-action.html
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
sustainableuniversity #solarfarms #reducefoodwaste #greenelectricity #electrifyingcommute
Today we revisit an episode where we talk with co-founders Sujata and Taniya (Su and Ta) who decided to quit their well-paying jobs and put their hearts and souls into spreading love through traditional hand-woven sarees. They have a family of 1400 weavers. The process of weaving every saree is a celebration of centuries of tradition and the authenticity of Indian arts. Suta strives to preserve the art of generational craftsman, guaranteeing them a living wage and bringing their products to the urban markets. Learn about their journey in this episode.
“The firsts in our lives have a special place in our life experience. May it be the first job, first business venture, first car and even your first podcast episode. Today we wanted to re-air on the 4 year anniversary, our first episode Palm Straw. It was a startup in 2019 which my mentor at that time Dora Lutz I suggest that I reach out to. This startup with such a simple sustainable idea and product did not make it through the pandemic, but nevertheless valuable sustainable lessons were learnt and shared in this early episode.” ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The environmentally conscious you doesn't want to use plastic straws, but paper straws dissolve in your drinks. Here is the answer for you: Palm Straws! In this episode we talk to Palm Straw co-founder Dave Mash about their bio-degradable plant-based straws.
As formula companies’ productions are limping back to normal, after the recall, a question some people ask is why can't mother "just" switch to breastfeeding their infants. As most mothers know that it is not that easy to make that switch. Breastfeeding a baby can be hard - it needs support from the family, spouse, pediatrician and most importantly the medical community. Breast milk can be stored up to four days in the refrigerator giving the mothers some flexibility to return to work or even sometimes even share some of their milk with other mothers. This breast milk needs to be stored in a safe, convenient, and long-use product. Our guest in this episode, Nickey Ramsey, Founder & CEO of Junobie does just that, empowering women with a convenient pouch made of silicon. Learn more in this episode of Mindful Businesses.
https://www.junobie.com/ https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
The practice of manufacturing for planned obsolescence seems to be what most manufacturers in the present time follow. This means to make an item that will break down sooner than their earlier versions, lack of how-to-fix information or tutorials and even make it impossible to be repaired. The direct impact of such a philosophy increases the bottom line of the business at the cost of increasing e-waste and its impact on our planet. There needs to be a movement from a linear economy in which we take, make and waste to a circular economy. Complete circularity may be hard to achieve in all instances, repairing an item is an alternative that can reduce what ends up in the landfills. “Repair is such a low hanging fruit” says our guest Darren Cotton, Executive Director of The Tool Library.
The Tool Library is an all-volunteer nonprofit tool-lending library based on the mantra that cost shouldn’t be a barrier to fix up one’s home, grow food, or improve the community. Tools can range anywhere from hammers, screwdrivers, and shovels to power drills, circular saws, and sanders. Individuals and businesses can donate tools to the program which will then be circulated throughout the neighborhood for a small annual membership fee.Thus, people looking for an alternative to buying expensive tools that get little use now have this resource at their disposal. In addition, The Tool Library collaborates with the City of Buffalo to host once a month Repair Cafe, where volunteers help individuals repair an item that would have otherwise ended in the landfill. Learn more about this impactful non - profit organization in this episode.
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https://thetoollibrary.org/ https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Repairing an item is an achievable and straightforward path to achieve sustainability goals. This "concept" is becoming more and more apparent with Right to Repair legislations being passed as laws in some states in the US and countries worldwide. In January 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Digital Fair Repair Act, a law that will increase the consumers ability to repair some electronics and reduce the e-wastes that end up in the landfills. In this context, we wanted to share an episode that we had aired earlier to showcase this business that in their CEO Gordon Smith's words "we don't manufacture - we re-manufacture." Learn more in this episode.
We talked with Sagent's CEO Gordon Smith about how Sagent works to reduce the environmental impact by lowering emissions, pollution, and energy investment. They do it a) by repairing and refurbishing networks they extend the useful equipment life with telecom repair services b) by maintaining an industry-leading network test, repair, and maintenance facility. They have expert technicians who perform network repair services, system-level testing and component-level repairs and extend the life of telecom equipment. They repair more than 850,000 devices annually, across 100,000 SKUs, from over 100 manufacturers - all with a 96% yield rate and standard repair cycle time of two weeks.
They deliver equipment repair services that give insight into your network to help reduce avoidable repairs. For each repair, they capture and report on the root cause of each failure and can pinpoint the means to avoid it in the future. Their software developed specifically for network operators tracks failure data at both macro and micro levels. It monitors data failure trends by geography, site location, technician responsibility, OEM platform and specific part numbers to deliver actionable data to help prevent future incidents. Rather than recycle network assets, Sagent Insights can develop a systematic program to reuse network assets and delay additions to the e-waste stream, by recycling and disposing of components only after they have achieved maximum service life. Learn more in this episode of Mindful Businesses.
