Top Sustainable Companies
in New York 

For many, New York is recognized as an international emblem. This popularity has attracted various talented minds that are making strong sustainable impacts throughout the New York State. In no particular order, here are our favourite Top Sustainable Companies in New York, ranging from food security, energy efficiency, manufacturing and beyond!

There are many more sustainable companies that we may have missed, so if you believe you should be in the Top Sustainable Companies in NY, feel free to contact us and we will evaluate your sustainable initiative.

Top Sustainable Companies in New York

MOVE Systems

Across New York City, a new style of mobile food cart is making waves in the streets.

Until now, mobile food vendors resorted to using expensive and polluting power such as gasoline and diesel generators. This contributed to climate change and spews asthma causing pollution.

MOVE was founded to solve these sustainability problems. They manufacture mobile food carts that are equipped with today’s most innovative technology.

MOVE Systems mobile food carts are equipped with:

• Solar panels
• Natural gas
• Battery powered electrical systems
  

  These technologies reduce generator noise by half and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 60%!

How are the carts made?

By utilizing the resources sourced from America’s auto industry. MOVE Systems is tapping into over 115 years of experience in world class manufacturing.

Vendors not only enjoy cleaner air for them and their customers, but also get energy that is cheaper and more reliable. It’s a change that’s better for everyone!

What’s more, MOVE Systems are partnering with veterans to give them the opportunity to operate their own businesses. A partnership was made with First Data and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Sea to Table

4th Bin

4th Bin is an emerging leader in the electronic waste management sector. Currently, 4th Bin is one of the only companies in New York City picking up electronic waste from local businesses and residents. Their door-to-door, e-waste recycling solution is convenient, simple and inexpensive.

4th Bin provides sustainable technology management solutions such as:

• Maximizing the recoverable value of your IT assets before it becomes E-waste
• Understanding fair market value for your IT equipment
• Turning retiring IT assets into capital at right time
• Diminishing the cost of inventory, freight, and storage
• Offsetting the cost of new equipment purchases
• Smart Technology Planning

Whether you are in need of electronics recycling services, Data Destruction, asset buy backs or need advising on IT solutions, 4th Bin caters to NYC businesses of all sizes.

 

Farmigo

https://youtu.be/J5HMN0FeL70

With soaring innovation in the food industry, there has never been a better time to access fresh food.

Let’s take a look at Farmigo – an online farmer’s market.

By connecting people and communities with local farms, Farmigo is widely used to buy local, fresh-from-harvest food. Orders come in advance online so that farms can harvest the exact amount of food ordered.

This reduces waste as well as time that would be spent at a farmer’s market. Participating farmers can now sell a subscription to their farm for an entire season.

In this way, members receive fresh, local food that was harvested within 48 hours of delivery and has traveled less than 100 miles. And deliveries are coordinated to occur on days when the farms are already in the area making other deliveries.

Impressively, Farmigo connects farmers with over 3,000 delivery sites, including Google and Twitter offices. Their platform strongly supports the local economy and sustainable farming practices. When farmers sell directly to clients, it means the farms reap 80% the sale of the food, versus nine to 20%with traditional grocers!

BrightFarms

BrightFarm Ultra-Local Greenhouses from BrightFarms on Vimeo.

BrightFarms finances, designs, builds and operates urban farms located near (or sometimes on top of) grocery stores. They are making commercial-scale urban agriculture a reality. Imagine – instead of trucking kale in from Georgia, all your grocer needs to do is throw it down from the roof! This cuts a lot of distance, and thus waste, from the time your food is plucked until it’s in your mouth.

To operate all those greenhouses, BrightFarms uses a variety of technologies to manage their energy, water and food production. For these reasons, we think they are a great addition to our selection of the Top Sustainable Companies in New York.

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Gotham Greens

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

In the 1960s, the Environmental Defense Fund is a leading environmental non-profit that made its mark fighting against DDT in Long Island. Since then, it has grown to advocate for sustainable change in corporate workplaces.

