Mission-minded Spotlight: Ecosphere Organics
By Liza Vilnits | Founder & CEO
Welcome to the September edition of ✨“Mission-minded: Building for Tomorrow" ✨
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A recent MITRE-Gallup survey found that American households are throwing away 6.2 cups of food per week (https://bit.ly/3z3APXQ.) One company that’s striving to solve organic waste utilization, who I had the pleasure of learning about at gener8tor’s recent Agriculture Conference, is Ecosphere Organics. They are an alternative materials company specializing in transforming organic by-products into high-value raw materials for a diverse range of industries.
😱 1) Why care? Ecosphere Organics says that we waste $2.6 Trillion worth of food globally each year – which is 40% of all the food that’s produced! Just as mind-blowing 🤯is that only 6% of that wasted food is diverted from landfills. Without action, by 2030 global greenhouse gas emissions are projected to rise to 13% as a result of this (According to PIRG, https://bit.ly/3XsHYdS.), endangering human health, our planet, and the future of sustainable agriculture.
🔥 2) What makes the co. credible? Ecosphere Organics uses advanced AI technology to optimize resource recovery and material processing. They work with waste managers, biorefiners, and recyclers to provide innovative materials, supply chain services, and analytical insights to drive eco-friendly practices across the chemical, plastics, food service, and manufacturing sectors. They’ve partnered with organizations in Detroit such as Make Food Not Waste, The Congregation Detroit, and Sanctuary Farms. They are active in the Detroit community attending events such as Black Tech Saturdays and speaking on local panels. The startup may be young, but they’re definitely on to something!
💓 3) What I love about their story? CEO and Co-founder Brittanie Dabney realized her passion for the outdoors in the heart of Detroit and is taking her love for the environment beyond her home city. Brittanie is an environmental scientist pursuing a Ph.D. in Biology & Urban Sustainability. She’s conducted research in places such as Texas and Japan and landed back home to find solutions to reducing plastic and waste in the city of Detroit. As Brittanie has said, it’s imperative residents “start building systems to make our communities clean”(https://bit.ly/47f6wua). We love what Brittanie and her team are doing to show people how to “turn food waste into treasures” as they’ll be doing at their upcoming Waste to Wonder event (https://bit.ly/4gc152Y) on Tuesday, September 24th at 5:30PM.
We have all played a part in adding to the food waste statistics shared above. On an individual level, it’s time to start thinking about the larger implications of our actions, and why we need to elevate companies like Ecosphere Organics to address this growing challenge.
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In case you missed it, ✨“Mission-minded: Building for tomorrow" ✨is a monthly series where I highlight an under-the-radar founder or company that’s building something that has the power to enact real change in our world. From my personal perspective and understanding, I’ll tell you why you should care about what they’re building, what makes them credible, and what I love about their story. Here are the companies we’ve spotlighted so far this year:
🌡️August: FortyGuard, a pioneering urban temperature intelligence company, is trying to solve this global phenomenon.
💊July: Tip a ScRxipt, a controlled-expense debit card platform that enables government, healthcare providers, health plans, foundations, and community organizations to provide “payment assistance with guard rails.”
💻June: Pyrra, an intelligence platform that protects people, assets and brands from disinformation, physical violence and hate speech.
🤱May: Canopie, an app dedicated to providing mothers, including pregnant women, with mental health resources.
🧠April: Wayhaven, an adaptive, chat-based mental wellness app to support the unique challenges faced by college students - available 24/7.
💧March: Varuna, a company that enables the delivery of clean water efficiently by providing water system operators with actionable data and insights to identify blindspots.
✊🏿February: Acclinate, increasing health equity by making research more inclusive by helping pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations access and engage communities of color.
♀️ January: Mission-Driven Tech, a company that's building innovative solutions that normalize and modernize Cervical Health, a historically underfunded and misunderstood field of medicine.