Notable Sustainable Companies
in Georgia
This October, we are continuing our Notable Sustainable Companies series with Georgia State! Many sustainable initiatives are to be discovered in the state where we find the famous Okefenokee Swamp. The latter encompasses over 400,000 acres of canals; moss draped cypress trees, and lily pad prairies providing sanctuaries for hundreds of species of birds and wildlife!
There are many more sustainable companies that we may have missed, so if you believe you should be in the Notable Sustainable Companies in Georgia, feel free to contact us and we will evaluate your sustainable initiative. We did not receive any funding or incentives to feature these companies. Our goal is to create awareness of sustainable development and encourage others to participate. Companies listed in this article are also welcome to add our eco-badge to their website, located at the bottom of this article.
Notable Sustainable Companies in Georgia
Georgia Aquarium
Based in Atlanta, Georgia Aquarium commits to bringing awareness and preservation of our ocean and aquatic animals worldwide. This non-profit is a scientific institution that entertains and educates, features exhibits and programs that promote the conservation of aquatic biodiversity.
One of the fastest ways to get involved is to check out their Georgia Aquarium’s Seafood Savvy program. This was developed to empower you and businesses to make informed seafood choices for a healthy ocean and ensure abundant supplies of seafood for the future.
Did you know that in the United States alone, 67% of seafood by value moves through restaurants and an additional 24% sells through retail outlets? As gatekeepers to the seafood supply, your purchasing power makes a difference.
Know which options are “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives” or which to “Avoid” when dining out or cooking at home. Not sure how to ask your wait staff or grocer if a fish is sustainable? It’s as easy as 1-2-3!
1) Where did it come from?
2) Is it farmed or wild-caught?
3) If it’s wild, how was it caught?
Southern Farm & Garden
Southern Farm & Garden is a beautiful and educational agricultural publication. As a Georgia-based media company, they always feature Southern-centric editorial as well as content that speaks to readers from coast to coast. With the success of their launch in the summer of 2015, they have visited with farmers, gardeners, wineries, chefs, artists and other unique makers across the country who are passionate about creating healthy, unique and sustainable products you can enjoy all year.
Their conversations often focus on sourcing and cooking healthier food, staying well, getting back to nature and living a more connected life.
If you have a story to tell or share, get in touch with them here.
Grubbly Farms
Photo credit: Grubby Farms Instagram
Grubbly Farms takes on our current food sustainability problem with the help of black soldier flies. The startup, based in Doraville, Georgia, is transforming the industry by selling the fly’s dehydrated larvae as a more sustainable protein and fat-heavy animal feed.
In 2015, Georgia Tech graduates and cousins Sean Warner and Patrick Pittaluga ordered 700 larvae of black soldier flies from Amazon and started growing them after reading about the large cultivation of insects in Europe and Asia. Warner and Pittaluga feed pre-consumer food waste from local organizations to the flies and as they eat it, the flies convert it into quality fertilizer. The larvae the flies produce is then harvested, dehydrated and sold as backyard chicken treats.
How do they use the black soldier fly at Grubbly Farms?
Their process starts by collecting food waste from different organizations and processing facilities and feeding it to the insects so that they break it down into a quality fertilizer and soil that can also be sold for home gardening. Grubbly Farms raises the flies, and their sole purpose as a fly is to mate. Then, they collect their eggs and raise the larvae off of the collected food waste. The larvae is what the real protein source comes from, what we’re actually harvesting and turning into proteins and fats. They are considered the “piranha” of the insect world in the sense that they are incredible efficient at breaking down organic matter. They don’t bite, sting or transmit diseases to humans. They aim to recycle about 2 tons of food waste a day, outputting a few hundred pounds of insect-based protein every day.
That’s great, but what sustainable problem are they really solving?
Right now, about 10% of our ocean’s catch, we catch about 140 million tons of fish out of our oceans every year, and about 10% of that is the small schooling fish — like mackerel, sardines or herring.
There are more or less directly processed into fish meal and fish oil, which are the protein and fat ingredients for the majority of aquaculture and livestock feed. Over the past few years, due to overfishing and increase in price with other resources, the cost of fishmeal has increased in price by about 200% over the past 8 years or so. It’s put a lot of undue hardships on farms of all sizes. Large farms have taken a hit, but it’s been more detrimental for small farms. The main reason behind that is livestock feed itself is the largest expense of raising any type of meat, whether it’s actual livestock or aquaculture.
Their goal is to develop an alternative insect-based protein source that has a sustainable aspect of it but to undercut the price of the fish meal in the future so that we can continue producing feed at a cheaper rate, and in turn, continue producing meat products that are affordable.
Replantable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjxfrSnmPr4
Replantable, has created an appliance that helps plant pads grow herbs, lettuce, and other edible plants in the comfort of your kitchen. In other words, this urban agriculture company based out of downtown Atlanta makes a kitchen appliance that grows produce automatically.
