EMPOWERING LOCAL BUSINESSES TO BUILD RESILIENCY TO SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES BY KAIT SPIELMAKER, IN COLLABORATION WITH RYAN MORES AND ASHLEY WEISMAN
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reenLight Solutions first appeared on my radar during Green Living Magazine’s 2019 Earth Day event that featured an EcoTank. EcoTank is a play on the famous SharkTank show, where local entrepreneurs present their ideas to a panel of judges. In our version, GreenLight Solutions was runner-up. After this event, I researched more about what they were doing and eventually got involved, serving two semesters as a Solutioneer and a Project Leader.
University and the Maricopa Community College District can join GreenLight Solutions in an effort to experience real-life sustainability challenges in business and more importantly, strategizing with fellow team members in order to streamline solutions. Through GreenLight, students and local business leaders work collaboratively alongside one another to be the trendsetters needed in the community for the future of resilient sustainable development and a healthy planet.
WHAT IS GREENLIGHT SOLUTIONS?
RECENT PROJECTS
A mission statement that says it all, “To educate and empower students and business leaders to create positive social, environmental, and economic change through sustainability initiatives.”
Each semester, GreenLight facilitates partnerships with local businesses to create long-lasting, sustainable solutions. Projects from this past semester include local companies such as Valley Metro, Stardust Building Supplies, Solar United Neighbors and Tiny House Developers. The most recent semester truly tested the organization, which had to quickly adapt to a fully virtual platform in the wake of COVID-19. In
GreenLight Solutions Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit started in 2013, and today it has grown, evolved, and left its mark on the community. Students who attend Arizona State
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greenliving | June/July 2020
greenlivingaz.com