https://sagent.net/ https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
digitalfairrepairact #ewaste #landfill #mindfulbusinesses #repairability #righttorepair #sagent
"No Mow May..." in Buffalo, NY was an cooperative effort by neighbors, municipalities, and counties to stop residents from mowing their lawns for month to help pollinators such as bees survive and help their population grow. Pollinators are an integral part of the global food supply. This episode delves into how the bee population has been affected by commercial and large scale farming practices. This summer, as we work in our gardens and pesky bee buzzes around you, if possible, take a pause to think about the role they play in our environment and food supply. Learn more about bees in this episode.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Next time we grab a packet of honey to add to our tea - we should stop and think how a commodity so valuable and nutritionally dense is given for free. According to Douglas Raggio, founder of Pass The Honey, 70% of all honey is not pure. There is rampant fraud and honey is adulterated by blending with sugar syrups or many other methods of adulteration. In order to address this level of fraud in the industry, Pass the Honey establishes trusting partnerships directly with beekeeper suppliers so we know how our honeycomb was produced and have full traceability and transparency from beekeeper to consumer.Fake honey, deceives consumers and floods markets with a cheap product, driving honey prices so low beekeepers are having a hard time staying in business. The beekeepers have had to find alternate sources of livelihood, such as pollination services, that require them to travel far and wide to help farmers pollinate their crops. This further causes stress to the bees and they lose 45% of their bee population every year because of this movement. Why do the farmers require this service? Learn more about this and the importance of bees in our food systems in this episode of Mindful Businesses.https://passthehoney.com/pages/about-ushttps://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#regenerativeagriculture#beekeeping#sustainbleagriculture#passthehoney#nomowmay
With summer fast approaching, sipping a glass of wine, we wondered about the practices of vineyards - a highly competitive and commercialized industry. Around the same time we were pitched for an interview by Ehlers Estate for an interview with their General Manager and Winemaker. In our conversation with several of the mindful business leaders, we sought insights into the economics of running a sustainable and profitable business. The strategies that they use to achieve sustainable goals and still be profitable.In this episode we talk with Laura Díaz Muñoz, Winemaker and GM of Ehlers Estate about her journey from a food scientist to a winemaker and a sustainable one at that. Ehlers is one of the oldest wineries in North America established in 1886 by a German immigrant Bernard Ehlers. Ehlers Estate wines are certified organic in 2009, but that was not enough for them, they went on to practice regenerative farming. Using nature to help solve nature's problems with minimal or no intervention. Interventions whether it be in the yeast or sulphurs in their heritage wine, use of fungicide or pesticides. They employ innovative techniques to reduce water consumption during irrigation and reuse the water used in the wine making process. In addition, with the use of technology, such as sensors in the soil they can determine accurately how much to irrigate the vines, further conserving water, a scarce resource. In this enjoyable conversation with Laura Díaz Muñoz, her passion for saving the heritage vines and artistically creating wine blends that bring out the flavor and aroma of each fruit in the blend. But for me, the cherry on the top of this business is that this for - profit business is part of the charitable trust Leducq Foundation - an international grant making organization to support research in cardiovascular disease and stroke. Learn more about this mindful business on this episode of Mindful Business.https://www.ehlersestate.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#sustainablewines #sustainablefarming #wines #wineplague #deliucqfoundation #delucq #mindfulbusinesses #ehlersestate
When Jodi Bakst and Cor Rademaker, co - founders of Circular Design Consultants had the opportunity to develop oa piece of land in North Carolina, they had the vision to make it North Carolina’s first net-zero neighborhood. They put this vision to pen and paper to create Array Sustainable Design and bring to market a twelve lot neighborhood on 60 acres, in picturesque Orange County, North Carolina. In this episode they share how their homes are energy efficient and the challenges that they faced in creating this project. They sell individual lots to buyers who can build custom homes abiding by the neighborhood’s covenants. They believe developments like their net-zero neighborhoods will be the neighborhood of the future and they are excited to be the first of its kind in North Carolina. Listen to this lively and passionate couple on this episode of Mindful Businesses.Mentions:Array Sustainable LivingGAF EnergyTimberline SolarEric Corey Freed#netzero, #mindfulbusinesses, #solar, #GAF, #sustainabledesign, #aaraylivinghttps://arraysustainableliving.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
We talk with Shameek Ghosh, co-founder of Trustrace a platform that brings traceability and transparency to the fashion brands such as #Adidas, #Decathalon, and #FjällRaven. It all started when one of his coworkers/friend decided to return to India from Sweden to take over his ancestral property. His friend was dismayed at the destruction that the fashion industry had caused to the lands owned by his family for three generations in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, India. When they started to talk to leading sustainable brands in Sweden to see if they collaborate with factories in India, they were hesitant to work with companies 1000s of miles away as they wouldn’t be able to control the products and quality. After talking to these brands they developed a B2B SaaS platform that empowers fashion and textile brands to fully understand and take responsibility for the social and environmental impact of their supply chains. The company is the one-stop platform for brands aiming to solve major challenges of sustainability, compliance, and transparency in the supply chains. They track transactions and scope certificates in a standardized, digital format using an AI-driven platform. Brands can get granular visibility into the chain of custody and gather evidence needed to meet compliance requirements. And furthermore they can see the status of the materials and goods as they move through the supply chain. Learn more about this fascinating AI driven platform on this episode of Mindful Businesses.https://trustrace.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#Mindfulbusinesses #Saas #Traceability #trustrace #supplychain
Receiving a gift makes people happy, incentivizes and motivates employees, and builds corporate morale. Businesses give gifts for various reasons - a promotion, to say thank you, reaching a milestone or even”just because”. The businesses try their level best to match the gift to the employees tastes. That can be a daunting task for the gifter. Loop and Tie aims at making corporate gifting intentional, sustainable and an opt-in gift experience. They have observed that with the opt-in gifting, the receiver can choose the gift of their liking. It helps businesses send unique, elevated gifts that help your brand stand out — and make a difference doing it. Loop and Tie are the first and only carbon regenerative gifting platform. For every gift shipped, through their land restoration and regenerative agriculture initiatives make a net positive carbon impact. Their gifts are thoughtfully sourced from independent creators, makers, and artisans. They even have a gift-it-forward capabilities that allow the receiver to support charities, non-profits, or causes that matter most to them. Learn more about giving sustainable from the Founder and CEO of Loop and Tie, Sara Rodell on the latest episode of Mindful Businesses.https://www.loopandtie.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#sustainablegifting, #mindfulbusinesses, #loopandtie, #Carbonpositive, #corporategifting, #gifting #employeemorale
The cement industry puts out 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions, but having said that, it is very durable and technically made with natural materials. As we go along this journey to build a sustainable home, we look into options to reduce the consumption of cement and therefore concrete in our home. We delve into the techniques to build a strong and dry foundation or basement that can withstand the upward ground water pressure and the thrust from the ground on the side walls with minimal cement consumption. A sustainable house begins with a good system to envelop the home to minimize heat loss and energy consumption. Besides insulation and construction techniques we look to windows and how they can help us in creating a tightly sealed home. A well-designed and thought-through window placement design can also help us with solar gain and create desired airflows in the home reducing costs of heating and cooling the home. What are the factors to consider when selecting a foundation or window technology? We learn more from our expert Eric Corey Freed, LEED Fellow Principal, Director of Sustainability at Cannon Design on this episode of Mindful Businesses.https://www.cannondesign.com/people/eric-corey-freedhttps://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#sustainablehome #oursustainablehome #mindfulbusinesses #U-Values #Rvalues #superiorwalls #triplepanewindows #tiltandturn #cementindustry #greenhome
