Most businesses today understand the value of having a sustainability-oriented operation, including everything from big-picture items like having an ethical supply chain, to everyday considerations such as supporting their employees in making “greener” choices in the office space and within their commute to/from work. Although the value is understood, most businesses lack the practical know-how and the hands-on capacity to implement such sustainable changes. This is where Arizona-based nonprofit GreenLight Solutions comes in.

GreenLight Solutions (GLS) serves as a sustainability resource for the local business community, as local businesses need to focus on their primary business operations and often have limited resources available to incorporate sustainability. GLS solves this challenge and addresses their sustainability goals by providing the expertise, capacity, and resources to make sustainability actionable and affordable.

Teaming Up to Tell a Story

Sustainable Earth recently teamed up with GreenLight Solutions to help bring their success stories to the broader business community via creating a series of case studies exemplifying their sustainability projects over the years. These one-pager case studies were adapted from Green Papers which student leaders publish at the completion of each project (Green Papers are GreenLight’s version of a white paper). These case studies include the challenge, solution, and outcomes of each unique project, as well as the steps for success and suggested action plan for businesses to take.

Case Study: Building H.O.P.E. Sustainably

One such example is GreenLight Solutions’ project where they helped build tiny homes for homeless veterans in the Phoenix metro area. Building Us H.O.P.E is a nonprofit working to end veteran homelessness by building sustainable tiny home communities. They needed help sourcing and purchasing sustainable and durable housing materials. GLS researched cutting-edge building materials that had positive impacts on the environment and evaluated the feasibility of tiny home construction.

They took into account cost, environmental impact, health, maintenance, time, and energy and recommended materials that were sustainably obtained, long-lasting, energy efficient, aesthetically pleasing, and functional. The team also assisted with volunteer coordination and participated in the construction of three tiny homes. GLS was able to achieve success through in-depth research from a cross-disciplinary team to evaluate the sustainable, economic, and functional aspects of building materials; ultimately, bringing the tiny home community vision to life. Read the full case study.

Explore All the Case Studies:

Reporting:

Waste:

Events:

Education & Engagement:

Get in Touch with GreenLight Solutions

The mission of GreenLight Solutions is to educate and empower the next generation of sustainability leaders. They do this by helping students launch sustainability careers and guiding businesses to go green. In essence, their purpose is to break down the barriers of sustainability for businesses.

GLS began as a student-run program at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability in 2013. These undergraduate students wanted to go beyond the classroom, put theory into practice, and gain real world experience in sustainability. Because no program existed to gain this experience, these students created a program that partners students with innovative local businesses to meet their sustainability goals. Since 2013, GreenLight Solutions has trained 300+ students, implemented 79 sustainability projects within 60 businesses, and volunteered 35,000+ hours in their local community. 52% of GLS alumni are female, 84% of alumni are employed in STEM careers, and 90% of our alumni are employed or in graduate school.

Visit glsolutions.org to learn more, and reach out to Executive Director Ashley Weisman at [email protected] to discuss sustainability opportunities for your business.