Project Sustainability

Scott Byrne, director of global sustainability services, Sonoco, and Peggy Smedley talk about how the company is involved in South Carolina communities. He talks about some of the bigger one-off projects and sustainability stories in South Carolina. They also discuss: The rise of solar installations across the state and how it greens the grid. A partnership with Green Gas U.S.A. and capturing meth...

Peggy Smedley and Kendall Daly, owner, Amend Market, talk about the choices we are making and how that impacts the communities we live in. She says it is really fun to watch people make choices that align with their values. They also discuss: The multifaceted issue and the multifaceted solution. The impact if we stop thinking about single use being a way of life, and we start thinking about reuse...

Peggy Smedley and Kendall Daly, owner, Amend Market, talk about sustainability including refill, reuse, and landfills. She explains how she got started owning a single refill shop—and the importance of voting with your dollar. They also discuss: How the system works. Creative reuse ideas and examples of products in the shop. Why people like refill and reuse. amendmarket.com   (4/17/24 - 93)

Peggy Smedley and Kendall Daly, owner, Amend Market, talk about the importance of reuse and refill—and what it means. She gives some context, saying in the U.S., there are billions of tons of waste reuse every single year, with the average American producing 4.5 pounds of trash every day. They also discuss: The alternatives and ways to be more conscious of using our products. The seven Rs—and the...

Sheryl Guarniero, executive director, Make Greenville Greener, and Peggy Smedley talk about why your yard should work for you, narrowing in on composting. She says there is a level of instant gratification you get out of it, and it is your own experience. They also discuss: What should be added to a compost pile. How to get started with all of this. The benefits that all of this will provide to ho...

Stephanie Szkolnicki, owner, Southern Garden Solutions, and Peggy Smedley talk about soil and composting. She says there is a huge myth around composting that it is complicated—but she combats that myth. They also discuss: What composting is and the value add to the soil. The growing movement surrounding soil health. How to set up a system for composting. www.southerngardensol.com   (3/27/24 - 90)...

Stephanie Szkolnicki, owner, Southern Garden Solutions, and Peggy Smedley talk about the importance of water. She shares about the significance of the management and the usage of water. They also discuss: The benefits and impact of capturing water. How to create a system for water stewardship. If technology and rain charts can help monitor water. southerngardensol.com   (3/20/24 - 89) IoT, Interne...

Stephanie Szkolnicki, owner, Southern Garden Solutions, and Peggy Smedley talk about building pollinator gardens. She says a pollinator garden is a garden designed with plants that provide food and shelter to our pollinators like bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, and more, which helps our edible gardens as well. They also discuss: Why a pollinator garden matters. How to start a pollinator garden. H...

Stephanie Szkolnicki, owner, Southern Garden Solutions, and Peggy talk about the power of resilience and growing your own food. She explains the biggest trends surrounding growing fresh vegetables and what is driving these trends. They also discuss: The biggest benefits of having your own garden. The mindset change that comes along with it. How to encourage people who do not have a green thumb. ww...

Don Bent, chief operating officer, Oshkosh Defense, and Peggy Smedley talk about resiliency and technology in manufacturing. He explains how Oshkosh Defense uses technology on the assembly line and in the facility. They also discuss: How it uses benchmark data to become more efficient in its layout. How robots can automate the line and work alongside people. The difference between robots and cobot...

Don Bent, chief operating officer, Oshkosh Defense, and Peggy Smedley talk about the power of resilience and sustainability. He talks about how a lot of factories consume a tremendous amount of packaging and packaging materials.  They also discuss: How Oshkosh Defense is approaching packaging in facilities. How sustainability is much broader than reduce, reuse, recycle. The company's people-first...

Don Bent, chief operating officer, Oshkosh Defense, and Peggy Smedley talk about resiliency and the power of serving the client. He explains how they designed the truck for the U.S. postal service. They also discuss:          How the truck is more sustainable than previous trucks.          How the truck is safer for the driver and the community around them.          The importance of always lookin...

