Toasted Earth

Enduring Planet provides hassle-free growth capital to climate entrepreneurs. They help entrepreneurs working on the reduction of carbon emissions, removal of carbon from the atmosphere or resilience to climate change access non-dilutive capital quickly.Michelle and Dimitry discuss what the current funding landscape is like for climate entrepreneurs today, what entrepreneurs should consider when deciding what types of funding to seek and how Enduring Planet can help close the gap on the multi-trillion dollars of funding needed to achieve the world's climate goals.Relevant links:https://enduringplanet.comSupport the show

Breakthrough Energy was started by Bill Gates in 2015 to support innovations that will lead the world to net-zero emissions. It encompasses a variety of initiatives from investment funds to philanthropic programs. Jay joins us from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a first-of-its kind program to demonstrate how we can finance, produce and buy the new solutions that will underpin a low-carbon economy.Relevant links:https://www.breakthroughenergy.org/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

Remark helps you turn your climate angst into action. Their iOS and Android app makes it easy to send your sustainability feedback to CEOs and business owners and they've recently launched a browser plugin that helps you take immediate, one-minute climate actions whenever you read depressing climate news. Remark enables individuals to ask for better from the people who pull the strings and force the system to change.Michelle and Jess discuss how humor can lift us out of despair and into action, feedback from one person can make businesses change and how Remark helps anyone easily fit climate action into their lives.Relevant links:https://remark.eco/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

HOPE Hydration creates tech-enabled water refill stations to be placed in the biggest cities around the world offering free water and reducing plastic use. For every station installed they also finance a water project to help close the global water access gap. Michelle speaks with Founder & CEO, Jorge Richardson, to discuss the intersection of technology and doing good, the state of water access today and how HOPE Hydration aims to make free, quality water no more than 5-minute walk away.Relevant Links:hopehydrate.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

Rebellyous Foods is a food production technology company working to make plant-based meat delicious, widely available and price-competitive with traditional chicken products.Michelle and Christie discuss the current plant-based meat market, why it can't keep up with the demand for plant-based meat and how Rebellyous Foods will fix that with their new food production equipment.Relevant links:https://rebellyous.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

EcoSystems is a full-service water and energy conservation company whose in-house team designs and implements solutions for properties to save on their water and energy usage, thereby helping the environment and cutting costs. They are centered around the mission to prove that conservation is good for business.Michelle and Richard discuss how Richard and his brother bootstrapped their way to a nationwide business upgrading apartment complexes and hotels at scale, how the affects of climate change on the Miami area inspired him and why it IS possible to go green and save money doing it.Relevant links:https://ecosystems.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

Briiv is the most sustainable air filter. It uses 90% natural and renewable materials, creating safe, clean homes through the power of plants.James, Sean and Michelle discuss the wastefulness of conventional air filters, the challenges of building compostable consumer electronics and how the Briiv air filter provides an eco-friendly and visually appealing alternative.Relevant links:https://briiv.co.ukSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