How does the nano farm work?
The nano farm itself is made of wood and steel and put together by a local contract manufacturer outside of Atlanta, in Lithonia.
Replantable then makes the plant pads (a combination of paper and seeds and plant nutrients) which are delivered to your home. The next step is to place one of the plant pads in one the nano farm and add water and then the plants grow. The nutrients in the plant pad release slowly over time so there’s no need to add fertilizer or change the soil out.
There’s actually no soil at all as Replantable uses hydroponics. Hydroponics means growing plants in water and nutrients. There’s no constant watering. Once you fill the tray up with water the first time there’s no need to check up on it at all. Replantable wanted to make it so that you could go on vacation for a month, come back and you’ve got a full crop of food ready for you.
Quest Renewables
One of the next Notable Sustainable Companies in Georgia relates to sunshine. Solar energy, while abundant (especially in the Southeast!), can often be too expensive to harness. Quest Renewables has developed a technology to help solar developers save time and money when installing commercial projects. Their technology reduces traditional barriers to going solar with parking canopies. Less steel, fewer foundations and less customer disruption.
The QuadPod Canopy is a 3-dimensional truss system that can be installed on existing structures, like parking lots, for an easy on-ground assembly process that is safe and reduces costs. QuadPod is a lightweight architectural structure that integrates more effectively with a customer’s property by reducing construction time and structural columns. 90 percent of QuadPod’s construction activity, including assembly, wiring and lighting, takes place on the ground. After assembly, wiring and lighting, the solar canopies are lifted by crane for final installation, minimizing overhead work and optimizing worksite safety.
The company has already tackled a good portion of the market with more than $1M in completed and current projects. Its design makes it more approachable for businesses to install and adopt — moving forward a sustainable energy model.
Did you know that Quest Renewables is the one behind the LEED Platinum certified Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where the 617kW QuadPod solar canopy will generate enough electricity to power nine home games!
TreeZero
According to the World Resources Institute, more than 80 percent of the Earth’s natural forests have been destroyed already. A good portion of this is driven by the need for more stuff — including office supplies like paper. In fact, 40 percent of deforestation can be attributed to the paper industry.
Recycled paper is the first step — one pallet (40 boxes) of 30 percent recycled paper saves 7 trees. But one Atlanta company has stepped up with an even more innovative solution: North America’s only tree-free, carbon-neutral paper.
TreeZero‘s high-quality paper is made up of sugarcane waste fiber, a material that is usually burned or wasted in landfills. Manufacturing it emits 42 percent less CO2 emissions than manufacturing virgin paper, but to make up for any emissions, the team also purchases carbon credits to combat deforestation in Africa.
A pallet of TreeZero’s paper thus saves 24 trees!
Emrgy
Emrgy, Inc. is an Atlanta, GA based Small Business Enterprise (“SBE”) and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (“WBE”) that is pioneering a modular and compact approach to implementing new hydroelectric installations.
Their design uses a unique gear-box technology to pack turbine-and-generator systems into small, modular and scalable units. These micro-hydropower systems can be installed in existing waterways of water treatment facilities to supplement their own power needs.
By harvesting the excess energy in water flows, Emrgy’s customers are able to utilize predictable energy production locally that can be used for on-site critical functions (pumps, backup power, control houses) and/or interconnect with the grid.
Emrgy empowers their customers to generate on-site, clean and reliable energy from water already flowing through their system.
Next Up: Top 15 Sustainable Initiatives in South Carolina
Chehaw
Photo credit: Chehaw Facebook
Chehaw is driven by its mission of inspiring people to connect with nature and encouraging conservation action through positive recreational and educational experiences. The Park, founded close to eight decades ago, has expanded to an 800-acre campus and includes a Zoo that houses hundreds of animals in naturalistic exhibits and annually hosts over 100,000 visitors.
The Zoo at Chehaw is home to 238 specimens representing over 125 different species. Enjoy natural, outdoor exhibits including Cheetahs, Black Rhinoceros’, Meerkats, Black Bears, Alligators, and many more, while you stroll through their scenic boardwalks and cypress swamp. Participate in animal feedings and keeper talks every weekend. Chehaw’s African Veldt Ride is free with admission and will take you through their largest exhibit where seven different species roam in natural herds.
The Zoo at Chehaw undergoes regular, thorough investigation to ensure that it has met, and will to continue to meet, ever-rising standards. These standards encompass animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education, and safety.
Buttermilk Kitchen
Located in Atlanta, GA, Buttermilk Kitchen is a breakfast and lunch concept created by chef Suzanne Vizethann. Buttermilk’s mission is to nurture people through food by use of sustainable, local ingredients. A kitchen where most everything is made in-house from scratch, paying tribute to its name, “Buttermilk,” which refers to the liquid utilized after butter was churned; carrying out the philosophy of letting nothing go to waste.
