Sustainability is the Future - Just Ask These SCALE UP Graduates
Congratulations to the 12 incredible businesses and nonprofits that completed the second 2020 cohort of SCALE UP! Each participant developed a unique project plan to reduce energy, water usage, waste, and/or transportation in their business. Here is a quick overview of some of the inspiring projects, and stay tuned for updates!
Do you work for, own, or know a business or nonprofit in the Phoenix or Tucson metro area that might be interested in SCALE UP? Our next cohort starts in January! Check out www.localfirstaz.com/scale-up to learn more.
Steady Glow Digital (Phoenix)
About
Steady Glow Digital is a small, women-owned digital marketing business that specializes in web content, design and digital marketing strategies focused on small businesses and businesses working in sustainability.
SCALE UP Project
Steady Glow Digital wants to help businesses align their marketing with their sustainable values. Steady Glow is motivated by statistics like the fact that 45% of printed marketing pieces end up in the trash and data centers use 2% of the world's GHG emission, which is the same as the airline industry. With things like this in mind, they've decided to create a comprehensive eco-marketing list and guide for businesses to make more sustainable marketing choices, including reducing office waste, working with vendors, and changing web hosts.
Learn more about Steady Glow Digital on their website, on Instagram or Facebook.
Stackhouse (Tucson)
About
Stackhouse is a real estate development company doing things a little differently. They create vertical communities for luxury shipping container homes in major metropolitan areas across the world. Their first location will be Tucson, Arizona.
SCALE UP Project
For SCALE UP, Stackhouse is working on waste reduction with a pilot composting project to make it easy for both their residents to divert their waste, as well as the surrounding community.
Learn more about Stackhouse on their website or on Instagram.
Recyco Inc. (Tucson)
About
Recyco, Inc. is an industry-leading family-owned metal recycling business. Recyco partners with local, national, and global businesses in the responsible reuse and recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Recyco also provides volunteer hours for schools and community outreach on the importance of recycling and the city-wide clean up of Tucson and surrounding communities.
SCALE UP Project
Recyco’s SCALE UP project is to reduce electricity, gasoline, and propane use in their facilities, as well as reducing waste by encouraging customers to bring their metals in reusable bags and eliminating “take a number” tickets. They are projecting to save $900 in efficiency savings and $3000 from the reduction of waste and elimination of tickets per year.
They will first start by establishing a bilingual Green Team (also called el Equipo Verde) and invest in sustainable education, resources and partnerships. Then, they will complete their benchmarking and strategic plan, which will include adjusting route deliveries to reduce fuel consumption and adjusting high energy loads to off peak times. Then, they will pursue the green fund to invest in improvements.
In the future, they want to make the east side location a sustainable site, complete with water harvesting and a pollinator garden. Money saved from their projects will be invested in a green fund that they plan to develop for future sustainability projects.
Learn more about Recyco at www.recycoinc.com.
Blue House Coffee (Phoenix)
About
Blue House Coffee is an innovative and community-minded coffee shop in Phoenix. They are dedicated to local sourcing, and also source over 50% of their coffee directly from farmers.
SCALE UP Project
Blue House has made it a priority to become carbon neutral by 2021. They already offer compostable utensils, a roasting facility powered by solar panels, and a 100% electric delivery vehicle. For SCALE UP, they are focusing on offsetting the carbon footprint of their coffee subscription service.
Learn more about Blue House Coffee at www.bluehousecoffee.com.
Avontage (Scottsdale)
About
Avontage is a platform for local business owners, skilled freelancers, coaches, and marketers to trade business services. Business barter trading is the smartest way to conserve cash and grow your business. They are the world's only Collaborative Business Network, and have 1400 members in Arizona and growing. Their business focus is “collaborative capitalism.”
SCALE UP Project
Avontage is planning to build a green team with its decentralized member base, using weekly challenges and gamification to educate members on sustainable practices in their respective businesses. These educational topics will focus on energy efficiency, excess business capacity, LED lighting, low flow showers/toilets, transportation, recycling, composting, and social impact.
Learn more about Avontage at www.avontage.com.
Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company (Gilbert)
About
Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company was created to celebrate handcrafted, artisanal beers that are inspired by the beautiful and diverse state of Arizona. Many of their ideas and values are influenced by their time spent in nature. They continually strive to embrace Arizona’s vast agricultural community and pursue sustainable efforts that contribute to the conservation of Arizona’s natural resources.