Carbon Collective helps investors invest in companies building climate solutions and divest from companies reliant on fossil fuels, while still helping them be broadly diversified. They do all this for the same price as a generic online investment advisor.Zach and Michelle discuss the current sustainable funds on the market today, how even a small group of investors can build a coalition to force positive change in large companies and how Carbon Collective provides an easy and reliable way to promote sustainability in your investments while getting a good return.Relevant links:https://carboncollective.coSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Eddy Badrina, CEO of Eden Green Technology.Eden Green creates turnkey greenhouse systems and vertical farming technology for growing and harvesting large amounts of local produce safely, efficiently and scalably. They do all of this while using less land, energy and water than traditional farming or other indoor solutions. Eddy and Michelle discuss how Covid 19 created an opportunity Eddy and his team to fine tune their technology, why local produce and vertical farming are beneficial for the environment, how hydroponics works and more!Relevant links:https://edengreen.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Philip Ehrhorn, Co-Founder and CTO of The Great Bubble Barrier.The Great Bubble Barrier uses bubbles to catch plastic over the full width and depth of rivers, preventing plastic from ending up in the ocean. Their system creates a bubble curtain diagonally across the river, pushing plastic to the surface and directing it into a catchment system. Great Bubble Barriers do not interfere with regular river activities, are safe for fish and other marine life and operate continuously. Philip and Michelle discuss why plastic pollution in our waterways is problematic, how Philip and his Co-Founders discovered that bubbles could help catch the plastic and the challenges of installing their technology on rivers around the world.Relevant links:https://thegreatbubblebarrier.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Brandon Boynton, Co-Founder and CEO of Undo Air.Undo Air is empowering individuals to fight climate change by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through their consumer-sized CO2 scrubber. This solar-powered household device uses replaceable, recyclable cartridges to filter the air and separate out CO2.Brandon and Michelle discuss carbon capture technology, the challenges of building a physical product with minimal carbon emissions and how individuals can make a measurable dent in the carbon we've already emitted with the soon-to-launch Undo Air device.Relevant links:https://undoair.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Angelita De la Luz, the Director of Applied Research and Operations at BeeFlow.BeeFlow provides professional pollination services to farmers. They apply scientific knowledge and technology during crop pollination to increase crop yields and improve food quality.Angelita and Michelle discuss the science behind pollination, the importance of educating farmers about better pollination practices and sustainability and how Beeflow trains their bees to pollinate specific crops resulting in a 20-90% higher crop yield.Relevant links:https://beeflow.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Haley Russell, Co-Founder and CEO of Chippin.Chippin is the world's most sustainable pet food. They make their dog food and treats from earth-friendly proteins like cricket, spirulina and silver carp using 80% fewer resources than traditional dog foods.Haley and Michelle discuss the impact that using animal protein for pet foods has on the environment, alternative protein options and why they're better and how Chippin is providing quality pet food products that are better for the planet.Relevant links:https://chippinpet.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Kristen Tapping, the Founder and CEO of GoRolloe.GoRolloe is focused on merging clean air technology with the transportation sector. They are currently developing a device that attaches to bike wheels to filter air pollution simply using the rider's motion and energy. Kristen and Michelle discuss the process of developing a new invention and the challenges of doing it in the most sustainable way, the problems arising from air pollution in our cities and how GoRolloe will have a major impact in bike-friendly cities.Relevant links:https://www.gorolloe.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Simon Schillebeeckx, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Handprint.Handprint aims to integrate positive impact into every business transaction. Their team has built a platform that connects companies with curated environmental causes and integrates these causes into the company's e-commerce website or other digital presence. They make it easy to automate, report and visualize each company's positive impact actions.Michelle and Simon discuss why having a net-positive impact is a necessity beyond offsetting footprints, why regenerative solutions are the answer and how Handprint enables businesses to go net positive easily. Relevant links:https://handprint.techSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This is a special episode focused on the future generations that will inherit the earth. In it Michelle speaks with a member of Gen Z, Aneesh Mather the Founder of Locally Universal, about his views on the environment, how he's learning about it and how he hopes to make a difference.Locally Universal is a group of students based in Northern Virginia that is dedicated to spreading awareness and taking action on environmental and animal rights issues. He and the Locally Universal members host events to clean up their community and recycle. Michelle and Aneesh discuss why he feels the need to get involved with helping our environment, what changes he'd like to see from adults to feel confident that these problems will be solved and how anyone can jump in and take small actions toward a better planet.Instagram: @locallyuniversalorgSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Paul Shapiro, the Co-Founder and CEO of The Better Meat Company. The Better Meat Co. offers cost-effective plant protein and mycoprotein formulations to seamlessly enhance or even replace meat production while improving nutrition, flavor and yield. Their clean, allergen-free protein ingredients blend effortlessly into ground beef, chicken, pork, turkey, fish and crab, reducing the amount of animal protein needed to produce them and creating a more sustainable product.Paul is the author of the national bestseller, Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World and has published more than a hundred articles on food sustainability. He's now on a journey to help flexitarians adopt more plant-based proteins with The Better Meat Company.Michelle and Paul discuss how growing animals for food hugely contributes to climate change, why it's important to have meat alternatives and how The Better Meat Co. will reduce the amount of meat we consume in a way that's appealing to plant and meat lovers alike.Relevant links:https://www.bettermeat.coSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Tim Davenport, one of the early team members and a Solutions Architect at Digital Humani. Digital Humani is a non-profit organization that provides a simple and easy to use API to help connect websites and mobile apps to trusted reforestation organizations to have trees planted.Tim was looking for a way to use his skills to help the environment when he came across the organization and joined founder Jonathan Villiard during the early days. Since then their distributed team has grown into the double digits, spanning several countries and has enabled the planting of over 50 thousand trees with Digital Humani.Michelle and Tim discuss why trees are important for the planet and how e-commerce and other companies can use the Digital Humani API to make it easy to plant trees when their customers take an action online.Relevant links:https://www.digitalhumani.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Rachel Kois, the Founder and CEO of Simple Switch. Simple Switch is an online marketplace for ethical and impactful shopping. Every one of the 3,000+ products sold on Simple Switch has a positive social or environmental impact and they aim to shift some of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent online this year to products that support orphan care, planting trees, combating climate change and more.Rachel believes deeply in the power of entrepreneurship to solve some of our most serious global problems and started Simple Switch to bring ease and convenience to ethical and impactful online shopping.Michelle and Rachel discuss how her internship in South Africa sparked her desire to support entrepreneurs doing good, why it's difficult for the everyday consumer to discover and purchase from these ethical businesses and how Simple Switch will make it easy.Discounts:Use the coupon code "TOASTEDEARTH" for 20% off your first purchase.Relevant links:https://www.simpleswitch.org/Contact info:hello@simpleswitch.orgSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Kate and Nataly Trusova, the founders of Kiwi Eco Box. Kiwi Eco Box is a monthly eco-friendly subscription box that helps you integrate zero-waste concepts into your lifestyle easily and build a plastic-free routine. Every month Kiwi Eco Box subscribers get from 5 to 7 different products, that are shipped in 100% plastic-free packaging with paper wrapping, labels, and tape — all of which are recyclable and compostable.Kate and Nataly realized that when going zero-waste, knowing what to buy, where to buy it, and if the products are good enough is both challenging and confusing. They thought it would be great if there was a service that delivered everything they needed on a regular basis, so they decided to start Kiwi Eco Box.Michelle, Kate and Nataly discuss how their grandma's lifestyle in a village in Ukraine introduced them to low-waste living, how COVID-19 resulted in them having the time to pursue the Kiwi Eco Box idea and how living zero-waste doesn't have to be hard or expensive.Relevant links:https://kiwiecobox.com/https://kiwiecoshop.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Alex Waite, the co-founder of Shameless Pets. Shameless Pets uses surplus and misfit produce to create healthy upcycled dog treats, rescuing food waste in the process. Alex is passionate about the environment, a dog lover and a food scientist. Together with her co-founder, James, she's found the intersection of these interests with Shameless Pets.Michelle and Alex discuss the food production chain and waste produced along it, how that waste can be upcycled into other products and the sustainability challenges facing food producers.Relevant Links: https://shamelesspets.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Sara Comden, the Head of Marketing at Earth Baby. Earth Baby aims to eliminate disposable diapers and wipes from Bay Area landfills. They provide a diaper service that delivers compostable diapers and picks up the dirty ones each week to be composted into topsoil.Michelle and Sara discuss why compostable diapers are better for your baby, the wastefulness of traditional disposable diapers and why you need a composting service to handle your compostable diapers safely.Relevant Links:https://earth-baby.com/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Fotis Fotiadis, the Co-Founder and CEO of Better Origin. Better Origin develops a modular insect farm powered by AI that turns food waste into animal feed via insect bioconversion, thereby reducing waste, lowering carbon emissions and creating a sustainable food source.Fotis and Michelle discuss his background in the oil and gas industry and how he shifted to focusing on sustainability, the importance of looking to nature to find solutions to our environmental problems, how Better Origin's modular insect farms produce larvae from food waste for chickens to eat and how the next step is producing larvae based products for pets and humans.Relevant links:https://betterorigin.co.uk/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Michaela Barnett, the founder of KnoxFill. KnoxFill is a zero waste refillery serving the Knoxville, Tennessee area. Their online store of household and personal care items are sourced locally and delivered in reusable, refillable containers so you get the products you need without the wasteful packaging.Michaela began to focus on waste solutions from an early age leading her to study sustainability and behavioral science. She's applied her scientific background and her knowledge of the world from years of travel to building KnoxFill.Relevant Links: https://knoxfill.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Steve Peer, the co-founder and CTO of 2B0. 2B0 has developed a recycling robot that uses artificial intelligence to automatically recognize what material it has been given, sort it and process it all within a machine that can fit in a home, office or store.Making it easier for consumers to recycle correctly will reduce the amount of recyclables ending up in landfill and aide in the fight against climate change. The 2B0 robot will also have features to help and incentivize consumers to make sustainable choices.Relevant Links:2B0 Website: https://2b0.io/Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

