Brightly

It’s gametime this weekend, which means as much chips & dip, wings, nachos, and pizza you can eat… 🍕 And then some. Every year, the Super Bowl generates over 140,000 pounds of surplus food. Last year, Food Recovery Network rescued 4,000 pounds of uneaten food from ONE VIP tailgate. 🤯 Even if we don’t get the invite to the official Super Bowl “foodfest”, here are ways we can minimize food waste from our own gatherings: ⏱️ Plan ahead: get as accurate a headcount as possible and only buy what you need, our shopping carts are often bigger than our stomachs! 🎁 To-go containers: not going to finish that vat of leftover guacamole? ask guests to bring reusable containers and take extra food home 🤝 Donate: donate sealed snacks to local food pantries or drop off in a nearby community fridge 🧑🍳 Re-use leftovers: get creative! shred buffalo chicken for salad toppings, spread extra dip on sandwiches, sauté veggies, and turn tortilla chips into chilaquiles ♻️ Compost: for the bits we truly can’t eat, be sure to compost them to keep them from ending up in landfills Happy eating and watching! 🏈

Happening tomorrow 2PM ET, hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/euUPxMeT

Next week! Join our Director of ESG Solutions Jules F., Jenny Morgan, Olya Irzak, and Hope Pagan-Ramos for an insightful conversation on how we can really, actually, truly reduce methane emissions. With a combination of innovative solutions - including diverting food waste from landfills, plugging orphaned oil and gas wells, and permafrost methane flaring - we could avert nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045. These are tangible climate solutions, and not a discussion to miss! Hope to see you there: https://lnkd.in/ejdC5Zxz

Back from Food Tank, Nestlé Nespresso SA, and Sprouts Farmers Market’s All Things Food and Environment summit at Sundance Film Festival and reflecting on the inspiring conversations between industry leaders, filmmakers, educators, and chefs on how storytelling can advance sustainable food systems. While capturing the 8 hours of discussion would take more than our 8-second attention spans allow, here are our favorite takeaways from the day 🤓 : 🍓 Julia Collins, Planet FWD: “Data and storytelling are like peanut butter and jelly” - data convinces people, but stories have the power to move them 🍋 Lakisha May, actor & producer: “Waste is hard to tell stories about” - it’s not pretty, but that’s why it’s so important to illuminate. We replicate what we see, so media and brands have the opportunity (and responsibility) to demonstrate to their audiences how we can sustainably reduce and manage waste 🍏 Jason Buechel, Whole Foods Market: The “heart wrenching” amount of food waste needs to be addressed to reduce harmful methane emissions and food insecurity, including through food donations, supplier engagement, and partnerships 🫐 Peter Walle, Honnold Foundation: “The solutions are out there, they just need funding” - funding community-led solutions can lead to fast, foundational change rather than focusing on big bets with long lead times 🥦 Stephen Ritz, Green Bronx Machine: “You don’t have to be great to start, you have to start to be great” - while the challenges may seem daunting, the hardest part is always the first step  For us, these gatherings are a reminder of why we do what we do. We are all eaters, and we all have an impact on the environment and communities around us. We’re proud to support the food recovery organizations rescuing food to feed communities, and the companies doing their part to address food waste and food insecurity. Which takeaway resonated the most with you? 🥕 Hope to see you at the next Sundance! 🎬

Feed people, not landfills. More than just a catchy tagline (though we have to admit, we like the ring of it), this statement represents: 🌾 80 million acres of land 💧 21% of freshwater 🗑️ 1/4 of landfill capacity 🍲 149 billion meals that are lost to wasted food in the United States alone. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Wasted Food Scale positions food donations right behind prevented food waste as the most important pathway to benefit people and the planet. With 1 in 7 Americans experiencing food insecurity and food waste contributing more than 5% of national greenhouse gas emissions, it is more crucial than ever to keep food where it belongs - on our plates. 🍽️ We are grateful to support so many dedicated food recovery organizations across the country with our high-integrity carbon credits, empowering both environmental and social impact. Reach out if you'd like to know more! 🍎 Source: ReFED, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

