Zero Waste for You and Your Office - Amara Le
Hey everyone - my name is Amara, and I oversee all things design and marketing at RyeStrategy. I’m going into my senior year at the University of Washington where I study Marketing and Informatics and help run the student consulting organization, Montlake Consulting Group (MCG). Based out of the San Francisco office, I just wrapped up my virtual summer internship at Bain & Co. and now have a few weeks until the start of the school year.
Normally, I would be travelling to visit friends and family, but given current circumstances, I’ll likely use this time to focus on a few personal projects. Over these past few months, I’ve picked up candle making in the hopes of starting an Etsy shop for my other handmade goods. During this process, I’ve come to learn a lot about sustainable packaging and the zero-waste movement.
The Zero-Waste Movement
What does it mean to be ‘zero-waste’? The concept is about sending as little waste to the landfill as possible and overall, creating a positive environmental impact. On the extreme end, some individuals have managed to fit years worth of waste into a mason jar. Lauren Singer is one of these people, and she even opened up Package Free Shop, which curates products and brands that take steps to reduce waste.
Major brands and cities have also started to invest in solutions that reduce plastic waste. Last year, Unilever, Nestlé, and PepsiCo announced that they are testing reusable packaging, such as stainless steel Häagen-Dazs ice cream canisters and Tropicana orange juice in glass bottles. In partnership with the new shopping platform, Loop, many household essentials are available for purchase in reusable containers, which are professionally cleaned and reused once you’ve used up the product. In the United States, Walgreens and Kroger are currently on Loop’s platform, and even delivery is waste-free.
This move was made in an attempt to phase out single-use plastics, which mainly end up in landfills, oceans, waterways, and the environment. In a similar vein, San Francisco issued a new ordinance in July of last year where single-use plastics are either prohibited or only available upon request at various dining locations.
Mitigating Carbon Emissions Through Zero Waste
It’s not just a personal lifestyle choice: businesses are also looking to make their offices zero waste. This includes reducing the use of office supplies, purchasing green products, adopting renewable energy sources, and going carbon neutral through the purchase of carbon offsets.
It’s important to note that on both the personal and business level, zero waste is about the process rather than an absolute goal. With a growing number of eco-friendly product options available, stronger recycling efforts, and more energy/carbon reduction projects, demand for green solutions is increasing across all industries.
Learn about our affordable carbon footprint solutions for small and medium-sized businesses
Book a free strategy session to discuss your climate goals with a sustainability manager.
About RyeStrategy
Based in Seattle, RyeStrategy is a CDP-accredited, mission-oriented company specialized in carbon accounting, mitigation coaching, and climate disclosure solutions for organizations at any point in their sustainability journey. Learn how RyeStrategy helped Salesforce, Ideascale, and Wazoku achieve their sustainability goals.
From exhaustive carbon footprinting and mitigation coaching, to setting science-based targets and reporting climate data to CDP, SBTi or custom reporting platforms, RyeStrategy acts as a hands-on extension of the team, custom-tailoring services to fulfill climate disclosure requirements easily and accurately.
Meet with a sustainability specialist to learn more about RyeStrategy solutions.