This episode features Christoph Hantschk the founder and CEO of goodbag. Goodbag is a smart, reusable shopping bag that makes it fun and rewarding for people to reuse their bag and allows them to track their own positive impact on the environment in real-time. Every time a customer brings their goodbag to a store they can choose to plant a tree against climate change, clean plastic waste out of the ocean or receive a discount as a reward. “ I hope we are able to not take more than the earth is giving to us, so we can make sure that our generation and future generations can really live in balance with nature.” - ChristophWhat You Will Learn:·       [1:03] Christoph on his sustainable upbringing plus how he came up with the reusable bag idea.·       [3:28] He explains why the goodbag idea is their go-to-market strategy for other actions. ·       [6:08] How to buy and use the goodbag worldwide plus the impact you make.·       [9:20] How goodbag provides a unique customer experience as a service.·       [11:35] Why they chose causes in planting trees and cleaning plastic off the ocean. ·       [14:31] The screening process they used to choose what organization to support. ·       [17:15] Christoph on the five sustainable development goals they have at goodbag.·       [21:34] The efforts to increase the amount of donations made towards goodbag causes.·       [26:06] Why collecting ocean plastic is way cheaper than planting trees. ·       [27:18] The different ways that goodbag as a business makes money.   ·       [28:33] The magic of social entrepreneurship - making money while impacting. ·       [31:38] How they measure their carbon footprint and strive to become carbon neutral/positive. ·       [36:27] Goodbag's vision to expand and to continue impacting. ·       [41:25] Christoph on the importance of balancing innovation and impacting the environment.  Relevant Links:Website: https://www.goodbag.io/ Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