Carbon cycle occurs naturally in nature during photosynthesis. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen and when animals consume the plants they release the carbon dioxide that is again absorbed by the plants. Human activities put out more carbon than nature can handle. We have to use every possible way to absorb this excess carbon from the atmosphere. Soil is an excellent source to capture and sequester carbon. In this episode we talk with the son of a generational farmer, Robin Salouks of eAgronom, who uses technology to provide solutions that encourage farmers to operate smarter and sustainably. eAgronom helps farmers monitor and verify sustainable practices, generate carbon credits, increase agricultural efficiency, and gain better access to financing in the future. They use data and technology to inform the farmers about the soil conditions and help them get financing to adopt sustainable farming practices. They then help the farmers sell their carbon credits in the carbon market thus helping them off set some of the costs of changing to sustainable farming. Learn more about this win-win solution from the founder and CEO of Eagronom Robin Salouks.https://www.eagronom.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#carboncapture#sustainablefarming#Carboncredit#humous#carbonfarming#Carbonsequestration#mindfulbusinessespodcast#eagronom
Today we revisit a conversation with FabScrap about the textile waste that ends up in landfills and how they try to reduce this phenomenon.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Majority of the conversation around fashion waste revolves around finished products that end up in the landfill. But around 12 % that is around 6.3 million tonnes per year is sent by brands to the landfill in the design and development stage. These would be sample booklets with swatches and unused fabric rolls and prior to Fabscrap they ended up in the landfill. We talk with Jessica Schreiber CEO and founder of FabScrap, a non-profit whose 80% of earned income comes from service fees and fabric sales. They receive service fees from brands to Fabscrap to pick up their textile waste, similar to when they pay for recycling or trash pickup. They do this with an army of volunteers, almost 100 unique ones per month and their staff in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Their staff take extra precautions to assure brands that their copyrighted materials are shredded and don’t reenter the market. Fabscrap also sells the fabrics to quilters, sewing enthusiasts, fashion students and assuring nothing that is picked up by Fabscrap goes to the landfill. With the long-term goal to influence habit and policy they create impact reports that they share back with their brands - how much and what fabric they picked and how was it sorted and if reused or not. Jessica believes that this makes the brands internalize the cost of their waste and may help them reevaluate and optimize their design and planning process. Learn more about this first of its kind initiative and organization on this episode of Mindful businesses. #textilewaste#mindfulbusinesses#sustainablefashion#fabricwaste#fabscrap#sustainablefashion
Energy systems need to decarbonise to prevent climate change. There are many solutions to generate energy without using fossil-fuels, but renewable sources of energy are intermittent, depending on how long the sun shines, number of windy days per week - leading to a mismatch between supply and consumer demand. Energy needs to be stored to match the demand with the supply. Presently energy produced is stored in hydroelectric pumps by pumping it up and releasing it as demanded. RheEnergise is bringing innovation to pumped energy storage, with a solution called High-Density Hydro®. They use a fluid with 2.5x the density of water, that means they can generate 2.5 times the energy generated by water and they can be installed on small hills instead of mountains. This opens up a number of feasible locations to store this energy - sites where you are not dependent on rainfall or a water source and hills instead of mountains. Learn more of this fascinating invention that will help us decarbonize energy production from Stephen Crosher, CEO of RheEnergise.#energystorage, #decarbonising, #sustainablenergy, #renewableenergy, #mindfulbusinessseshttps://www.rheenergise.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Oil spills in our world where engines are omnipresent are almost inevitable. Larger accidental spills on land and water have catastrophic effects on the environment, plant and animal life. Ironically some of the industrial spill clean-up solutions often used may not always be eco-friendly. SaveSorb is a totally natural, sustainable plant material. Using sphagnum peat moss in a proprietary method, it is dried, sieved, blended and pH balanced to create the most effective absorbent of hydrocarbons (oil based compounds) and chemicals available. SaveSorb absorbs almost all hydrocarbons, chemicals and their vapors. It encapsulates them within its molecular structure and will not leach contaminants into the environment, even under pressure SaveSorb is very safe to handle. In its natural state our product partially absorbs the fumes, making it useful for cleaning up small spills containing flammable liquids.SaveSorb is available as a loose product in bags and in a variety of manufactured products from Spill Kits, absorbent mats and socks. Listen to the world renown jockey turned entrepreneur who seized the opportunity when he was introduced to this “miracle-product”. https://savesorb.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#oilspill #sustainablesolutions #ecofriiendly #ecofriiendlycleanup #sphagnumpeatmoss #mindfulbusinesses #savesorb
As we sip our daily cup of tea, we may wonder how and where it was grown and its impact on our planet. Tea production impacts our planet and people on several layers. The farming practices employed, wages paid, living conditions of the workers and its overall impact on our planet. In 2006, Numi Organic Teas was one of the founding (amongst 30 businesses) to be certified as a B corp. They had been mindful of how and from whom they source their organic teas, procuring them from Fair Trade and Verified Labor farms, but they knew they had to do more. The realization that there can be no tea without water - clean drinking water, made the brother and sister team, Ahmed Rahim and Reem Hassani, co-founders of Numi Organic Tea introspect the purpose of their company.They launched “Together For H2OPE” - a nonprofit program bringing clean, safe drinking water to tea farming communities around the world. The journey from farm to cup requires raw materials, packaging, transportation and water for steeping. They established a “Climate Action Plan” with a detailed, measurable process to reduce and offset the impact of Numi Organic Teas on the planet. Climate action can’t wait. Numi is committed to giving you the tools to fight climate change, starting with our Carbon Footprint Label. In this episode we have Reem Hassani, who shares the vision and mission of Numi Organic Teas. Listen and learn.https://numitea.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#tea #tealover #floraltea #teas #fairtrade #sustainablefarming #mindfulnusinesses #numitea
As a way of welcoming Spring let's learn about composting, specially curbside composting. The result - a beautiful rich soil ready for your spring planting. Let's hear more in this episode._________________________________________________________________________Black Earth Compost was founded in January 2011, in Gloucester, MA. Originally a one man, one truck, Cape Ann company, it has steadily grown to become the leading full-service compost company in New England. With over 25 trucks, they are dedicated to collecting food scraps from residents, schools, supermarkets, colleges, and more, all across eastern MA and RI. They are also the only vertically integrated company that composts the material too, returning it to customers and selling it in garden centers across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. They are your one-stop-shop for all your organic waste collection or garden soil needs.In this episode, we talk with Conor Miller, Partner, CEO of Black Earth Composting as he shares his journey and how the business had to pivot during the pandemic to moving from commercial pick-ups to residential pick-ups and compost delivery. Learn more in this episode.#garden #eco friendly #sustainability #greenliving #sustainablecooking #soil #dirt #rhodeisland #foodwaste×#newengland #composting #compost #gardening #zero waste #sustainable #planting #gloucestermassachussetts #organicwaste×
The risk assessments that governments and corporations make to encourage marginalized to uplift communities, have themselves become a hurdle to the assistance that they wish to provide. Honnold foundations wishes to fill that gap by partnering closely with nonprofits in a space where their needs are too small for governments and not profitable enough for businesses. The Honnold Foundation was founded by professional rock climber Alex Honnold in 2012. After a rock climbing expedition around the world, he decided to focus his giving on solar energy - as it was so tangible. They engage and collaborate with these communities to expand equitable solar access. The Honnold Foundation is a proud partner with community-based organizations all over the world who are using solar energy to improve lives and reduce environmental impact. They partner with communities in Africa, Americas, Asia and in th eNative AMerican communities in North America. Native Renewables empowers Native American families to achieve energy independence by growing renewable energy capacity and affordable access to off-grid power. To learn more about this truly mindful and giving philanthropy listen to Emily Teitsworth, Executive Director of Honnold foundation, in our latest episode.https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com #solarenergy #marginalizedcommunities #mindfulbusinesses #honnoldfoundation