Headquartered in New York City, EDF has converted its entire Park Avenue office building from ‘dirty-burning’ oil to cleaner burning natural gas. Employees of the organization are also committed to using cleaner transportation alternatives. They even have a policy of locating programs near public transit and using train service whenever possible.

Next Up: Top 15 Sustainable Initiatives in Vermont

Urban Green Council 

Urban Green Council is a non-profit dedicated to encouraging green buildings in New York City. They use city building green codes and know-hows to advocate for more energy efficient buildings and structures throughout all of the city’s five boroughs.

Their main initiatives include:

• Improving building envelopes. Sustainable buildings require good walls, windows, and roofs—their “envelope.” Air sealing and insulation are prerequisites for energy savings and resiliency in both new projects and retrofits. The choice of façade material and window design will drive a building’s sustainability profile for a generation or more.
• Making buildings resilient. Reducing carbon pollution is essential, but resiliency (or adaptation) also plays an important role: how quickly can we cope with climate change, and be better prepared for its effects? 
• Creating low-carbon cities. According to a broad consensus of climate scientists, the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically by 2050 to avert dangerous climate change—by 80% in the developed world. For cities, this will require a massive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing buildings. 

They are one of the Top Sustainable Companies in New York for their dedication to upgrading buildings. Urban Green Council remind New Yorkers that they can all do their part by making small, smart changes.

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Big Reuse

Big Reuse is on track to recycle 4,000,000 pounds of usable building material that would have otherwise ended up in a city landfill. The building supply and furniture recycling program gives homeowners, film crews and large-scale construction projects a place to drop off their unwanted and unneeded building supplies and furniture.

Then, Big Reuse gives another life to these materials. Their reuse centers have everything from panel doors to high-end refrigerators, window shutters to reclaimed lumber, kitchen cabinet sets to salvaged flooring.

Big Reuse serves everyone from contractors and interior design professionals to renters looking to creatively maximize their apartment space. Here, you can shop for quality and for the environment!

It was easy to select them as one of our Top Sustainable Companies in New York. Giving old items a second look helps to reduce New York’s dependence on raw material consumption!

Empire Brewing Company 

Empire Brewing Company is an award-winning brewer of handcrafted ales and lagers located in the heart of downtown Syracuse. Brewing fantastic is a priority, but they also strive to become as green a company as possible. For instance, they source all-natural ingredients from over sixty Central New York farmers. Their philosophy is based on phrases like “Eat Where You Live™” and “We Grow Beer™”.

Some of their sustainable initiatives include:

• sending the spent grains from the brewing process to a local livestock company for livestock feed
• reusing their spent fry oil as livestock feed and for bio-diesel conversion
• implementing a recycling sepabration program
• using biodegradable paper products
• integrating the use of eco-friendly detergents and cleaning supplies
• replacing old equipment with Energy Star rated products
• creating a waste minimization program in food preparation

What else?

Since they have started composting with the Onondaga County Recovery Agency, they have diverted over 50% of their waste away from landfills. EMPIRE was also the first business in Central New York to use 100% New York State produced renewable energy, provided by Blue Rock Energy.

And one more thing. 

EMPIRE has been awarded the Slow Food of Central New York‘s Snail of Approval.

Dock To Dish

 

Founded in Montauk, NY, Dock to Dish Montauk has made waves across North America. Their unique community-based seafood programs connect forward-thinking chefs with their coop members.

In this way, chefs have direct access to dock fresh, wild, sustainable seafood that is 100% traceable. The source of origin and fisher who harvested the haul is always provided.

Dock to Dish Montauk was founded by veteran seafarers who launched the original Community Supported Fishery program of New York State. These same thought-leaders established the first Restaurant Supported Fishery program in North America.

Their goals include:

• Engaging their fishermen and community members in a more transparent local food market with a minimized chain of custody;
• Ensuring greatest seafood quality and freshness and the highest levels of safe handling practices;
• Collaborating with local organizations that are dedicated to protecting our environment;
• Changing seafood marketplaces by demonstrating to producers, through consumer demand, the economic and ecological value of traceable, sustainable seafood;
• Accepting responsibility for the stewardship of their marine ecosystem.

Finger Lakes ReUse

Finger Lakes ReUse is a non-profit organization located in Ithaca, New York. As a member of the Reuse Alliance, they organize various activities relating to ‘ReUse’, thus enhancing their community, economy and the environment.

We chose to feature this humble movement in our list of Top Sustainable Companies in New York because every positive impact matters, no matter the size or the fame. As Finger Lakes ReUse continues to grow, they divert hundreds of tons of materials from the waste stream. These include construction materials, computers, electronics, household goods, sporting equipment, textiles, and furniture.

Their four main programs include:

1. The Reset Program: The ReSET job training program helps people find employment by providing training in various fields. It serves as a platform for gaining skills and for finding local employment.
2. eCenter: At the eCenter they sell a range of electronics and an unbelievable volume of standalone parts. They also service/repair computers. Before opting for a new computer, make sure you see them first!
3. Deconstruction: Remodeling? Need a building to go away? Deconstruction is a great way to reuse material instead of conventional demolition.
4. Fixers Collective: “The Ithaca Fixers Collective’ is an open group of volunteer enthusiasts meeting every Saturday to collectively get their equipment repaired. Everyone is welcome; you can bring anything!

RubberForm Recycled Products, LLC

RubberForm Recycled Products is a sustainable manufacturer located in Lockport, New York. They manufacture superior quality products made from US recycled tire crumb.

Their products include traffic and parking safety, highway construction and other venues products. Most importantly, they are made with materials sourced from US and Made in America.

What’s great is that their crumb supplier is located right down the street from their plant, which minimizes their CO2 gas emissions. And in case you were wondering, they themselves leave 0% scraps from their manufacturing process – everything is used. Their plant even utilizes clean hydro-power from Niagara Falls!

Passive House New York

New York Passive House (NYPH) started in 2010 by a group of professionals who found the need for an energy efficient built environment. We believe this strong non-profit to be one of the Top Sustainable Companies in New York as they promote energy efficient households in New York State.

Through public outreach, education, and advocacy, the team at NYPH works to promote the Passive House standard.

A passive house is a building standard that is truly energy efficient, comfortable, affordable and ecological at the same time.

Passive House is not a brand name, but a construction concept that can be applied by anyone and that has stood the test of practice.

New York Passive House is an affiliate of the International Passive House Association (iPHA, Germany), and a founding member of the North American Passive House Network (NAPHN).

LO3 Energy

LO3 Energy is a technology and business development consulting firm. They focus on emerging innovative technologies related to energy, cleantech and currency systems. The LO3 team excels in the development and testing of microgrid clean energy projects.

At the moment, LO3 Energy is engaged in a proposal to develop a community microgrid in Brooklyn. Their goal is to create local energy networks and separate them from the larger electric grid. This would also apply during extreme weather events or other emergencies.

The community microgrid will create a local energy network with a focus on:

• Working with community leaders and experts to identify distributed energy and infrastructure upgrades
• Developing locally generated energy that provide resiliency for emergency needs of local communities
• Reducing customer costs and promoting clean, renewable electricity, energy efficiency and energy storage
• Managing the microgrid for times of power outages and emergencies to protect local community
• Identify and create new financial incentives and business models to drive local economy.

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And there you have it! L’Autre Couleur’s Top Sustainable Companies in New York!

L’Autre Couleur is a socially conscious content marketing & design agency that represents companies making a difference in positive impact & sustainability. We offer end-to-end full service in digital marketing services, ranging from content writing & web design, to social media and campaign management.

To work with us on content writing or digital marketing projects, feel free to contact us.

This was the 7th post in the Top Sustainable Companies series; one for every State in the United States. By the end of 2017, you can expect a Top Sustainable Companies article for every State in the United States! To stay updated on the up and coming initiatives, subscribe to our monthly newsletter and like us on Facebook. Also please comment if we have left out any important sustainable companies in New York that you believe should be part of the our list of top sustainable companies, or if you have any thoughts/comments on the article.

Check out some of the sustainable companies happening in your neighboring country.

• Top Sustainable Companies in New Hampshire
• Top Sustainable Companies in Massachusetts
• Top Sustainable Companies in Connecticut

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