Mindful Businesses

"Out beyond ideas of right angles and hard lines, there’s a bio-ceramic dome. A place where nature, community, and healing come full circle. We’ll meet you there." - Morgan Bierschenk, founder and CEO of Geoship, a homebuilding cooperative, owned by the people. Bioceramic domes combine the geometry/math of Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller with the material science of Rustum (Rusty) Roy - Geoship's Founding Fathers. Bucky was a legendary American polymath and future architect. He invented Synergetic Mathematics and introduced the geodesic dome into mass awareness. Rusty was a legendary professor of material science with a focus on crystal chemistry.  Morgan is knowledgeable and visionary in how regenerative architecture can be used to build living environments that reconnect human communities with the natural world. Geoship domes are built with all-ceramic composite panels, struts, and hubs. The lightweight ceramic parts are fused together on-site with ceramic mortar. The dome is repaired and resurfaced with the same highly crystalline ceramic material. Learn more by listening to our episode.

This episode is a re-air from April 13,  2021

https://geoship.is/

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We talk with Dr. George Huber, Richard Antoine Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin- Madison and the director of Center for Upcycling Waste Plastics (CUWP) about his research in recycling plastics. His technology offers a solution to filtrate the polymer from different plastics by applying solvents solvents. Though multi-layer plastics are more complicated his technology, solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP), is able to use thermodynamics and solvents to disintegrate them into their constituent resins. It's a fascinating process - the key is to capture 99% of the polymer and make sure nothing is release into the atmosphere. With consumption of plastics showing no signs of abating, it is crucial to recycle efficiently to reduce the consumption of new plastics. CUWP consists of six universities, over ten industrial partners, one national laboratory, and one industry association. They also share with  scientists, engineers, policy makers, business leaders, and the general public to help them make informed decisions about the costs and benefits of new technologies for plastic recycling. Learn all this and more from Dr. George Huber.

https://cuwp.org/

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Art by Xin Zou, University of Wisconsin-Madison for Hochan Chang, Min Soo Kim, George W Huber, James A Dumesic, Design of closed-loop recycling production of a Diels Alder polymer from a biomass-derived difuran as a functional additive for polyurethanes, Green Chemistry (2021) 23, 9479-9488.

In this episode we talk with Eric Schwarz, General Manager of The Glad Products Company. He talks about Glad's commitment to reducing our environmental footprint, and helping consumers with their own green goals. Their sustainability journey focuses on 4 key areas: Products, Production, Packaging and Programs.

Products with less plastic - Glad has developed breakthrough technology that enables their most popular product, the drawstring kitchen trash bags to use less plastic than leading competition without sacrificing strength. They have to reduce 50% of virgin materials in Glad Trash by 2030 and have reduced it by 13% as of CY2020. Production with  less pollution - they are improving manufacturing processes to reduce environmental impact. They have achieved the goal of Zero Waste to Landfill manufacturing for North American plants and utilize 100% renewable electricity in our North American plants. Packaging with less waste -  reduce its environmental impact with the goal of 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable. They have achieved in making their packing 99% recyclable and have a 48% reduction in virgin packaging as of CY2020. Programs with more purpose - Glad teamed up with Recyclops to improve curbside recycling access across the U.S. Learn more in this episode.

https://www.glad.com/sustainability/

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#sustainablepackaging, sustainability, #USA #gladproducts #mindfulbusinesses

Francisco Benedicto Valentine, CEO of CLIMATETRADE, shares with us the journey about how CLIMATETRADE connects companies willing to offset their carbon emissions to a large number of verified environmental projects. They help companies achieve carbon neutrality by providing innovative emission offsetting services. They work hard to maintain the trust of our clients by offering total traceability through the blockchain technology. CLIMATETRADE helps the consumer compute their carbon footprint, may it be for a flight, an event they are hosting or for their business, and connects them with developers of the projects and issues the certificate to assure that their certificate is not resold. Their projects are classified by territories and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to enable ease and simplicity in picking the project of their choice. CLIMATETRADE comprises of a team of environmentally-conscious professionals who apply the best technology to offer ease and transparency to companies to offset their environmental impact. Learn more about this cutting edge topic on this episode of Mindful Businesses.

https://climatetrade.com/marketplace/

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#mindfulbusinesses #climatetrade #proofofstake #carboncapture #blockchain #proofofwork #fintech #carboncredits #cryptocurrency

Zuleyka Strasner, founder of Zero Grocery moved from East London to San Francisco to work for Facebook. She saw the need to for a plastic - free grocery. To learn about customers needs and habits she started by delivering first in plastic containers and then in plastic-free containers. She soon learned that most of the customers were willing to try new products curated by her delivered in a sustainable packaging. She raised half a million dollars from venture capitalists within 4 months of starting the business. Pandemic with its mixed blessing brought exponential growth to Zero. They initially had a monthly subscription of $25 for unlimited delivery but as of Jan 1st they have done away with the subscription and have a guaranteed 2 hour delivery. Zuleyka talks about her experience in raising funds and how women should approach from a position of power and not weakness. Listen to this fascinating journey in this episode.