We just heard that “the Delhi High Court has granted an injunction in favor of Barefoot College restraining Barefoot College International (BCI) from using “Barefoot College” (and the two-feet logo) for any purpose whatsoever. More specifically, the Court has restrained BCI from continued use of the domain name www.barefootcollege.org. Further, the Court has also forbidden BCI from using “Barefoot College” as part of their company name.” We are happy for our guests who feel vindicated. On this occasion, we would like to re-air this very thought provoking and powerful episode.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the winter of 2012, I had the good fortune of visiting Barefoot College Tilonia - located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that visit was indeed life-transforming. The Barefoot College founded by Mr. Bunker Roy in 1972, is a community-based grassroots organization working to make marginalized communities sustainable and self-sufficient. He believes in the Gandhian philosophy that knowledge, skills and wisdom found in the villages should be used for their own development.Though he went to the prestigious Doon School and St. Stephens College, he realized the wealth of wisdom in rural India (Bharath) needs to be harnessed and showcased.. The Barefoot College's one program in particular - Solar Mamas is filled with inspiring stories. Of women from around the globe who come to an unfamiliar country, where they don't understand the language, culture or food. These women come to become solar engineers. They come as mothers and grandmothers, and return back as tigers electrifying their villages with solar lamps. How do these illiterate women who have never left their villages become solar engineers? Listen to learn more in our latest episode.https://www.barefootcollegetilonia.org/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#barefootcollegetilonia, #ruralpower, #culturalpreservation, #rajasthan, #tilonia, #Barefoot, #BarefootCollege, #barefootcollegetilonia,www.instagram.com/mindful_businesses_podcastwww.facebook.com/Mindfulbusinesses
Most US elementary school students learn about photosynthesis in their science class. The process is very simple - chlorophyll in the leaves and green stems absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into the atmosphere. It is nature's elegant way of capturing carbon dioxide. Carbon cycle is where humans and human activities put out carbon dioxide and processes such as photosynthesis absorb it. But when the NET carbon dioxide into the atmosphere exceeds what is absorbed - that to the extent of 30 - 50 gigatons of carbon dioxide, then we have a problem on our hands. Observing and learning from nature our guests Beth McDaniel, President and Dr. Steve McDaniel, CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of Reactive Surfaces try to replicate the carbon capture process in nature in their solution. They have created coatings that can be applied to surfaces to capture carbon - just like nature does it with leaves and stems. Using polymeric materials thinly spread on a surface, adhere to the surface and then cured. These surfaces when exposed to sunlight, will photosynthesise, capturing and fixing carbon, using the photosynthetic process to carbohydrate. To learn more about this truly fascinating solution listen to our latest episode of Mindful Businesses.Mentions:Embassy Row Project - Envirotech Pre - acceleratorXprizeMusk Foundation#climatechange #carboncapture #carbonsequestration #mindfulbusinesses #reactivesurfaces #photosythesis #learnfromnature #sustainablematerialshttps://reactivesurfaces.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
We have this love-hate relationship with plastic. It is versatile, durable, light-weight and used in a multitude of applications. How do we recover and give this plastic a second life or third life? Today we have with us Doug Woodring, Founder and Managing Director of the Ocean Recovery Alliance - Bringing Creative Surprise to Environmental Engagement. Ocean Recovery Alliance is focused on entrepreneuring programs to reduce plastic pollution, both on land and water, by creating strategic solutions for governments, industry and communities which lead to long-term, hands-on business practices that engage. They purposefully design programs to educate, build awareness and provide solutions which inspire positive societal change at the community, national and international levels. We learn more about their initiatives such as their global app that crowd sources and alerts authorities about trash on land along waterways. They have worked with cosmetic companies such as LUSH to help them look at their products and how they can reduce the plastic - for instance by eliminating glitter from all their products. Learn more of such efforts by the non-profit Ocean Recovery Project on this episode.Mentions:Ricron PanelsLush Cosmeticshttps://www.oceanrecov.org/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
We decided to re-air this episode on Valentine's Day. A gift that keeps giving - maybe order a unique piece of jewelry for someone you care.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________This episode has two parts - in part one, we talk with Amy Peterson, the co-founder of Rebel Nell about her inspiration and motivation to start Rebel Nell. While living next to a homeless shelter in Detroit, MI, she got to learn up-close the women who lived there and their challenges. One day out on a jog she finds a piece of graffiti that she envisioned could be repurposed into meaningful wearable art. A fusion of these two ideas gave birth to Rebel Nell. Amy with her co-founder Diana Roginson started Rebel Nell in 2013 with the mission to provide employment, equitable opportunity, and wraparound support for women with barriers to employment. They seek to embolden women, to embrace their infinite strength, and to define their own future.They partner with local organizations to seek out women who have struggled to find and retain employment. Their goal is to help the women move from a life of dependence to one of self-reliance, overcoming barriers to employment through the fruits of their own labor. Rebel Nell’s product line starts with repurposing graffiti, after it has fallen off the walls.These are women who when hired have no background in jewelry become creative designers who make incredibly intricate and unique piece each one more beautiful than the next. In the part two we chat with one such woman - Ethel Rucker, Production Lead at Rebel Nell.In addition to on-the-job training and guidance on how to make jewelry, Rebel Nell also provides them with life management, financial training and business education to make sure they have the confidence and knowledge that will enable them to leave homelessness/dependence behind permanently and move forward as strong independent women. Listen to this powerful story in this episode.https://www.rebelnell.com/To hire Ethel Rucker for your next photoshoot contact her via her website https://harteclectic.com/ https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
In honor of the 60th birthday of one of the world's top economists we re-air episode of Mindful Businesses podcast, featuring Raghuram Rajan. He shares his thoughts on balancing economic growth with social responsibility. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights from a leader in the field._________________________________________________________________________________The Nobel prize winning economist Dr. Milton Friedman, said the business of a business is making money - but within the acceptable social norms. Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth School and he was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, looks into how “social norms” have changed and how the businesses need to adapt to adopt sustainable practices. May it be their impact on the planet, how they treat their employees and or make their products. He talks about how there needs to be regulations to guide and help the corporations to achieve these goals.Further, with countries setting goals for netzero, how can we actually have a plan that is accountable and works. Dr. Rajan proposes a global incentive scheme to reduce carbon emissions. On April 19th, 2022 he presented this solution to The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action that required countries who exceed the per capita global country average for carbon emissions, estimated at 5 tons, will pay to a global carbon incentive fund. He calls this payment Global Carbon Incentives (GCI). He further explains - “this annual payment would be calculated by multiplying the excess emissions per capita by the country’s population and a dollar amount called the Global Carbon Incentive. So if the country’s population is 30 million, its per capita emission in 17 tons, and the GCI is set at $10, it would pay $30 million(17-5)10= $3.6 billion. Countries below the global per capita average would receive a payout commensurate with their “under-emission”.This fund could be managed by a quasi government agency like the World Bank. Mindful Businesses is one of the first media outlets to share Dr. Rajan’s solution. Listen to it in our latest episode.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghuram_Rajanhttps://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/Mentions:Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.Angad Daryani - Founder - PraanRam Palaniappan - Founder of Earninwww.instagram.com/mindful_businesses_podcastwww.facebook.com/Mindfulbusinesses#raghuramrajan, #globalcarbonincentive, #carbonemmissions, #greenhousegases, #SDGs