In this episode, we have Ryan Smith, the founder and CEO of Recyclops. Recyclops is bringing affordable recycling to all, regardless of where people live, by offering monthly subscriptions for recycling pickups at your curbside or doorstep.“We don't have to do what's best dollar bill wise for the company, we have to do what's best mission-wise for the company.”- Ryan Smith [27:59]What You Will Learn:·       [1:12] How Ryan spotted a recycling problem and found a simple tech solution. ·       [3:51] How he actualized the idea of providing recycling in apartment complexes.·       [6:40] Ways that Recyclops has had to shift as a business to scale and keep its mission. ·       [12:36] Statistics on the cities and homes that lack recycling across the country. ·       [16:52] How Ryan expanded his business to many cities, states, and big corporations.·       [19:42] How they partner with local households and drivers to make work easier and expand the business.·       [23:42] How they impact carbon emission and footprint by not using garbage trucks.  ·       [29:14] Why more business in Ryan's line of work means doing more environment good. ·       [34:12] The sustainability mission of Recyclops to serve underserved areas and communities. ·       [39:05] How the future possibilities can impact Recyclops' business growth.·       [42:40] How to impact your local area recycling by signing up with Recyclops. ·       [44:58] Ryan hopes that the future can make sustainability simple.Relevant Links:·       Website: https://recyclops.com/ Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

In this episode of The Toasted Earth podcast, we have Pablo Gonzalez talk about the Livelihood project and its mission of making cities and nature coexist. Pablo is the founder and CEO of Livelihood. Livelihood is an environment-first clothing brand that plants a tree in Houston for every product sold and advocates for environmental projects taking place in Houston. Listen in to learn why nature and cities can coexist and the benefits of that arrangement for our cities. You will also learn what it takes to run and grow a business that values environmental wellbeing as its mission. “We believe that a community's money should be reinvested in that community.”- Pablo What You Will Learn:[1:15] Pablo on why he started Livelihood as a way to protect the environment and wildlife. [4:27] How the presence of trees can help curb extreme flooding like hurricane Harvey. [9:19] How Pablo shifted the action of bettering the environment from the stakeholders to himself.[13:22] He explains how he started the Livelihood project and actualized it.[16:36] The sustainable and quality materials they use to make Livelihood clothing.[21:36] Why Pablo targeted young people by choosing to sell clothing in exchange for planting trees. [23:19] Choosing to make a difference in your community first. [26:54] The environmental and health benefits of trees. [31:59] Why cities and nature can coexist without having to sacrifice one for the other. [35:25] The legal process needed to allow tree planting in cities. [38:00] The growth mission- protecting the environment over the business. [43:11] How they still attach to their values even as they seek business growth.  [46:00] How to contribute to the planting trees in cities mission. [50:12] Pablo hopes that cities and nature will coexist in the future. Relevant Links:Website: https://livelihood.eco/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shoplivelihood/ Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