#sustainablegrocery, zerowaste, #plasticfree, #USA, #mindfulbusinesses, #zerogrocery,

https://zerogrocery.com/

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70% of the world’s population lacks access to an electric washing machine.

Hand washing clothes sounds like a simple task but for many women around the world, it poses a significant obstacle to their wellbeing and livelihood.

Navjot Sawhney was a curious child always trying to figure out how things worked. He grew up to be an engineer and wanted to use his engineering and design skills for good. He quit his secure, highly respected job at Dyson to volunteer for Engineers Without Borders Uk and Prakti (an Indian NGO). He saw his friend Divya spend hours doing household chores and he promised her that he would design and make a hand-cranked washing machine for her. He returned to Uk and after a short stint with Jaguar he went to the drawing board to make good on his promise. He designed a hand-cranked washing machine that used fifty percent less water, saved time, avoided touching the detergent and completely off the grid. By providing displaced and low-income communities with an accessible, off-grid washing solution, The Washing Machine Project’s mission is to empower women with the time to take charge over their lives. They believe that when women rise, we all rise.

https://thewashingmachineproject.org/

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#thewashingmachineproject #mindfulbusinesses #Uk #womenempowerment #sustainabledesign

Paul Shapiro, author, entrepreneur at the age of 13 told his parents that he wanted to become a vegetarian. Until that point every meal that Paul ate had meat. From that moment on, he has been on a journey to help reduce the consumption of meat on the planet. First by lobbying for better farm and agricultural practices to writing a book and talking about it. He soon realized that people have to be offered a better, whole and cheaper alternative to stop eating meat. Convincing people to give up meat on the basis of animal cruelty and its impact on our planet isn't sufficient. Better Meat Co grows plant based meat by fermenting Rhizas - mycoprotein, protein made from fungi. Rhiza is objectively superior to textured plant protein isolates commonly used to make plant-based meat today. When it comes to nutrition, meat-like texture, and efficiency, Rhiza is just better because of its exponentially quicker harvest cycle, while using fewer resources such as land and water. It's also a whole food with a complete amino acid profile, not a protein isolate or fractionate. They take common ingredients like potatoes and subject them to an age-old fermentation technique. Within hours, the result is an all-natural, high-protein, whole food with the natural texture of animal meat. If you are a meat lover committed to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, this episode is for you.

https://www.bettermeat.co/

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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/

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In this episode, we have Luis Fernando Velez founder of Amor Perfecto with whom our host Vidhya Iyer talks about their common love for a good cup of coffee - with its perfect aroma and complex flavors. Luis shares what is entailed in producing a rich and fragrant coffee. It starts from the coffee cherry picked at the exact ripeness using high-tech refractometers to find the optimal ripeness to pick each variety of dark red for one to purple for another. At Amor Perfecto each bean is hand-picked, unlike some other brands who prefer strip harvesting by machine, an efficient, affordable, but indiscriminate practice. The beans are then expertly processed and most importantly roasted close to where they are picked.

For over 200 years Colombia has been exporting green coffee beans to be roasted in consuming countries all over the world. In fact, it was illegal to roast quality coffee in Colombia until 2003. The government and the growers had been convinced that the consuming countries knew better than them how to perfectly roast coffee, robbing Colombians of additional revenues by adding value to their crop. Amor Perfecto fought to change the law and volunteered as guinea pigs to show lawmakers that their signature crop was not just for export. Grab a cup of coffee and tune in to listen to Luis’ fascinating stories.

https://amorperfecto.com/

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This Holiday Season with so much uncertainty around we bring to you again an episode of hope and giving. Please donate generously to this non-profit The Farmlink Project started by Aidan Reilly and James Kanoff - winners of 2021 Congressional Medal of Honor Service Award.

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The Farmlink Project was started at the height of the pandemic in April 2020 to fight food insecurity by repurposing surplus produce. Back home in Los Angeles at the start of the pandemic, with nothing but time on their hands, Aidan Reilly and James Kanoff were like many of us disturbed by the long lines at the food pantries alongside farmers throwing away their produce, eggs, milk ... and their harvest. The boon of an efficient supply chain in the food industry can be a major problem with any slight disruption. The Farmlink Project, a non-profit run by 200 plus volunteers, operates in 48 US states and Mexico bringing the excess produce of farmers to food banks. They are the recipient of the 2021 Congressional Medal of Honor - Citizen Honors Award - awarded to outstanding Americans who have gone above and beyond to perform extraordinary acts of courage or service. Listen to their story of compassion, drive, and vision on the Mindful Businesses podcast.

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https://www.farmlinkproject.org/

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