Reducing carbon footprint
Jennifer Russell is fighting for an economic model with far fewer endpoints.
“Our economies are reaching an inflection point where they are bumping up against finite limits,” said Russell, assistant professor of circular economy at Virginia Tech. “We have the information now to anticipate what is going to happen if we continue down the current path and enough information to help us adjust both the system and our behaviors toward a different outcome.”
Russell’s research points to the environmental and economic advantages of prioritizing circular systems approach over more typical take-make-and-dispose patterns and using nature’s waste-free function as a guide. And her work is being applied on the global stage by international companies and the United Nations and at the local level in areas such as municipal waste facilities and retirement communities. This includes
1. Working on a team alongside global shoemaker Adidas to address the economic challenges of designing, producing, and recycling athletic shoes
2. Collaborating with Caterpillar Inc. and other heavy equipment manufacturers to understand how to scale-up circular economy and remanufacturing and the accompanying environmental benefits
3. Guiding the sustainability transition of Virginia-based retirement communities by analyzing energy and consumption patterns to help them improve efficiency
4. Co-authoring the 2018 U.N.’s International Resource Panel report “Redefining Value – The Manufacturing Revolution
“The most important thing that she does, she can communicate in the simplest of terms and she resonates the passion for circular economies and sustainability with people from all walks of life,” said Bill Davies, who has been an industry leader in remanufacturing for more than three decades. “We were once both a part of a panel discussion to executives at the U.S. Building Green Council. There were thousands of people there, and she could relate to everyone from the most sophisticated CEO right down to the facilities person on the floor.”
That passion has been clearly evident in Russell’s nearly two decades — first as an industry insider and currently at Virginia Tech — of working to move industry toward better sustainability and profitability. And it dates back to a high school science project.
Source:
https://news.vt.edu/categories/impact/reducing-greenhouse-gasses.html?utm_source=THE_Custom_SDG12_Jan&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FY25Global
