Margaret Cox
Research Mentor: Caitlin Burr
Mentor Department: C’Mon Betty, NonUM
Author(s): Margaret Cox, Caitlin Burr
Session: Session 2 (10:00 AM – 10:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 21
Abstract
C’Mon Betty is a local business that operates with a zero waste mission promoting circular economy efforts through food preservation. By creating shelf stable products out of locally sourced produce that may have otherwise been discarded, or unharvested, C’Mon Betty recovers surplus fruits and vegetables bound for landfills. In this way, the business aims to minimize waste generated as a byproduct of condiment manufacturing and business operations. In commitment to sustainable business operations, C’Mon Betty has partnered with the Office for Sustainability and Innovation to receive a certification through their Green Business Challenge. The Green Business Challenge (GBC) was created with the goal of encouraging community action towards reducing Ann Arbor’s ecological footprint. To earn points towards the certification, we collected documentation of C’Mon Betty’s current sustainability measures and developed additional environmental practices and policies for implementation. This process involved the review of existing C’Mon Betty business practices, the utilization of state and local environmental policy to write business sustainability statements, and research on the price, efficacy, and sustainability of potential resource-saving measures. Community outreach towards other local businesses was a critical step in the information-gathering process. The outcome of this research was the elucidation of what C’Mon Betty was already doing to push forward a sustainable business model while operating at a bronze GBC certification level; and, simultaneously, ensuring the implementation of additional measures such as conducting energy, waste and water use audits, installing microplastic filters, developing telework, emergency and sustainable purchasing policies to further improve environmental practices and earn gold or platinum GBC certification while assessing future goals and timelines of C’Mon Betty circular economy efforts. This research will guide company policy as C’Mon Betty expands and provide an example of the implementation of sustainability efforts for other businesses with similar operations.
