Published

3 months ago

February 4, 2026

Alice Rush

Energy is required at every step of the food and beverage industry supply chain, from growing grapes to bottling and delivery, making it a significant source of emissions and a prime target for climate innovation. On this episode of Earth911’s Sustainability in Your Ear, we explore how wineries and other producers are turning to clean, renewable energy to cut costs, reduce emissions, and future-proof their operations. We’re joined by James Presta, Business Development Manager at REC Solar, and Mario Trinchero of Trinchero Family Estates, a storied family-run winery in California’s Sonoma County. REC Solar and Trinchero teamed up to bring solar energy to one of the country’s largest winery operations, showing how collaboration between energy experts and agricultural producers can drive meaningful progress toward a carbon-neutral future.

James Presta, Business Development Manager at REC Solar, joined Mario Trinchero of winemaker Trinchero Family Estates on *Sustainability In Your Ear*.

James explains that a decentralized electric grid is emerging—powered by modular solar installations and guided by power purchase agreements (PPAs) that lock in long-term energy prices. When networked together, these individual installations can form a resilient web of renewable power. Solar, wind, and geothermal systems will provide flexibility and stability in a world of climate extremes—if we act quickly enough to scale them. Mario reflects on the motivations behind his family’s move to solar: sustainability is not just good business, it’s essential to preserving the land and legacy that define the brand. By using solar energy in its winemaking process, Trinchero has cut emissions and operating costs while strengthening its commitment to environmental stewardship. We also delve into the mechanics of PPAs—a modern-day version of the 1930s rural electrification initiative that brought power to American farms. But now, companies like REC Solar—not government agencies—extend the grid through private partnerships. These agreements offer fixed pricing, shared risk, and maintenance contracts, but it’s critical to understand the provider’s long-term plans. A strong PPA can unlock the potential to electrify entire supply chains, eliminate dependence on diesel generators, and drive innovations where wires have never reached. And the potential for abundant, clean power is growing. What could we build if we end up with more energy than we need? As James and Mario suggest, the answer may be anything we can imagine with the right infrastructure—without the pollution that defined the last century. Learn more about REC Solar at recsolar.com and about Trinchero Family Estates at tfewines.com.

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Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 26, 2025.

The post Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: REC Solar and Trinchero Family Estates Electrify Winemaking appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-rec-solar-and-trinchero-family-estates-electrify-winemaking/

Green Living

Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Okhtapus Cofounder Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy Accelerates Ocean Solutions

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2026

Alice Rush

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The ocean provides half the oxygen we breathe, absorbs 30% of our carbon emissions, and helps control the planet’s climate. By 2030, it’s expected to support a $3.2 trillion Blue Economy. Yet 70% of proven ocean solutions, such as coastal resilience, coral restoration, and marine pollution cleanup, never move past the pilot stage. These projects often win awards and get media attention, but then stall because funding systems don’t connect working ideas with the cities, ports, and coastal areas that need them. Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy, co-founder and ocean lead at Okhtapus, wants to change that. Okhtapus, named with the Persian word for the octopus, uses a model that links what Stewart calls “the three hearts” of successful projects: innovators with proven solutions, cities and ports ready to use them, and funders looking for solid projects.

Stewart Sarkozy-Benoczy, Cofounder and Ocean Lead at Okhtapus.org, is our guest on *Sustainability In Your Ear*.

The first Okhtapus Global Replicator will launch in 2026. It will bring groups of proven innovators to work on important projects in specific places, such as a single port city like Barcelona, where Okhtapus already has strong partnerships, or a group of Caribbean islands facing similar problems. The aim is to have enough successful projects that funders stop asking “where are the deals?” and start saying “we’ve got enough.” The platform focuses on late-stage startups and scale-ups, not early-stage ideas. Stewart calls these the “Goldilocks zone”—solutions that are proven enough to copy but still need funding and partners to grow. By combining several solutions for different locations, Okhtapus can offer investors portfolios that fit their needs and make a real difference in cities, ports, and island nations.

Stewart has spent 20 years working where climate resilience and policy meet. He was part of President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, led policy and investments at the Resilient Cities Network, and is now Managing Director of the World Ocean Council. “Ten years from now, if this is done fast enough,” Stewart said, “we should have pushed hard enough on the funders and the system to change it. What we don’t know is whether we’ll get to the solution status fast enough for some of these tipping points.”

To find out more about Okhtapus, visit okhtapus.org.

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Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on December 22, 2025.

The post Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Okhtapus Cofounder Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy Accelerates Ocean Solutions appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/podcast/sustainability-in-your-ear-okhtapus-cofounder-stewart-sarkozy-banoczy-accelerates-ocean-solutions/

Green Living

Earth911 Inspiration: A Serious Look at Modern Lifestyle

Published

5 days ago

May 1, 2026

Alice Rush

Today’s quote comes from Pope John Paul II’s message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1990. He wrote, “Modern society will find no solution to the ecological problem unless it takes a serious look at its lifestyle.”

Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day.

The post Earth911 Inspiration: A Serious Look at Modern Lifestyle appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-take-serious-look-lifestyle/

Green Living

Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Making Billions of Square Feet of Commercial Space Sustainable with CBRE’s Rob Bernard

Published

7 days ago

April 29, 2026

Alice Rush

The built environment, particularly office buildings other urban facilities, are responsible for 39% of the global energy-related emissions, according to the World Green Building Council. About a third of that impact comes from the initial construction of a building and the other two-thirds is produced over the lifetime of a building by heating, cooling, and providing power to the occupants. Our guest today is leading a key battle to reduce the impact of the built environment. Tune in for a wide-ranging conversation with Rob Bernard, Chief Sustainability Officer at CBRE Group Inc., which manages more than $145 billion of commercial buildings, providing logistics, retail, and corporate office services across more than than 100 countries.

Rob Bernard, Chief Sustainability Officer at the commercial real estate giant CBRE, is our guest on *Sustainability In Your Ear*.

Rob cut his sustainability teeth at Microsoft, as its Chief Environmental Strategist for 11 years, as the company was developing its world-leading approach and collaborating with other tech giants to lobby for policy and funding to accelerate progress. He discusses CBRE’s Sustainability Solutions & Services for commercial building owners, as well as the accelerating progress for renewables, carbon tracking, and economic, health, and lifestyle benefits of living lightly on the planet. You can learn more about CBRE and its sustainability services at cbre.com

Take a few minutes to learn more about making construction and building operations more sustainable: