Meet the SustainPHL Nominees: Impact Biz Leader

The following nominees are businesses making an impact in our community by employing community members as well as positively affecting our environment. Impact businesses are proof that for-profit enterprises can be stewards of social and environmental change, creating that triple-bottom-line.

Join us on Thursday, August 8th at WHYY for the SustainPHL Awards as we celebrate the nominees and announce the recipients!

SustainPHL 2019 Impact Biz Leader Nominees

• Infrastructure Solution Services
• Mt Airy Nexus
• Remark Glass

Infrastructure Solution Services

“By the end of 2018, ISS prevented over 420 million gallons of untreated stormwater from entering and further degrading local waterways.”

ISS is a full-service stormwater firm specializing in turn-key solutions and offering integrated approaches to stormwater management in Philadelphia and beyond. Their mission is to improve the quality of our waterways while reducing the economic burden on communities, all while supporting workforce development and future green jobs. The company’s construction team has nearly quadrupled in size since their founding in 2014, creating local green jobs. In Chester City, ISS has hired well above the local hiring percentage requirement through partnerships with their City Hall Workforce Development Department, Laborers’ Union, EDSI, and PACareerLink.

In Philadelphia, much of this company’s work is done in under-served communities in Southwest and Northeast areas. ISS  has reduced flooding in these neighborhoods and saved private property owners up to 80% on their monthly stormwater charge.

September 2018 marked the completion of one of their most highlighted projects, which was on the Community Academy of Philadelphia property. Not only did ISS have numerous teams working on site to finish before the start of the school year, but they also provide numerous supports to the students and school. These supports include building and displaying educational materials for use in mathematics and science courses, including an infiltration device and lesson plan for use in different level courses for students, and presenting a $5,000 scholarship check award for use in any science-related needs. The company’s workforce development coordinator has presented at Career Days and connects with counselors to share jobs for students. Overall, the GSI project will save the school $4.5 million in stormwater fees over the course of 45 years.

Mt. Airy Nexus

“We think and work from regenerative thinking, and among other things, that means seeking to evolve our own capabilities while providing process and resources that enable many of the other members of the community to also grow and evolve their own”

Mt. Airy Nexus is a values-driven coworking space and triple bottom line business that works to bring the members of the sustainability movement and other change-makers together into an effective and healthy community in the heart of Philadelphia’s Mt. Airy neighborhood. By providing health-conscious and green coworking space, they ensure that they promote the longevity and effectiveness of changemakers, attract professionals of all kinds with endless connections and resources, and place sustainability and regenerative development in the sight of powerful people in the community.

As part of the Sustainability Nexus, Mt. Airy Nexus seeks to provide free and discounted space for mission-aligned organizations including nonprofits to host and run meetings, support other programming, and have events in order to promote community growth and progress toward a regenerative and sustainable future. They have:

• Donated over $30,000 worth of coworking, office, conference room, and event space to non-profit and mission-aligned organizations
• Diverted over 520 pounds of food waste through their office composting program
• Avoided more than 156 pounds of paper towel waste by using reusable kitchen towels and reusable roller towels in the bathrooms

The company works hard to ensure they are active in supporting the neighborhood they call home. Their staff are local residents, and they actively seek to support the local organizations in the community that have a reputation for supporting the neighborhood, such as West Mt. Airy Neighbors, East Mt. Airy Neighbors, Weavers Way, Mt. Airy Learning Tree, Food Moxie, and other local school and parent groups.

---

---

Remark Glass

“Through our love of functional design, passion for hot glass, and dedication to our craft, we recognized that there is inherent opportunity in designing and making via the use of recycled materials.”

Remark Glass is a majority women-owned studio and small team with local roots that transforms waste bottle glass into functional wares for residential and commercial use. They collect from individuals and businesses to custom reinvent their bottles and reintroduce that same glass back into their homes or workplaces. They hope to see their commitment to bottle reuse inspire others to make better use of waste materials.

The company was founded in early 2016 and set up shop in the newly reopened Bok building in South Philly. With backgrounds in glass from local art schools, each founding member joined the thriving maker movement of high end craft in the area. By the beginning of 2019, Remark Glass had already diverted nearly three tons of glass from the waste stream and became the first Zero Waste Partner in the City of Philadelphia. They partner with FNC to offer annual summer internships to high school students from the city’s school district.

Remark Glass has recently opened a showroom called “Downstairs” in Bok Suite 517.

---

Join us at SustainPHL on August 8th to find out who will become the 2019 Impact Biz Leader award recipient!