In this episode of The Toasted Earth podcast, we have Landon Brand talk about his company Wren and its efforts against climate change. Landon is the co-founder and CEO of Wren, a web app, building tools that makes it easy to offset your carbon footprint. He grew up in the very environmentally conscious Santa Barbara, and the more he learned about the effects of climate change, the more he wanted to do something about it. Listen to this episode to learn how a simple subscription will help you impact climate change and start living and supporting sustainability. What You Will Learn:·       [0:56] How growing up in an environmentally conscious Santa Barbara influenced Landon's climate change efforts.·       [6:00] How Landon and his co-founders used their coding background to create Wren. ·       [10:33] The process of signing up for Wren and how it will impact your carbon offsets.·       [12:52] How they help people easily navigate and keep engaged with their conservation efforts.·       [14:14] The factors they look for in projects for sponsoring prioritization. ·       [19:25] Why they value and demand transparency from projects they sponsor to gain trust. ·       [21:52] Why they chose the public benefit corporation entity for scaling purposes.·       [26:00] How they're running the business strictly aligned with their mission.·       [27:50] How they're utilizing traditional, digital, and referral marketing strategies. ·       [30:06] The strategy of targeting people individually and the impact they can make.  ·       [32:10] Landon explains how they keep learning to stay evolving and efficient.·       [34:06] How you can get involved with Wren. ·       [34:43] The importance of understanding earth's complexities and making it better.Relevant Links:·       Website: https://www.wren.co/ ·       Landon's Email: landon@projectwren.com Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

In this episode of Toasted Earth, we have Matthias Kurwig, the founder and CEO of Enervee, talk about the value of efficient appliances. Enervee has created a suite of software applications and services designed to drive energy-smart buying decisions. Their mission is to empower consumers to make better choices for themselves and the environment.Listen in to learn the importance of having a streamlined subsidized lending service to enable affordable efficient appliances replacement, especially after the pandemic. What You Will Learn:·       [1:01] How Matthias was inspired by his past business experience to start Enervee. ·       [2:10] Why the founding idea of Enervee was getting people to do the right thing intentionally or not.·       [6:34] How they utilized the available energy data to actualize the idea of efficient appliances.·       [10:20] He describes the team they started with and the overall product website. ·       [13:31] The different energy efficiency lessons they've learned to improve Enervee for consumers.·       [18:53] How they pivoted the market and partnered with utilities to improve energy efficiency. ·       [23:20] He explains their other two product lines also geared towards energy efficiency.·       [2633] Enervee's efforts towards efficient appliances affordability. ·       [33:54] Why they stick with projects that align with their mission even when it's tough.·       [36:24] The different future growth strategies Enervee's looking at as a company. ·       [40:48] How they work with direct to consumers vs. under the utility program.·       [41:53] The different ways you as a consumer can help Enervee be more successful. ·       [43:10] The importance of taming our consumption desires to protect the environment. Relevant Links:·       Website: https://www.enervee.com/ Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

In this episode of Toasted Earth, we have Sarah Garner talk about her sustainability efforts in reselling kids' clothes. Sarah is the founder and CEO of Retykle, an innovative luxury resale e-commerce platform making buying and selling great quality children's wear convenient. It drives a circular economy where parents can buy and resell designer babies, kids, and maternity clothing. Listen in to learn the importance of a circular economy that promotes recycling and environmental sustainability. You will also learn the importance of being certifiable as a company to be accountable for sustainability. What You Will Learn:·       [0:57] Sarah on her career in luxury fashion before transitioning to circular fashion.·       [3:41] The wastefulness and overconsumption caused by constant buying of kid's clothing.·       [5:44] How she executed the idea of reselling kid's clothing by creating an eCommerce experience.·       [10:36] The process of buying, selling, and reselling kid's clothing with Retykle.·       [11:58] How they're tracking the environmental impact of their circular economy business.·       [13:09] The impact of cheap fashion and overproduction of inventory on the environment.·       [16:14] Some other companies that are using the circularity model. ·       [18:02] Why Retykle chose to sell vs. rent with their model.·       [21:24] How they're measuring and incorporating many environmentally friendly practices. ·       [22:42] The importance of being certifiable to be accountable for sustainability.·       [24:20] How to be climate neutral certified- accounting for your business operation carbon output. ·       [26:56] Sarah on Retykle's future scalability and sustainability plans. ·       [30:31] How they utilize tech to minimize processing time and touch time. ·       [32:11] How to contribute to sustainable fashion as opposed to fast fashion. ·       [35:03] Why we need to be accountable and give back rather than dispose.Relevant Links:·       Website: https://retykle.com/ ·       Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retykle/ Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)

Toasted Earth is a podcast all about environmental sustainability, who's tackling it, why we should care and how each of us can have an impact. I'm your host, Michelle Cunningham, and each week I'll be interviewing a founder whose idea, company, non-profit or movement is focused on a new and inspiring way to help the environment. We'll be discussing their unique journeys, their mission and how listeners can get involved.Want to learn more? Visit our website, toastedearth.com, or listen on your favorite podcasting application. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toastedearth)