What’s the deal with methane? We talk a lot about carbon dioxide - let’s turn the spotlight on an even more dangerous member of the greenhouse gas family. Think of methane as the explosive sibling of carbon dioxide. Methane is 80 times more potent than CO₂ over 20 years, trapping heat in the atmosphere at a much higher rate. Even over 100 years, methane still has 28 times more warming potential than CO₂. Reducing methane emissions this decade could prevent nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045 - and it's possible. Hear our Co-Founder & Director of ESG Solutions Jules F. speak with Hope Pagan-Ramos of S&P Global, Olya Irzak of Frost Methane Labs, and Jenny Morgan of Tradewater about how the voluntary carbon market can support effective methane abatement projects in a webinar on February 4th at 2PM ET. Register for Leveraging the VCM to Prevent Methane Emissions Today here: https://lnkd.in/ejdC5Zxz Hope to see you there!

Imagine going to the store, buying 5 bags of groceries, and leaving 2 in the parking lot. 🥬 🥕 This is what’s happening on a national (even global) scale with food waste. And it’s costly for everyone. 💲💲💲 🏠 Families: The average household spends $1,900 per year on uneaten food. 📉 Businesses: Food waste represents lost inventory and operational inefficiencies, costing the food industry billions of dollars. 🌎 Nations: In 2023, wasted food cost the United States a staggering $449 billion. But the costs go far beyond dollars and cents: 🏔 Environmental Impact: Wasted food is also wasted water, land, energy, and resources. Not to mention the methane emitted when food decomposes in landfill—up to 80 times more potent than CO₂ over 20 years. 🤝 Social Consequences: While 149 billion meals’ worth of food go to waste each year, 47 million Americans face food insecurity. The good news is, we already have solutions. Brightly is helping scale food waste reduction by: 💡 Securing evergreen carbon financing to empower food recovery organizations. 💡 Building a network of mission-aligned corporations and nonprofits to drive collaboration. 💡 Developing a robust data management platform to streamline emissions accounting and measure impact. With innovative technology and partnerships, we can unlock economic value, fight climate change, and create a more equitable food system. Source: ReFED, USDA

As Los Angeles grapples with the devastating wildfires starting last week, it is clearer than ever how essential community services are to offer support through disaster. Thank you to our partners (truly unsung heroes) working tirelessly to get food and necessary supplies to those impacted: The Farmlink Project, Food Finders Food Bank, Inc., Food Forward Inc., Last Mile Food Rescue, Inc., White Pony Express, FoodCycle, Community Action Partnership of Orange County, Hollywood Food Coalition Food rescue and distribution is a continuous shared effort. Thank you to all of the food recovery organizations outside of California that are also contributing to these efforts. Our hearts go out to those affected. For anyone needing support during this time, please reach out so we can connect you with our vast network of community partners.

Could not ask for better partners in this journey of transforming the food system, thank you for the highlight Founders Factory!

What a year! 🎉 As we find our way back to our desks after a meaningful holiday break, we wanted to share some highlights from this past year at Brightly. 2024 was the year we: 🍎 Partnered with food rescue organizations (FROs) from the smallest to the very biggest and many in between, managing emissions data on more than 4 billion pounds of rescued food ✔️ Worked with Verra to generate high-integrity carbon credits that support organizations feeding the community 🤝 Hosted events with our friends at Patagonia Provisions, Mondelēz International, Mill, Planet FWD, Shake Shack, and SIMPLi 🖥️ Led a webinar with Food Rescue Hero on how carbon credits can benefit the food rescue industry ⭐ Joined the Zero Food Waste Coalition and were selected to participate in #PNPTCAlberta’s Fall 2024 Food & Beverage program 📈 Closed an oversubscribed $2.3M seed round, led by Schreiber Foods Looking to 2025, we’re excited to continue amplifying the impact of our FRO partners, evolve our technology platform to support the sustainability goals of food companies around the world, and explore new opportunities to reduce global methane emissions from food waste while fighting food insecurity. If you're interested in collaborating with us on this mission, we'd love to hear from you! Wishing our community a fruitful start to the new year 🍓