SCALE UP Project
Arizona Wilderness is already successful in saving huge amounts of water from the Verde River (more than 320 million gallons) by utilizing the sustainable Sinagua Malt. They’ve also drastically reduced landfill waste by using recyclables and compostables and empowered the local economy by supporting local farmers and vendors on every level of operations.
For SCALE UP, they are making a “closed-loop cocktail”. This includes a second use of fruits (i.e. cordials and citrus stocks with the fruit shells), which are then sent to Recycled City to be composted, and that composted soil is then used to grow ingredients to re-incorporate into cocktails. They’ve estimated that this innovative and sustainable cocktail will also help them save money. They hope to inspire other bars to do closed-loop cocktails.
Learn more about Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company at www.azwbeer.com.
Alzheimer's Association Desert Southwest Chapter (Tucson)
About
Alzheimer’s Association Desert Southwest Chapter provides education and support to all those facing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia throughout our community, including those living with the disease, caregivers, health care professionals and families. They are also committed to advocating for the needs and rights of those facing Alzheimer’s disease and advancing critical research toward methods of treatment, prevention and, ultimately, a cure.
SCALE UP Project
For SCALE UP, they are planning to rethink business as usual while their employees are working from home. This includes the goal to reduce energy and transportation by 20%, starting with utilizing the Green Revolving Fund to update equipment to EPA ENERGY STAR.
Post-COVID, they plan to conduct a waste audit for their in-office operations, as well as for their annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s event. They see sustainability as key to addressing health disparities in the fight against Alzheimers and their “agility” approach to their operations.
Learn more about the Alzheimer’s Association, Desert Southwest Chapter at https://www.alz.org/dsw.
Iskashitaa Refugee Network (Tucson)
About
Iskashitaa Refugee Network (IRN) is an intergenerational network of Tucson volunteers and UN refugees from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, who locate, harvest, and re-distribute locally grown fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste. IRN's goal is to empower recently arrived refugees by connecting them with a wide variety of resources and opportunities to interact with the community.
SCALE UP Project
For SCALE UP, Iskashitaa is focused on helping the refugee community move from bottled to purified tap water along with educating their volunteers on the importance of making this sustainability behavior change.
Learn more about Iskashitaa Refugee Network at www.iskashitaa.org.
Humanity Hub Network (Tucson)
About
Humanity Hub Network seeks to move humanity forward with solutions that allow us ALL to win as individuals, a community, and for the planet. Their Local Food Box includes fresh local produce and delicious items from local food creators like signature entrees and desserts delivered right to your door!
SCALE UP Project
For SCALE UP, they are working to reduce energy or water by 20% at their hub locations. For energy, this could include window treatments, planting trees, and shading parking lots. For water, this could include rainwater harvesting, low flow toilets, and faucet aerators.
Learn more about Humanity Hub Network a www.humanityhubnetwork.org.
Global Learning Foundation (Tucson)
About
Global Learning Foundation offers organic, research-based, and evidence-based educational programs that lead to improved learning and living for all ages of students, teachers, and parents.
SCALE UP Project
In the short term, Global Learning Foundation planS to install 2 new water-efficient toilets, a new water filtration system, new windows, reduce plastic usage to as close to zero, and reduce water usage from 5,091 to 4,000 gallons per year.
In the long term, they will focus on guiding and empowering 100-600 high school students and faculty of the Pima Community College Trip program, as well as the Interfaith Community Leadership team of 37 and up to 1000 volunteer teams, to incorporate sustainable practices in their mindset and actions.
Learn more about Global Learning Foundation at www.globallearning.foundation.
Chapman Automotive (Tucson)
About
Chapman Automotive is a local new and used car dealership selling Honda vehicles.
SCALE UP Project
Chapman Automotive is planning to focus on improving water efficiency in their car washes by reusing water, and in their bathrooms by installing waterless urinals and sinks for their 20% reduction project goal. They will also address energy usage by auditing building by building. They already have a green team, which they will strengthen going forward, to focus on these goals.
Learn more about Chapman Automotive at www.chapmanhonda.com.
Potential of Ability (Tucson)
About
Potential of Ability is a nonprofit with the goal to empower, educate, and equip, youth and young adults (18 to 24) involved in the foster care system and/or those who have recently exited foster care. They also serve youth and young adults who are housing challenged, LGBTQAI individuals who are underrepresented, underserved and/or have educational challenges, those differently-abled, and those youth and young adults who lack viable long-term stable, meaningful contributing employment.
Learn more about Potential of Ability at www.potentialofability.org.
Are you a business/nonprofit or know one that wants to take action on a sustainability project? Our next cohort starts in January! Check out www.localfirstaz.com/scale-up to learn more!