How sustainable are our businesses? When mapping the green transition—the global shift toward environmental sustainability—quantifying and measuring responsible business practices becomes increasingly important. By defining our metrics, we can see where we are and, more importantly, how much further we have to go.
You may have heard of ESG, or environmental, social, and governance criteria, which are used to measure corporations’ environmental footprint (waste output and energy usage), social commitments (philanthropic initiatives), and governing practices (overall mission). These standards are useful for painting a general picture of a business’s sustainability commitments, but ESG overlooks one vital factor: the community it operates in.
A business is first and foremost rooted in a community. Whether it’s an established franchise, a restaurant, or a mom-and-pop bicycle shop, every business makes many contributions to its hometown. These can include offering jobs as well as goods and services. But what sort of environmental footprint does a business leave on its community? How does it affect the local waste stream?
TerraCycle Fairfield
That’s where TerraCycle Fairfield has stepped in to help. New Jersey-based TerraCycle Inc., which has engineered recycling solutions for every possible waste stream, has partnered with large companies like Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble to help them with better packaging design, responsible waste collection, and recycling incentives for consumers.
TerraCycle Fairfield is applying the same model on a smaller scale in Fairfield in order to engage local consumers and businesses in becoming the world’s first ever TerraCycle Town, reducing waste as much as possible.
Become a TerraCycle Champion
The TerraCycle Champions certification program offers a way for local offices, retailers, restaurants, and grocery stores to assess their waste and energy-use impact on the Fairfield community. The certification will be issued to businesses displaying outstanding achievement in sustainable development in four categories: water usage, transportation, energy consumption, and social commitment.
TerraCycle Fairfield offers a well-defined roadmap for those who need help improving their sustainable practices. In setting an example for what sustainable leadership looks like, participating businesses can have a recognizable impact on the community.
Local businesses can also help by becoming public collection sites for hard-to-recycle waste. Batteries, snack bags, toothbrushes, and more can be collected, broken down, and transformed by TerraCycle into useful products such as playgrounds and park benches.
As the sustainability megatrend blasts forward at increasing speed, solutions like these are vital for keeping the green transition going strong.
Sign Up to Be a Champion
If you are a Fairfield-based business and would like to participate in any of these programs, or if you would like access to the TerraCycle Champions certification survey, please email TerraCycleTown@gmail.com, or follow us on Facebook @TCFairfield.
If you would like to donate to Terra-Cycle Fairfield, go to SustainableLivingCoalition.org.