3 Businesses ring in Earth Day 2023, achieve Arizona Green Business Certification
In the spirit of Earth Day, three local businesses recently achieved Arizona Green Business Certification. This rigorous certification and consulting program recognizes locally-owned businesses for demonstrating best practices in localism, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, waste prevention, water conservation and care for the community.
We are excited to announce Wood Play All Day, Vert Plantworks and SW Grilled Coffee as the latest businesses to become certified. Read on to learn about how these businesses are walking the talk when it comes to operating a business sustainably.
Photo credit: Ruby Lopez
Wood Play All Day
Purposeful, hands on, and open-ended play for all children is the mission of Wood Play All Day, a playground rental business operating in the Phoenix metro area. As the name suggests, these are not your run of the mill jungle gyms made of metal and plastic, but hand-crafted and ethically-sourced hardwood playgrounds. Business owner Ruby Lopez, herself a mother, knows how important it is for kids to interact with safe materials while they are exploring a play-focused environment and gravitating to their own needs.
Lopez works with clients to design party and event packages with their children in mind. Each playground item is designed to serve a unique purpose in the developmental growth of children and promotes self-directed play, allowing children to build a sense of self, sharpen motor skills, meet milestones, and have fun. Afterwards, equipment is sanitized using 100% natural cleaners rated to kill all potential germs while keeping kids safe.
Photo Credit: Liz Lambert
Vert Plantworks
Plants can give us clean air to breathe, balance ambient temperatures and improve our sense of well-being. Vert Plantworks is bringing all of these benefits to residents and businesses alike with interior and exterior living green walls. From singular panels of succulents, to terrific expanses of tropicals and edible plant walls, Vert Plantworks customizes each one to the needs of the client, and provides ongoing maintenance to keep walls thriving. Offering climate-adapted plants means water intake is minimal, and some systems are built with auto-irrigation and water recirculation features. The company also provides expert plantscaping services for those who want to maintain or rethink their existing landscapes.
Operating in a sustainable manner is central to co-owner Liz Lambert’s values and is summed up in Vert Plantworks mission statement: “The mission of the business is to bring plants into work and home spaces in an environmentally responsible way. This includes structure systems made from organic and recycled materials. Recycling watering systems that are metered to use only the necessary water needed for the plants to be successful. We also use organic fertilizers and pest control.” Check out Vert Plantworks sustainability policy for more info on how they operate in an environmentally friendly manner.
Photo Credit: Taylor Kirkman
SW Grilled Coffee
“Grilled coffee is exactly what it sounds like!” exclaims co-owners Steve Leganski and Taylor Kirkman on the SW Grilled Coffee’s website. Instead of using a traditional coffee roasting machine, which can command high amounts of natural gas and electricity to run, beans are roasted in a drum within a custom built propane grill. The difference? Propane is cleaner burning and far less intensive than natural gas, and the fan which helps to circulate air over the coffee beans is run by solar power, resulting in a clean roast that brings out more of the delicate and complex flavors found in different coffees.
But, grilling coffee is just one of the many features of the business that sets it apart from the rest. SW Grilled Coffee serves its fair-trade certified brew in 100% compostable packaging out of a repurposed 1961 horse trailer. The coffee is full-flavored and brewed percolator-style, meaning no single-use paper filters are needed, while spent coffee grounds, cups, lids, sleeves and straws are all composted and turned into farmland in partnership with R. City. In an effort to help regenerate Arizona’s most important natural assets, $1 of every pound of coffee sold goes to benefit the Grand Canyon Trust.
Get recognition for being a sustainability leader in Arizona by becoming a Certified Green Business!
Reach out to the Sustainability team using the Arizona Green Business Certification Interest Form or contact Nick Shivka, Senior Manager of Sustainability Initiatives - nick@localfirstaz.com