Don Bent, chief operating officer, Oshkosh Defense, and Peggy Smedley talk about resiliency and the power of employees. He talks about the manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, S.C., and how it is designed to take into consideration the quality of opportunity for employees. They also discuss:           How the plant is ergonomically safe and comfortable for employees.           The importance of tra...

Scott Byrne, director of global sustainability services, Sonoco, and Peggy Smedley talk about how the company is involved in South Carolina communities. He talks about a couple of projects and initiatives in the state that the integrated packaging company is doing. They also discuss:           The importance of consumer education with recycling.           MRF: what it is and what value it provides...

Sheryl Guarniero, executive director, Make Greenville Greener, and Peggy Smedley talk about how to recycle right. She says it is important to focus on recycling and reducing our waste footprint. They also discuss:           Who should be recycling—and what items we should be recycling.          How we can make sure recycling is actually being recycled.        What benefit this will ultimately have...

Sheryl Guarniero, executive director, Make Greenville Greener, and Peggy Smedley talk about how to make our communities greener. She says recycling specifically is an important focus in the community. They also discuss:          Who is responsible for this.           The importance of everyone stepping up.           How we can all make a difference and get involved.

Peggy Smedley and Tina Green, VP business development and marketing, Mumford Industries, talk about if there is a right way and a wrong way to recycle. She explains what types of products can be recycled because there is a lot of confusion with recycling. They also discuss:         What we should and shouldn't be doing in order to be better recyclers.       How we should begin our recycling effort...

Peggy Smedley and Tina Green, VP business development and marketing, Mumford Industries, talk about recycling in general and how it needs to bleed into everything we do. She says what we do at home has to be inspired by what we do at work and at school and vice versa. They also discuss: What we should consider with consumption and reuse. The disconnect between recycling at home and at work. The im...

Peggy Smedley and Wes Westbrooks, chair, Recycling Market Development Advisory Council of South Carolina, expand on the "myth" surrounding recycling. He says that myth is that all things that go into a container that is segregated comes out the back end and it is all comingled. They also discuss: What recycling does for the economy and the environment. How to change the culture around recycling. W...

Peggy Smedley and Wes Westbrooks, chair, Recycling Market Development Advisory Council of South Carolina, talk about the state of recycling in South Carolina. He says recycling has been one of the biggest drivers in the state—and they have been coming up with ways to improve the recycling percentage. They also discuss: What is recycled and what is not recycled—and why. What the state is doing to b...

Peggy Smedley and Pete Evans, assistant professor, Iowa State University, talk about the future of work and if it will be driven by certain technologies. He says we need to recognize that things have to change as things change in time and it isn't just the tools, it is how we think about employing the tools and how we solve the problems using these new capabilities. They also discuss: STEM (scienc...

Peggy Smedley and Pete Evans, assistant professor, Iowa State University, talk about the worker of tomorrow and how to inspire and equip the next generation. He says we try to instill with the students an idea of how to think about the world.  They also discuss: The scientific method and the four Cs: creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and complex communication. How many workers are worr...

Peggy Smedley and Pete Evans, assistant professor, Iowa State University, talk about some of the top technologies today. He digs into how he works with the kids, saying the FLEx (Forward Learning Experience) program focuses on how do we see things and how do we make things. They also discuss: Seeing: Introducing kids to virtual reality and providing them an experience they may not have otherwise....

Peggy Smedley and Pete Evans, assistant professor, Iowa State University, talk about getting young minds to think in a more innovative way. He says he is a recovering architect and has a desire to help to impact the world in the built environment and how it matches to the natural world, as well as impacting students for a vision of a better tomorrow. They also discuss: FLEx (Forward Learning Exper...

Peggy Smedley and Kirstin Dow, professor, Dept. of Geography at University of South Carolina, talk about how heat mapping might improve urban planning. She says our cities are working in so many different ways to be more livable and healthier spaces. They also discuss: Building new greenways and bicycle paths in Columbia, S.C. How new heat mapping is and the city that got the first heat resilience...