Click here for a list of their local vendors, which include, but are not limited to Holeman and Finch, Rev Coffee Roasters, Southern Swiss Dairy and more!
Green Truck Pub
Photo credit: Green Truck Pub
Next on our list of Notable Sustainable Companies in Georgia highlights Green Truck Pub, located in Savannah.
Chef-Owner Joshua Yates and Wife Whitney founded the Green Truck Pub on a simple premise: local folks in Savannah deserve a casual place to eat and drink well. Eating well means doing some good for the local economy by sourcing everything from meat to corkboards to salvaged furnishings close to home. So, if a trip to Savannah is in your future and you’d like to seek out neighborhood favorites where the locals go, take note of Green Truck Pub.
Liam’s Restaurant
Photo credit: Liams Thomasville
Owners Rhonda and Chef Scott Foster named the place after their son, Liam. Liam’s Restaurant, found in Thomasville, celebrates local products.
Here’s what they say: “While there are many environmental and socially responsible reasons to serve only sustainably-sourced, natural, organic, artisan made and harvested ingredients, our principle is much simpler..it just tastes better!”
Their kitchen turns out a weekly changing, seasonal menu that seeks out fresh local ingredients, such as pork from Thompson Farms in Dixie, and cheese from Sweet Grass Dairy up the road — even the coffee is locally roasted. The wine list is focused on small producers, is joined by a first-rate craft beer list and liquors.
Drift Oyster Bar
Photo credit: Drift Oyster Bar
Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar offers a seasonal menu of chef-driven sustainable seafood centered around a live wood-fired grill and oyster bar. They don’t just talk about sustainability, they are leading the effort as the first restaurant in Georgia to be an official partner of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program helps consumers and businesses choose seafood that’s fished or farmed in ways that support a healthy ocean, now and for future generations. Their recommendations indicate which seafood items are Best Choices or Good Alternatives, and which ones you should Avoid.
They are committed to procuring the highest quality sustainable seafood available ensuring a viable future of our oceans for generations to come.
Atlanta BeltLine
Photo courtesy of Trees Atlanta
In 2006, Atlanta established the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., known as ABI, to lead a renovation funded by private donors and the city that includes bike trails, parks, water management systems, housing, electric transit, art sculptures and more. According to Gravel, the project is the most extensive of its kind in the United States.
Atlanta BeltLine is 33 miles of multi-use trails along a historic rail line that encircles the city’s core. The ring of infrastructure is boosting environmental awareness in a metropolis that has been better known for suburban sprawl than parklands. Although other cities are turning abandoned tracks into greenways, the US$4.8 billion project connecting 45 neighborhoods offers unique lessons on urban renewal.
Food Well Alliance
Photo credit: Food Well Alliance
Food Well Alliance envisions a livable, resilient Metro Atlanta growing, sharing and eating healthy, local food.
Their success is driven by collaboration and supporting thriving communities through measurable environmental, economic, community and health impacts.
As an Alliance, they unite communities in Atlanta to build a robust local food system – a network of individuals and organizations that grow, process, distribute and consume fresh local food. They connect people, ideas, leadership and capital to build a city that values healthy, locally-grown food.
Food Well Alliance operates in ways that are equitable, collaborative and transparent to:
- Identify, invest in and promote innovative ways to strengthen the local food economy and how it is valued
- Strengthen local urban growers and markets to increase production of sustainably grown, local food
- Increase production of and access to local compost
- Connect people ideas and capital to strengthen the local food system
Georgia Grown
Photo cred: Georgia Grown
Georgia Grown is a marketing and economic development program of the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Their No. 1 goal is to aid their agricultural economies by bringing together producers, processors, suppliers, distributors, retailers, agritourism and consumers in one powerful, statewide community. We’re here to help new agribusinesses grow, and established agribusinesses thrive.
Georgia Grown is also a brand with deep roots in sustainability, quality and integrity. The Georgia Grown brand is desired by business and consumers who want to buy and promote Georgia’s locally grown products. There are many ways you can be a part of Georgia Grown — join now and complete a free Business Profile, become a member and promote your business as Georgia Grown!
We hope you enjoyed L’Autre Couleur’s Notable Sustainable Companies in Georgia!
L’Autre Couleur is a responsible 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 public relations campaign management.
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This was the 16th post in the Notable Sustainable Companies series; one for every State in the United States. By the end of 2019, you can expect a Notable 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 follow us on Facebook. Also please comment if we have left out any important sustainable companies in Georgia that you believe should be part of 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 neighbouring country.
- Top Sustainable Companies in Washington, DC
- Top Sustainable Companies in Pennsylvania
- Top Sustainable Companies in West Virginia
- Notable Sustainable Companies in North Carolina
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