Rainforests are the earth’s lungs and forests are a huge part of the solution to climate change. But on the other hand, wood is considered a sustainable and renewable raw material. How is that so? We ask these questions to Jonathan Orpin, the Founder of Pioneer Millworks, a company truly focused on the triple bottom line. I visited their plant in Farmington, NY to see firsthand how they work as a team. In these tumultuous times of mass layoffs, we have to introspect as to what makes a business successful. Pioneer Millworks operates on a simple belief that people, planet, and profit work to ensure a better future - Pioneer Millworks operates on the triple bottom line. In terms of the products they carry - they reclaim wood from abandoned or structures about to be torn down and give them a new life by creating marketable products. On average we process 1,062,000 board feet of reclaimed wood yearly—by reclaiming and reusing, has been saved from ending up in landfills. The new wood is harvested sustainably with minimal impact on the forests and the local communities. Pioneer Millworks offers a variety of sustainable, fairly priced options for consumers seeking a sustainable wood source. One especially fascinating product is Shou Sugi Ban, that uses the Japanese age-old technique of scorching wood. This technique makes the wood resist rot and insects in a sustainable manner and most of the options last for decade without requiring refinishing.On the people front, Jonathan talks about how a well-thought-out succession plan is part of good corporate governance. With that in mind, they are currently a 30% employee-owned company (an ESOP) working toward being 100% employee-owned. Learn more in this episode of Mindful Business, about how a company can focus on people and the planet, and still be prosperous.#sustainableforests, #reclaimedwood, #ESOP, #minfulbusinesses, #pioneermillworks, #FSCcertfied, #Triplebottomline, #shousugiban, #reclaimedtimber https://pioneermillworks.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/www.instagram.com/mindful_businesses_podcastwww.facebook.com/Mindfulbusinesses
In the winter of 2012, I had the good fortune of visiting Barefoot College Tilonia - located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that visit was indeed life-transforming. The Barefoot College founded by Mr. Bunker Roy in 1972, is a community-based grassroots organization working to make marginalized communities sustainable and self-sufficient. He believes in the Gandhian philosophy that knowledge, skills and wisdom found in the villages should be used for their own development.Though he went to the prestigious Doon School and St. Stephens College, he realized the wealth of wisdom in rural India (Bharath) needs to be harnessed and showcased.. The Barefoot College's one program in particular - Solar Mamas is filled with inspiring stories. Of women from around the globe who come to an unfamiliar country, where they don't understand the language, culture or food. These women come to become solar engineers. They come as mothers and grandmothers, and return back as tigers electrifying their villages with solar lamps. How do these illiterate women who have never left their villages become solar engineers? Listen to learn more in our latest episode.https://www.barefootcollegetilonia.org/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#barefootcollegetilonia, #ruralpower, #culturalpreservation, #rajasthan, #tilonia, #Barefoot, #BarefootCollege, #barefootcollegetilonia,www.instagram.com/mindful_businesses_podcastwww.facebook.com/Mindfulbusinesses
In this episode, we talk with Jackson Wyatt, CEO of CABN - sustainable net-zero homes. We are in an housing crisis where traditionally built homes are slow to built, costly and inefficient. CABN is net-zero housing for everyone to live anywhere, live sustainably, and live connected. In an effort to making net-zero, sustainable homes available to all, CABN uses intelligent building design, fabrication, and assembly to build homes that cost the same as a home build with conventional methods. Using his expertise in manufacturing, shipping, and sustainability, Jackson founded CABN. Working with a team of industry experts, he developed a technology to offer affordable and sustainably-built off-grid housing that can be assembled anywhere, even in difficult-to-construct locations.CABN's patent-pending Energy Informed Design (EID) process is one of the elements that excite him the most. EID, plus integrated renewable energy, mechanical systems, innovative materials, and building techniques, create a home that is truly the means to rapid, attainable and sustainable housing for anyone, anywhere.In addition CABN Foundation, a non-profit organization, is committed accessible and affordable housing. It partners with municipalities and developers to bring affordable housing to to remote, low-income and indigenous communities. Learn more about this passionate social entrepreneur in this episode.https://cabn.co/https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#oursustainablehome, #mindfulkbusinesses, #sustainablebuilding, #netzerobuilding, #passivesolargain #affordablehousing #canada
What is a passive house? Is it economically feasible? Today we ask those questions of Matt Bowers of Rochester Passive House Consulting, a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority(NYSERDA) certified Passive House consultant. He gives us lucid and in-depth insights into how to build a passive house or at least an aspirational passive house. He recommends to start with a very tight envelope around the house. This not only reduces energy consumption but it increases durability. Along with this tightly sealed home, it is important to have ventilation to prevent moisture buildup and mold. Passive house principles focus on overall comfort level of a building - home, office or retail space. One of the passive house principles is that there shouldn’t be more than 6 degrees fahrenheit difference between different surfaces. Not only should the temperature be comfortable, it also aspires to have a very quiet home and good indoor air quality. This seemingly complex subject is simplified by Matt in this episode of Mindful Businesses. Take a listen. #passivehouse, #mindfubusinesseses #oursustainablehome, #ventilators #solarpanels #energyefficiency
An important part of a sustainable lifestyle is developing sustainable habits - from brushing your teeth to the food you eat._______________________________________________________________________________________We talk to Patrick Graham, CEO of Unpaste - zero-waste toothpaste. Unpaste is disrupting the toothpaste market with it's Altoids like tablets. It gently polishes your teeth leaving fewer places for bacteria to attach and reducing the formation of plaque and tartar. It is manufactured sustainably with a minimalistic philosophy. Listen more from Patrick.
Carbon is as Carbon does. In this episode let us find out how Carbon Dioxide residue from manufacturing processes can be utilized positively._______________________________________________________________________Each year, industries such as Waste-to-Energy, Cement and Biomass for power generation, send millions of tonnes of thermal residues to landfill. At the same time, these thermal processes produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere. We talk with Maarten Van Roon, Chief Commercial Officer of Carbon8 Systems. Carbon8 Systems is the result of hard work and persistence of researchers - Dr Paula Carey and Prof. Colin Hills. Carbon8 Systems is the inventor and owner of a chemical process that treats industrial residues, including hazardous waste, using CO2 captured directly from flue gas to transform them into valuable low-carbon products. Through its innovation in engineering, has developed an on-site containerized solution that operates at industrial sites. Each CO₂ntainer can treat up to 12,000 tonnes of input residue material annually. The innovation views CO₂ and landfill destined residues as resource – ingredients, to engineer valuable, low-carbon products. Listen to learn more.https://c8s.co.uk/https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/** Subscribe to our podcast to learn about our latest episodes
The materials used to make a product is as important for sustainability as the practices around it. In this series, we discuss and discover various sustainable materials that have been developed. These materials could later be used in place of their more harmful and commonly used counter parts. Today we re-air our conversation with Susmith Susheel and Zuzana Gombosova from Malai.__________________________________________________________________________Malai is a newly developed bio-composite material based on Bacterial Cellulose is grown on water from mature coconuts and natural fibers from the banana stem, hemp, and sisal. A duo of designers and material researchers Zuzana Gombosova and Susmith Susheel have for the last 2 years have been based in Kerala where they continue building a pilot manufacturing unit and working on improving material properties and manufacturing processes. The essence of Malai is to find beauty in all natural and design materials that can come from nature and safely return to it.
