Place: Plant Chicago

Dealing with food waste is a hot button topic, especially in urban settings. One company, Plant Chicago, is working to fix this problem right in Chicago’s backyard. Plant Chicago will eventually divert over 10,000 tons of food waste from landfills into their circular, closed-loop model of material reuse in order to power over 250 homes. plantchicago.org

Company: Tandus Centiva

This flooring company has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 15% since 2006 and has also reduced unnecessary chemicals and increased recycled content in their materials. Their production plants have also reduced water usage by utilizing a closed loop system to recycled processed water and boast a whopping 0% production wastewater in their Alabama LVT plant. tandus-centiva.com

Architecture Firm: EYP

Mastery of intelligent design, knowledge-based lifecycle approaches, close collaboration to inform innovation. What do all of these qualities have in common? They are part of the mission statement and best practices of EYP, located in many major US cities. They have ranked #1 in Energy and Sustainability in Architecture Top 50 and are committed to a sustainable future. eypaedesign.com

Product: Sealed Air Mushroom Packaging

Packaging typically will sit in landfills for hundreds of years. But Restore Mushroom Packaging from Sealed Air is grown, not manufactured, and is 100% biodegradable and renewable, making it an efficient way to make any business more sustainable. sealedair.com

Book: Sustainable Building Design: Learning from nineteenth-century innovations

By taking a look into the past, author Vidar Lerum explores energy demand, lighting, thermal comfort, and how we can learn from design choices of the past to find future solutions. He analyzes materials, techniques, and methods used in design and building to provide a clear reference. amazon.com

Artist: Brian Dettmer

In a world where paper books are rapidly becoming digitalized and millions of books are left dusty and unused, artist Brian Dettmer has found inspiration. Using old encyclopedias, medical references, and any old book he can get his hands on, Dettmer builds, cuts, and reshapes to create beautiful, intricate recycled sculptures. briandettmer.com


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