The construction industry generates a lot of waste. Construction and demolition create more than 600 million tons of waste debris every year in the U.S., according to Environmental Protection Agency figures from 2018. That’s twice as much as the municipal waste collected from homes and businesses in cities.
As a 40-year veteran of the industry, Ken Colao of the New York-based construction company CNY Group knows the problem well. So when he began trying to turn his company into a B Corporation—with certified high environmental, social, and governance standards—he realized he needed to know just how much his firm’s projects were contributing to the problem. He started by quantifying the waste streams of his company’s projects, with an eye toward recycling at least 50% of the waste from each construction site. It’s a standard used by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification system, so Colao knew it was possible.
+INFO: Fast Company
+IMATGES: Fast Company