A very important aspect to building a sustainable home is how we source our energy. In this episode we had spoken to Robert Gerber who talks about how through wind energy we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.____________________________________________________________We talk with Robert Gerber, of Icewind USA. Robert, a career diplomat, who had the opportunity to live in Iceland. Icewind is the premier manufacturer of compact vertical axis wind turbines for residential and commercial use. Utilizing durable materials for extremely long lifespans without maintenance and a combination of blades to provide low start-up speeds, lift, and constant power generation, IceWind’s turbines serve as a reliable renewable power solution in any environment.IceWind formed in 2012 out of the necessity to create new, innovative renewable wind energy solutions to reduce global dependency on fossil fuels. Founded in the windy and harsh country of Iceland in the shell of an old coal power plant, CEO and Mechanical Engineer Sæþór Ásgeirsson began designing formidable turbines capable of withstanding hurricanes, blizzards, sleet, snow, hail, and almost any inclement weather conditions. After years of testing, fine-tuning, and improvements, Icewind is finally ready to implement turbines into windy, volatile regions across the entire United States.Their goal is to making wind energy accessible to anyone, from windy neighborhoods to the most remote and harsh regions of the globe. We strive towards becoming a global impact leader, building a brighter future while cutting carbon emissions, one turbine at a time. Listen and learn.
In this series Mindful Businesses - Our Sustainable Home, we will document the process and the choices a homeowner goes through in making their home sustainable. Not all choices are often ideal - it has to be a balance between what are the viable options available in the market, the cost and the associated capability in implementing the sustainable solutions. We reach out to our earlier guest who so eloquently shares his wisdom. Eric Corey Freed - a Leed Fellow, is the Director of Sustainability at Cannon Design, an architecture firm that creates living centered design, gives a step-by-step guide to make a home sustainable. In this episode we talk about the skeleton of the home - what are the construction methods to build a frame, insulation options and energy solutions. Learn more from the one and only one Eric Corey Freed.https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Energy systems need to decarbonise to prevent climate change. There are many solutions to generate energy without using fossil-fuels, but renewable sources of energy are intermittent, depending on how long the sun shines, number of windy days per week - leading to a mismatch between supply and consumer demand. Energy needs to be stored to match the demand with the supply. Presently energy produced is stored in hydroelectric pumps by pumping it up and releasing it as demanded. RheEnergise is bringing innovation to pumped energy storage, with a solution called High-Density Hydro®. They use a fluid with 2.5x the density of water, that means they can generate 2.5 times the energy generated by water and they can be installed on small hills instead of mountains. This opens up a number of feasible locations to store this energy - sites where you are not dependent on rainfall or a water source and hills instead of mountains. Learn more of this fascinating invention that will help us decarbonize energy production from Stephen Crosher, CEO of RheEnergise.#energystorage, #decarbonising, #sustainablenergy, #renewableenergy, #mindfulbusinessseshttps://www.rheenergise.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Laminated film is used in a wide range of flexible packaging applications such as food pharma, personal care products, etc. and then disposed off. The annual production of laminates in India is expected to be over 1 million MT with a market growth rate of 15-20%. These are used in your potato chip bags, candy wrappers and varied every packaging solutions. Waste generated from laminates has no productive value as it is expensive to recycle and thus ends up in landfills. Ricron Panels recovers this non-recyclable waste and uses its proprietary technology to convert this waste into forms of sheets that are used as a building material. It creates a product that is a substitute for plywood and in fact at some ways even better. It is waterproof, rust proof, termite resistant, fire - retardant, heat resistant and best of all it is recyclable. It creates a circular economy. In this episode, we learn about this solution from the co-founder Rahul Choudhary of Ricron Panels where he talks about the process and motivation to found this business.Join us on his journey, especially with our sustainable house underway.Be the first to know about our latest episode by subscribing www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.comhttps://www.ricron.com/
In this episode we talk with Greg Johnson, co-founder and CEO of AquiPor. AquiPor's unique permeable concrete material in conjunction with proprietary engineering technology can transform traditional hard surfaces into stormwater infiltration corridors.The technology utilizes inherently low carbon “cement” and upcycled industrial minerals. This new concrete technology eliminates the need for CO2 emitting cement plants.AquiPor’s permeable concrete technology not only manages stormwater naturally, but our material utilizes an inherently low-carbon cement that requires a fraction of the energy and emits a fraction of the CO2 than that of traditional concrete. By developing solutions such as these, AquiPor is not only addressing climate change, but making our communities more resilient, but also bringing better economics to our physical infrastructure systems. Learn more in this episode of Mindful Businesses.https://aquipor.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
As we are in the process of building and moving into a Sustainable House, here is an interesting episode on building systems that utilize recycled plastic waste.OTHALO™ has developed a patent-pending technology to manufacture building systems using recycled plastic waste. The main market is the developing world where there is a massive need for affordable houses, refugee shelters, temperature-controlled units for storage of food and medicines, camps (hospitals, schools, temporary living) for disasters and emergency situations. Frank Cato Lahti, has been developing and testing the OTHALO™ technology in partnership with SINTEF in Trondheim and the University in Tromsø since 2014. The company was formally established and patent applications filed in 2019. After years of self-funding the development, OTHALO™ is now in a position to scale up the company, supported by UN-Habitat, global thought-leaders, and many engaged partners. Frank joins us from Vard, Norway, a town filled with legends of magic and the Northern Lights. Listen to his fascinating journey in this episode.For more episodes go to our website:https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/podcast-1To learn more about Othalo:https://othalo.com/
How do we know what forest comprises and value them? Presently the forests are inventoried using on the ground foresters data collected by them in 3-5 year cycles.This data collection is costly and often outdated with a large margin of error. Data is also collected by one - off scans, LIDAR and drones can be quickly outdated or has limited accuracy. Relying on conventional methods can lead to large errors in forest valuation, as these methods can be up to 60% inaccurate.In this episode we talk with Rolf Schmitz, Co - CEO of Collective Crunch - AI Leader in Forestry. CollectiveCrunch originated from the idea that we could make a difference by combining climate and geo data with state-of-the-art analytics to develop new insights.Their mission is to change the world’s understanding of forests by providing the most accurate, scalable, timely analytics globally and enabling sustainable forestry and bring transparency to carbon trading markets. As we know Carbon trading essentially involves using carbon reductions in another activity to offset a company’s own emissions. Forestry is a popular and efficient method of capturing carbon and extracting carbon from the atmosphere. By applying the solutions offered by collective crunch to forests, gives companies upto date and accurate insights into their carbon stocks. Their tool Linda Planet makes carbon analytics transparent and provides you with up-to-date carbon inventories, giving corporate carbon investors the tool they need to enable investment on the scale required in order to mitigate the climate risks we are facing. Learn more how AI can be used to help us accurately buy carbon offsets in this episode.https://www.collectivecrunch.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
