Buildings have a surprisingly high impact on energy use and carbon emissions. In fact, almost 40% of energy usage in the U.S. is due to buildings. Many commercial property owners and developers are interested in making their buildings more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, but many struggle to find cost effective capital to cover these projects. The frustrating part? There are billions of dollars that are freely available in green incentives and financing across both the private and the public sector, but they are hard to find and tap.

EnerYields, is a resource that helps connect property owners to incentives and discounted financing options to fund green initiatives, accelerating the transition to sustainable buildings. In this episode, we talk to EnerYields’ Founder Hetal Parekh about how her company bridges the financing gap. She educates us on the types of grants, incentives, and financing methods that are available for green building projects. Hetal also shares the three step process that building owners should use to evaluate and transition their buildings. This is a great story of breaking down technical complexity to drive sustainable change.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

For Abby Lyall, food touches every area of sustainability and there are many challenges to be solved in the space. Without food and a secure supply chain, we don’t have the basic needs to attack other climate change and environmental issues. And unfortunately, food and agriculture are huge contributing factors to these issues. The good news? Technology and innovation are driving sustainable transformation in everything from alternative proteins to regenerative agriculture.

In this episode of The Understory Podcast, we introduce an investor’s perspective to sustainability. Abby Lyall of Big Idea Ventures talks about investment opportunities within the burgeoning foodtech and agricultural space. Abby shares her journey within the venture capital industry and how she was drawn to solving grand challenges. She highlights her firm’s key investment criteria, especially the importance of technology differentiators in the crowded alternative protein space. Listen in to learn a new term and find out what’s trending in this growing sector.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

Climate Neutral is on a mission to reduce global carbon emissions. The independent, nonprofit organization helps companies become Climate Neutral certified by providing a framework and process to measure, offset, and reduce carbon emissions. As a result, the Climate Neutral label makes it easier for consumers to identify and support products that take action against climate change.

In this episode, we chat with Caitlin Drown and Isabella Todaro of Climate Neutral. Drown and Todaro share the importance of using a practical and iterative frameworks to reduce emissions so that more organizations can drive impact now, not 30 years in the future. They give a great primer on some of the basic concepts driving their process: carbon footprint, carbon offsets, scope one, two and three emissions, employee advocacy, and more. Tune in to learn more about the Climate Neutral label, certification process, and how they are reducing emissions across industries.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

The US loses $40 billion each year due to windows. More than 80% of new windows are focused on meeting the bare minimum of building codes and energy efficiency standards, leaving significant room for improvement. In this episode, we chat with Elise Strobach, CEO and Co-founder of AeroShield. Elise shares how her childhood appreciation for our magnificent world inspired her to study mechanical engineering and ultimately develop a new innovation that protects our environment.

AeroShield develops super-insulating, transparent inserts for windows, bringing state-of-the-art thermal comfort and energy savings to buildings at an affordable price. This solid material is made up of 95% gas trapped inside pores that are so small, the naked eye can’t see them. Elise explains the technology behind AeroShield’s sustainable windows, the supply chain, and the complexities behind product manufacturing. Tune in to learn more about the builttech, energy efficiency, and developing new materials for the window industry.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

Consumer preferences for fast and easy restaurant options have fueled the growth of single use waste. Just Salad, a fast casual restaurant, is a leader in reducing waste in this sector by offering creative solutions such as its reusable bowl program. In this episode, we chat with Sandra Noonan, Chief Sustainability Officer of Just Salad. Noonan shares her personal and inspiring story of how an alarming article in The New Yorker changed her way of life, leading her to eventually head sustainability at Just Salad.

From reusable bowls to carbon labels and a climate-conscious menu, Just Salad gives consumers the tools to eat with purpose. The company has pioneered the world's largest restaurant reusable program, saving 75,000+ pounds of plastic every year. Sandra explains the importance of the food waste hierarchy and provides personal insight for a zero-waste lifestyle.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

Consumption habits have spiked in response to excessive mindless purchases. As a result, water consumption, carbon emissions, and wasted energy pollutes the environment. In this episode, we chat with Anders Ankarlid, CEO & Founder of Agood Company. Anders shares his personal and inspiring story of how a record hot summer spurred him to take action against climate change - sparking the creation of Agood Company.

Agood Company creates thoughtful, sustainable, and elegant everyday products such as phone cases, bamboo products, wall art, and others. To ensure complete transparency with its customers, the company meticulously identifies and communicates the potential environmental impact of all its products and operations. Anders explains how this premium brand is revolutionizing consumer habits and stresses the importance of taking action to inspire environmental change.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

As e-commerce takes over the shopping experience, excessive packaging waste has emerged as a threat to the environment. With roughly 165 billion packages shipped yearly in the US, LimeLoop finds a smart and innovative method to tackle logistics waste.

In this episode, we chat with Ashley Etling and Chantal Emmanuel, Co-founders of LimeLoop. LimeLoop uses technology to streamline the shipping experience for brands while increasing visibility into the supply chain. The all-in-one platform eliminates waste from conventional packaging methods, saves costs and resources, and improves overall sustainability. Ashley and Chantal explain how reusable packaging is one piece of the innovative platform. The innovative mailers produce data-driven insights used to streamline customer operations and combat wasteful packaging.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

After many years in the waste and recycling industries, Jay Brenner sees one troubling trend: a lot of materials that are thrown away are actually recyclable. In fact, businesses and waste management companies do not know how much trash is actually generated until after it is hauled away.

In this episode, we talk to Jay and his co-founder Thomas Spencer about their technology innovation that is transforming the waste management industry. WasteWizer Technologies helps companies and haulers weigh waste containers in real time. The platform unlocks data that enables better decision making, cost efficiencies, and reduced environmental impact all at the same time. Jay and Thomas share key insights about the industry and additional use cases for WasteWizer’s technology.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

In 2019, 90% of companies in the S&P 500 issued sustainability reports. Many of these large organizations undertake rigorous ESG reporting on a regular basis to meet the demands of investors, regulators, and customers. Small businesses are increasing feeling the burden of ESG reporting requirements as sustainability assessments become commonplace across supply chains.

In this episode, we chat with Jessica Camus, the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Diginex Solutions. The company’s new DiginexESG sustainability reporting solution helps companies establish their ESG reporting frameworks and collaboratively collect data over time. The platform primarily serves small businesses that don’t know where to start when it comes to ESG reporting by making it simple, cheap, and fast to get started. Jessica shares incredible insights around evolving market needs, using blockchain technology to create transparency, and the acceleration of sustainable finance across the globe.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.

What do window-to-wall ratios, building orientation, and window coverings all have to do with net zero? They are all factors that impact greenhouse gas emissions within the built environment. Listen in to hear how PlanIT Impact’s software analytics platform helps the real estate industry achieve carbon neutrality.

In this episode, we chat with Brett Krug, CEO of PlanIT Impact. Brett shares how PlanIT Impact’s solutions make it faster and easier for non-technical users to assess large scale efficiency decisions when designing, constructing, and managing commercial buildings. He also educates us on the basics of sustainability in the built environment – everything from what a ‘living building’ is to where to find resources to learn more.

The Understory Podcast discusses innovation, insights, and the future of sustainability. It features innovators, industry experts, and diverse voices who make our world more sustainable. For more insights, please visit www.theunderstory.io.