Recycling, sustainable living, and community are values that many people share today. Keeping up with the latest trends and innovations and connecting with a community of likeminded individuals is often a challenge. Earth911 wants to solve that problem.
Jeff Cheney is the President of Earth911, a lifestyle and media publishing company that helps consumers live a zero waste, sustainable lifestyle. With its decades’ old online presence, Earth911 has built a large following both consumer and corporate. They have one of the world’s largest directories for recycling information, which is leveraged by scientists, corporations, and nonprofit organizations around the world.
Tell us more about Earth911’s origins and why you believe it has lasted this long.
Earth911.com has been around in one form or another for roughly, twenty years. The site started as a recycling database locator. Our team has been collecting data on computers, cell phones, fax machines, and plastics for two decades now.
Way back when, the goal was to capture locations by zip code and maintain a database that consumers could search when they needed to find places to recycle goods. As the years have gone on, companies have accessed the data and used it to build their take back programs. We have many corporate partners now. Companies like Dell partner with us to access the data.
Recycling programs of every variety are being added daily for towns, cities, and states all across the country. Retailers are implementing take-back programs due to extended producer responsibilities. How do you keep the recycle guides up to date?
It starts with the millions of records that are already in the database. The recycle database and its search algorithm is a large complex set of data. We currently have a 7-9 month project under way to review the records. It is an ongoing process to manage and groom the data.
We know the integrity and protection of the data is critical. It would be extremely difficult to rebuild the database if we had to start over. Many corporations use our database to design their take-back programs and to help consumers recycle. We need to make sure we maintain it.
Our partners also help us grow and expand the database. Each year companies are investing more to educate consumers. They look to us for up-to-date information.
Consumers can find sustainable lifestyle information in many places. How is Earth911 unique and how have you expanded the site to adapt to today’s consumer?
We have modernized the site and added features and functionality that one would expect to see in a website today. The site is more interactive and informative, we have videos, relevant articles, categories, and ecommerce. We’re working on forums. It’s not just recycling information.
We’re providing consumers with information that improves their daily lives and helps them move toward a zero waste lifestyle. We’ve added staff who write articles and tips on sustainable living. The staff writers all have different voices and experiences, and that provides a wide spectrum of content.
We continuously update the recycling guides. We’ve added a search component that tells people how they can dispose of things at home.
No matter where people are in their sustainability journey, we want to help them take the next step.
Most exciting is that we have an ecommerce component called youchange. Youchange is our sustainable living shop. It’s where people can find all types of products that support a sustainable lifestyle. It’s quite large and very comprehensive.
Our plan is to have our readership vet out the products in our market place. We’re providing ways for them to rank at the product and vendor level. With that, we can review sentiment ratings to better understand what consumers want and how to support the movement.
Ecommerce based on a sustainable lifestyle sounds promising. Why is youchange so important and how will it help more people engage in a sustainable lifestyle?
Youchange enables people to voice an opinion using their wallets. They can cast their sustainability votes with their purchases.
Creating this marketplace was a huge undertaking for us. It was a year in the making. We built all the infrastructure, established the products and vendors, added in a rating system, and made sure it was all secure for transactions. Our next effort is getting the word out to let people know it’s available.
It’s been really exciting to watch it come together. We’ve consolidated what is available to people from a sustainability perspective and made it available all in one place.
Earth911 has many partners from various industries. Is there a partner that is helping you expand and bring your message to the people?
There is! I would really like to highlight our partnership with GeekBeat.tv. This is one I’m very excited about. They have millions of followers in the technology industry.
When we first talked with them, we found that they have a passion for sustainability. It’s part of their corporate culture. Immediately, we saw a great fit and new we wanted to work together.
Currently, they are working with us to develop a program similar to Geekbeat.tv related to tech choices and sustainable living. Think pros and cons of electric cars, connecting your kids to sustainable projects, and giving honest reviews of new products on the market. Our TV channel is in the works and a goal for 2015.
How does your vision of sustainable living drive internal behaviors at Earth911 and does it affect the corporate culture?
Our vision and mission drive our day to day actions.
The big thing for us is being connected to our local community. We are headquartered in Frisco, Texas. We engage in and sponsor many of the local initiatives. We help run the “Chunk Your Junk” program. We sponsor programs where neighbors can drop off things like extra paint supplies, appliances and things from their house that need to be recycled, electronics, you name it.
We participate in the “Clean It and Green It” program on Earth Day, where thousands of kids scour the streets in Frisco to clean it up. It’s about the importance of keeping where they live healthy and green. I really enjoy working on these efforts with the kids in our community.
We also partner with the Dallas Mavericks on some of their initiatives. For example, we work with them every year to make sure that our stadiums recycle everything.
Earth911 plays an important role in educating consumers on how to live a sustainable lifestyle. How do you see this expanding in years to come?
We are working diligently to make Earth911 a more interactive and discussion based site. Dialogue is important. Our emphasis every week is on expanding our content and readership. We currently have over 100,000 Facebook followers. We want them to share the message, to comment, and to create great discussion. These discussions are where new ideas and innovations will be found.
I was lower on the sustainability spectrum when I started this project. Now, I’ve learned so much. I’m better in my decision making. I think about the products I buy for my home. I think about how I live. I use the site not as the President of the company but as someone always learning and finding ways to improve.
During our rebranding this year, we wanted to make it clear that when people come to our site, they don’t have to be perfect. They don’t have to do everything just right. They can start at whatever level they are already at and make small changes. Those small changes really add up over time. My hope is that we can inspire the world to build a more sustainable lifestyle. It’s a journey. We’re all in it together.
Bio:
Kelly Eisenhardt is Co-Founder and Managing Director at BlueCircle Advisors, an environmental compliance and sustainability consulting and training firm based in Massachusetts (www.bluecircleadvisors.com.) In her role at BlueCircle Advisors, she is responsible for providing business intelligence, strategy and implementation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk programs. Her experience aligns well with her client’s needs for technology, compliance, and sustainability expertise by helping companies create and manage their corporate environmental and social responsibility programs.
To contact Kelly Eisenhardt, send emails to kelly.eisenhardt@bluecircleadvisors.com or follow her on Twitter @KelEisenhardt. For more information about BlueCircle Advisors and the company’s products and services, please visit www.bluecircleadvisors.com, on Facebook at BlueCircle Advisors, on Twitter @OurBlueCircle, and on the LinkedIn group at the BlueCircle Advisors group.