The question we ask - why was meat production industrialized instead plant-based meat production. Plant based meat is far more eco-friendly that meat production. We speak with Christie Lagally, CEO of Rebellyous Foods, who states that most plant-based meat until now were primarily using processes and methods that were an extension of how we would make them in a kitchen. She got to rethink the chicken nugget from the ground up - and build a better one. This means tackling the insanely hard work of rethinking the way our food is made. Christie, an aerospace engineer and her team of talented engineers are developed the Mock Two - the most advanced plant-based meat manufacturing system on the planet, to make the best tasting nugget. Listen to her passion making a great tasting product along with her compassion for the planet and people. https://www.rebellyous.com/https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/#fortheplanet, #innovativematerials, #mindfulbusinesses, #planbasedfoods, #rebellyousfoods, #sustianablefoodproduction, #vegan, #vegetarian,
With the Nord Stream pipeline leak spewing Methane, a greenhouse gas into the air recently, lets talk about how greenhouse gases are not necessarily bad and can be used to make a positive impact with AIRCARBON. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Our planet needs greenhouse gases (GHGs) that help trap the heat and keep our planet warm and without which, the earth would be a very cold place. There are four major components of greenhouse gases (GHGs) - Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and fluorinated gasses. But why are GHGs a problem? As the GHGs increases it heats up the planet - even 1.5 degrees C increase is enough to cause significant climate change. What if we take the problem (GHGs) and use it in our solution? That is what exactly AIRCARBON does. We talk with Mark Herrema, the CEO and co-founder of Newlight Technologies, who invented a process that by feeding greenhouse gasses to microorganisms found in the ocean, is able to extract the AirCarbon and use it to replace plastic, leather, acetate and other fibers.When made with renewable power, the production of AIRCARBON is a carbon-negative process, capturing or destroying more CO2e than was emitted to make it. Unlike synthetic materials, the AIRCARBON molecule is a molecule made throughout nature, and can be re-consumed by natural microorganisms like leaves or twigs, enabling life to restore itself.Learn more about this fascinating process on this episode of Mindful Businesses. https://www.newlight.com/aircarbon https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
biomaterial #GHGs #sustainablematerial #compostable
An important aspect in building a sustainable home is educating oneself. How do we integrate sustainability in any enterprise -even homes? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ In this episode, we chat with sustainability expert, author, and educator Dr. Robert Sroufe. If you a business owner Dr. Sroufe shares tips on how you can be sustainable. He had the opportunity to spend time in Sweden and he compares how Americans differ in our lifestyle and habits compared to the Swedes. He offers are tips for sustainable living for all. Listen to him now.
As our host Vidhya Iyer is building a Sustainable home we re-air our episode from the 26th of October 2021 where we spoke with Dr. David Stone on a carbon negative building material called Ferrock. Tune into the episode to learn more! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ We talk with Dr. David Stone, inventor of Ferrock - Carbon Negative Building Material. David as a doctoral candidate, at the Arizona State University, researched on how to prevent iron from rusting. David realized that to prevent iron from rusting is especially challenging where iron exposed to humidity and oxygen in our atmosphere. While experimenting with silica fume as a rust-inhibitor, he saw the silica and rust reacting and bubbling. When cooled this compound became a very hard substance and David realized it could be a used as a substitute for cement. What had caused this chemical reaction? Learn more on this episode.
(David disclosed his invention and has received a patent. Ferrock is at the moment seeking investors. David can be reached at davidstone@ironshellmaterials.com)
Whether designing for equity in education, accessible healthcare, inclusive communities, new scientific discoveries or the “next big idea” in business, Cannon Design leverages a full suite of end-to-end services to help organizations and the people and communities they serve to flourish.
Cannon Design does this through a design approach they created called Living-Centered Design. Living-Centered Design realizes that to create a world where people continuously flourish, we must address the complex interdependencies that exist between people, businesses, communities, society and the environment.
We talk with Eric Corey Freed, director of sustainability at Cannon Design, about how a well-designed building can not only have an environmental impact but also increase productivity. How can we achieve that? Listen to Eric on Mindful Businesses podcast.
As the Europe Energy Crisis sets in, causing financial havoc in the continent, here is an interesting episode on using the energy of the Sun. Do give it a listen. _______________________________________ We speak with John Salzinger founder and Seungah Jeong CEO of MPOWERD, about their company mission and passion to give back. In 2012 MPOWERD created Luci, the first inflatable solar light with the goal of making an affordable clean energy product that people could use in any situation. They create sustainable, affordable, and thoughtfully designed products that suit the needs of the many. The belief that everyone deserves access to clean, reliable and affordable energy, no matter how or where they live has driven them to create their sustainable products. For over 3 billion people, everyday tasks are made more difficult (and dangerous) than they should be. Access to clean energy can improve health, create education equality, economic empowerment, all the while combating climate change.
As a B Corp, they use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. As a social enterprise, they reinvest a majority of their gross revenue to achieve sustainability, increase their reach to enable them to fulfill their mission. Aside from the Give Luci Program - which donates lights to their partners - their sustainable business model means that the more they sell here at home, the more affordable they can sell to emerging markets and nonprofits. As a member of the American Sustainable Business Council along with other members like Patagonia, Ben and Jerry's, Greyston Bakery, Avocado Green Mattress, advocate for policy change and inform business owners, policymakers, and the public about the need and opportunities for building a vibrant, broadly prosperous, sustainable economy. Listen to their journey in this episode.
https://mpowerd.com/ https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/podcast-links
Nothing makes one feel more at home than a nice warm bath. Tune in to learn Thermify helps warm homes and heat hot water through data centers. _______________________________________ What if there was a new kind of data center that could directly warm homes and heat hot water, instead of a gas boiler? One that could use the energy used in cloud computing, not once but twice, and also take away the need for the additional energy used for cooling? That is exactly what Thermify's innovation does. Using energy twice. We talk with Garry Felgate Chair & Energy Lead at Thermify. The technology was invented by Adam Pulley in 2009 and Thermify is bringing to the UK market at the price comparable to heating a home with pre-pandemic gas prices. From helping the environment to keeping senior citizens warm to offering relief for low-income families struggling to pay for their heat, to companies looking for environmentally friendly alternatives for their data centers, everyone benefits from joining this green revolution.
