VBSR Member News Round Up – 11/8/23
SunCommon and Ben & Jerry’s: Champion Member SunCommon has announced participation in the “Low Carbon Dairy” pilot program with Champion Member Ben & Jerry’s to support Vermont dairy farms. The multi-faceted program offers many different approaches to improving dairy farm sustainability including going solar. One of those farms is Four Girls Dairy farm in Fairfax, which engaged SunCommon to install a 72-kW roof-mounted solar system on its main dairy barn. The project was made possible by a financing program that SunCommon manages with SunWealth, a clean energy investment firm, and a grant from Ben & Jerry’s. Learn more here.
Vermont Federal Credit Union: Vermont community members and organizations came together recently to raise more than $120,000 at the 2023 Empty Bowl Dinner, benefitting Spectrum Youth & Family Services. Sponsored by Gold Member Vermont Federal Credit Union. Funds raised from the dinner will go toward supporting Vermont youth facing homelessness and other hardships. Learn more here.
Vanguard Renewables: The Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, a pre-competitive group of leading national brands focused on advancing sustainability, recently held its annual member meeting in Colorado. The Alliance, co-founded in 2020 by member Vanguard Renewables, aims to boost food waste reduction and recycling, expand renewable energy production across America, and support generational farms and regenerative agriculture practices. Members of the Alliance (which now include Champion Member Vermont Creamery and Gold Member Cabot Creamery Cooperative) gathered to share sustainability best practices and build personal connections through this annual meeting, collaborating on ideas and solutions to mitigate climate change. Learn more here.
Resonant Link: The biggest obstacle to an all-electric-vehicle future always seems to be the batteries: some components are hard to source, they’re expensive to make, capacity doesn’t meet all needs – and many can’t be recycled. But some companies and researchers think the future would be less reliant on big batteries if we could develop cost-effective ways to charge vehicles wirelessly. South Burlington’s Resonant Link is one of those companies and they recently discussed their wireless charging solutions with Marketplace. Learn more here.
University of Vermont: To determine how culture and society adapt to a changing climate, a team of researchers from the University of Maine and Gold Member the University of Vermont (UVM) have conducted the first-ever study of cultural adaptation to climate change. Using the science of cultural evolution to examine data on which crops farmers plant across the U.S., their work can help inspire more effective policy solutions to survive in the face of the harmful effects of global warming. Learn more here.
Vermont Evaporator Company: Every November, Vermont Evaporator sets aside 5% of their revenues to donate to an indigenous cause in honor of National Native American Heritage Month. This year, the company will be setting aside a portion of its November sales for a local nonprofit, Alnôbaiwi. The original inhabitants of North America discovered how to make maple sugar and passed on that knowledge to European immigrants. The maple industry benefit from this knowledge transfer on a daily basis. The Vermont Evaporator Company recognizes this knowledge transfer through this annual commitment. Learn more here.
BETA: Beta Technologies pilots recently lifted off in Vermont and flew down the East Coast. Over the course of 16 days they made nearly two dozen stops to rest and recharge, flying through congested airspace over Boston, New York, Washington and other cities – finally coming to rest in Florida. The trip offered a vision of what aviation could look like years from now — one in which the skies are filled with aircraft that do not emit the greenhouse gases that are dangerously warming up the Earth. What happened on the trip? Learn more here.
Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund: As usual, the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund has a great deal going on right now. Here are a few projects in the news…
- The Vermont Prosperity Project (a partnership that includes VBSR) invites everyone to join them for #GlobalDonutDay November 13. It isn’t exactly what it sounds like, but you are allowed to bring your own tasty baked goods! This day of local, community-led festivals, connected throughout the world are centered around Doughnut Economics. This is a moment to learn, share, meet new people, and be inspired as we explore what it means for humanity to thrive in the 21st century. Learn more here.
- DeltaClimeVT (the climate economy business accelerator) is seeking innovative, start-up and/or seed stage, energy companies offering innovative products or services aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to help Vermont meet its climate goals. Entrepreneurs will work directly with Vermont utilities who are looking to deploy innovative services and technologies to contribute to Vermont’s 90% renewable by 2050 and Burlington’s Net Zero by 2030 goals. Learn more here.