Innovation

Environmental Services Management Group Inc. was founded by Michael Buono in 1997. The goal of the company is to reduce and reuse waste and turn it into a commodity. The reason why one would want to take part in this practice is to gain a profit and make the environment a cleaner place. Buono wanted to take this practice and turn it into an innovation. His innovation was to reduce waste and turn it into a commodity, but through a deeper meaning. The world would be cleaner and a profit would be made. In the interview, we learned that 90 percent of ESMG’s office was recycled furniture from past projects.

ESMG was involved in a project that would take used soda cans and compress them. After compressing them, they would take the leftover liquid and send it to a farm for their use in irrigation. Another project that ESMG was involved in was with the Natural Resource Defense Council. They asked for their glass doors to be removed. ESMG used these glass doors for their own office to make cubicles. As you can see, the innovation of waste reduction is really spectacular, mainly because nothing goes to waste!

Moreover, ESMG is really making an impact. Materials are being taken from clients who want to get rid of them, and ESMG turns it into good rather than harming the environment. The “Sustainable Cities and Communities” and "Responsible Consumption and Production" goals are fulfilled because ESMG is making the world cleaner and more sustainable for humans. Their innovation on waste reduction is one of a kind.

Inspiration

Environmental Service Management Group, Inc. has been inspired by possibilities of reusing material into new projects. The company believes that it is important to raise awareness to different businesses about the impact they will create if they manage their waste in a more environmentally responsible way. ESMG is interested in helping businesses to be sustainable “We are very open and green-minded and we want our businesses to be sustainable” (Jon Snyder). This consulting firm has been on board with a variety of projects such as the re-use of materials for construction that were going to be disposed. ESMG is constantly looking to reduce the environmental footprint, and show their clients what are their possibilities for making better decisions, especially when they want to keep the projects in the same area. “We want to do things local because that does affect the environmental footprint of the project” (Jon Snyder).

Overall impact

ESMG is currently working with construction sites which they believe is more effective to recycle items instead of putting them to waste. They gain a financial benefit because it is cheaper to recycle than to throw items away. ESMG states that the cost will be 2 to 3 times more than to recycle. When working with companies that involve shareholders, such as Coca Cola and Pepsico, they directly execute a plan to show the effects by concentrating on those specific companies' bottom line through providing information on cost savings and what their environmental impact is. Because ESMG sees how technology is changing toward the future and replacing the human workforce, they want to help companies retain their hard-working employees who are capable to do the work in the future. The company utilizes items based on their innovation from the hospitality industry, like hotels, which are constantly trying to get rid of old furniture. They estimate about 90% of the items they have collected through different projects are used in their personal office space.

The evidence that suggests this impact has occurred would be by implementing their own strategies internally as they do for their clients. They do this by executing their 25 years of consulting experience, in creating a recycling plan program internally. In their administrative offices the goal is to minimize waste production through a policy that they created by reducing food utilization in the workspace. From this program ESMG has successfully saved 4,500 pounds of waste and 5,000 in costs. They have also used other programs internally alongside the recycling process of Mixed materials such as glass, metal, paper, and plastic. They convert those materials together and form a soiling supplement for their interior office plantings. In the future ESMG hopes to use the same supplement in their landscaping projects.

Business benefit

ESMG is specialized in LEED certification. It is cheaper to recycle things than to re use them. At ESMG they find ways to minimize a company's output by looking at their procedures and what they throw away and what they can possibly do with the materials as far as recycling. In doing so they take a percentage of that project after it is finished.

Not only do they implement their expertise in helping other Manufacturers but ESMG also implements these fundamentals to themselves, in doing so ESMG has saved almost $7,000 in recycling for their own company.

Currently they have full time staff of four employees. Environmental Service Managment Group is a privately owned company based in New Jersey. They keep their company small but depending on the project being done they designate tasks to different contractors .

ESMG also did work with big companies such as Coca Cola and Pepsi in extracting liquid from containers and reusing them. ESMG is currently working with a company based in Pennsylvania called INC Color that does colors and dyes for many companies. ESMG is currently working with INC Color to help them build a research facility to the highest standard.

ESMG has a zero waste movement. They try to get as close to zero as possible by minimizing waste on the front end, and by taking a look at what companies are purchasing. They look at if they are purchasing sustainable materials from the start instead of dealing with products that are not. In using non sustainable materials, companies may result in having to use incinerators. Although it is effective in getting rid of waste, they still produce toxic smoke.

Social and environmental benefit

There are several reasons why ESMG is positively benefiting our environment and society. To begin with, ESMG’s services engage in being proactive about waste reduction. Their services assist in improving the carbon footprint of companies by establishing an internal program through their consultations. This innovation is benefiting the environment because it is overall reducing the harm caused by waste. Companies can produce large amounts of waste which affect different areas of our environment. By establishing these plans, companies are limited to reducing, recycling, and reusing materials.

In addition, society benefits from ESMG’s services because through the improvement of companies' carbon footprint, society lives a healthier life. This innovation has caused companies to be aware of the power they hold and the significant impacts that their decisions hold to our society and environment. Our lives are at a risk when companies are consumed in mass production and not being knowledgeable or considerate of society itself. ESMG’s services allow for the production of these companies to continue, while also assisting on reducing its negative impact towards the environment and society.

Interview

Jon Synder, Waste Management Revolutionize Sustainability