Thermify is committed to reducing the pressure on our environment, and on the pockets of our most vulnerable in society. Learn more about this win-win innovation in this episode.
https://thermify.cloud/ https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/podcast-1
As we move into our Sustainable home we need to think clean-air and tiles! Take a listen to this week's episode to know more about Praan. _________________________________________ Countries must meet their sustainability goals and head towards net-zero. These goals cannot be achieved in silos but need cooperation, trust, and partnerships. We bring two such sustainable start-ups which are from adjacent industries with one firm goal – to reduce the carbon emissions and air pollutants from the air. Today we speak with Angad Daryani – CEO and founder of Praan – Clean Air For all, and Tejas Sidnal – founder of Carbon Craft Design – Upcycled Carbon Tiles.
Praan captures the carbon with the world’s most advanced, low-cost, filterless, and artificially intelligent outdoor air purification system. Angad who, ranked amongst the top 3 in his class, dropped out of high school in 9th grade - though he stopped formal education, he continued learning and innovating. His passion for sustainability gave rise to the patented innovation that creates hyperlocal clean air zones within open areas on corporate campuses, schools, universities, hotels, hospitals, residential complexes, malls, industrial areas, and more!
Praan captures the CO2 and carbon particulates that they hand over to Carbon Craft Designs who then creates tiles. Each tile prevents 15 minutes of car pollution - 5 kgs of carbon - dioxide equivalents. Carbon Craft Design strives to be at the intersection of Craft, Design, and Technology with the sole aim of building scalable solutions. Tejas, a practicing architect, talks about the fact that the world builds twelve New Yorks every year. Its impact and his role as an architect and being part of the problem made him uneasy. He decided to do something about it and reduce the impact of new construction projects by developing carbon-neutral building materials. A chance meeting at a conference in 2016 and mutual respect brought Angad Daryanai and Tejas Sidnal to collaborate to bring their solutions to market. Listen to this energetic duos' passion and story in this episode.
https://www.carboncraftdesign.com/ https://www.praan.io/ https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
As we are in the process of building and moving into a Sustainable House, here is an interesting article on using sustainable practices to treat sewage. Take a listen and learn more about the same. _____________________________________________________________ When Tharun Kumar saw the lake where his housing complex empties their sewage burn for 14 hours non-stop, he decided to do something about it. He started asking around and realized that the overburdened municipalities had transferred the sewage treatment responsibilities to the home owners. We chat with Tharun Kumar, founder and CEO of EcoSTP Technologies - an IT professional who wanted to be the person who not just talks about change but brings about change. He did so by starting a mission-driven company that uses existing sustainable practices and knowledge to treat sewage and delivers executable DIY kits to home owners. Using biomimicry, regenerative innovation inspired by nature, the ECOSTP utilizes functional principles and strategies of microorganisms and ecosystems found in a cow’s stomach. Using gravity and anaerobic bacteria ECOSTP it treats sewage without the use of pumps/blowers used in conventional sewage treatment plants to convert sewage water into clear water. Their system overall has lower operational and maintenance costs and its flexible design can be adapted even in existing housing complexes and in new developments.
ECOSTP addresses six UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is selected as a Best Practice case study for United Nations ESCAP SDG Sustainability Asia Pac report. Learn more in this episode.
http://www.ecostp.com/ https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
Today as the senate passes the much awaited climate bill, here is a much awaited sustainable alternative. take a listen to the episode. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Every year, 15 Billion trees are cut down to produce paper, build homes, and make furniture. From this, millions of tons of wood waste are generated annually. A portion of this waste is recovered and sold to downstream markets to make particle board or wood pellets for energy. The remaining sawdust is either burned - contributing to air pollution - or sent to landfill. Though biodegradable, sawdust can be harmful to the environment in large quantities when landfilled. As it decomposes, sawdust releases high concentrations of lignin and fatty acids, which can contaminate water supplies, potentially poisoning wildlife and micro-organisms. We speak with Andrew Jeffery, Co-founder of Forust, by Desktop Metal, uses the power of high-speed, high-resolution 3D printing to give a new life to a discarded resource - creating strong, beautiful and carbon-friendly wood products from wood waste. For each tree saved, we reduce the CO2 footprint by a metric ton over the tree’s life. Learn more in our next episode.
Mentions: Virginia San Fratello Ronald Rael https://www.forust.com/ https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/
When we initially recorded this episode in June of 2021, our host Vidhya Iyer and Jennifer Zeitler - Founder and CEO of Let’s Goat Buffalo, really connected and promised to visit each other. But little did either one of them know that in a year their paths would cross again - when Vidhya and her family relocate to Buffalo, NY. The two met for the first time this summer, but bonded like old friends. In honor of our new home and friend we decided to re-air this episode - Let's Goat Buffalo.
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Let’s Goat Buffalo employs rescued goats to eat unwanted vegetation growth! Whether it’s a residential yard that needs clearing, a commercial property that has become overgrown and high-risk, or a park or highway that has become less accessible to the public, their herds are prepared to help! We chat with the bubbly Jennifer Zeitler - Founder and CEO of Let’s Goat Buffalo, on how she transitioned from Human Resources to goatscaping. The term "goatscaping" means grazing goats to manage vegetation growth in an environmentally sound manner. Goatscaping greatly reduces the use of toxic herbicides, and because the goat digestive process effectively sterilizes seeds and reproductive plant matter, they are an ideal treatment for invasive plants. Let’s Goat Buffalo offers grazing services within suburban, urban and rural environments. By choosing natural treatment, Let's Goat customers are choosing healthier soil, increased biodiversity, and a greener future. Jennifer Zeitler collaborated with a goat dairy farm Alpine Maid and rescued the goats to bring a sustainable solution to remove overgrown brush and weeds. She was also made a How I Built This, fellow, in 2021 by NPR. Come listen now to her journey.
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https://www.letsgoatbuffalo.com/
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As a corporate leader what if you were told you could increase employee retention by over 30% by using behavioral and attitudinal nudges to bring improvement in both their commitment to ESG and their own company ecosystem, while keeping their most valuable asset – their people – engaged. With more than a decade of experience, WeSpire employee engagement consultants partner with organizations to create purpose-centric engagement strategies that help turn ambitious impact goals into reality. Each solution is customized to the organizations needs by first having a conversation to helps understand what they would like to achieve as well as your strategy and goals.They uncover and analyze not just the existing initiatives, but also the prevailing attitudes and behaviors that exist in the workplace that may accelerate or hinder success. These transformative behavioral and attitudinal insights help companies by shedding light on the standards and frameworks, and provide strategies for engaging employees around ESG. Learn more in our conversation with Susan Hunt Stevens founder and CEO of Wespire.
https://www.wespire.com/
https://mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/