SAN FRANCISCO, Calif—August 30, 2023—Today, the Business Intelligence Group named Brightmark’s “Reimagining Waste into Renewable Natural Gas” project as a Sustainability Initiative of the Year in the 2023 Sustainability Awards program. The Sustainability Awards honor those people, teams, and organizations who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice or overall mission.
As part of our mission to Reimagine Waste, Brightmark operates a nationwide system of over 30 renewable natural gas (RNG) projects, partnering with dairy farms to reduce the carbon intensity of agricultural practices and to provide economic benefits to local farmers through a process called anaerobic digestion. Leveraging closed-loop technology to capture methane (a greenhouse gas that is known to be 84 times more potent than CO2 and accounts for 17.3% of all global emissions), manure is converted into renewable natural gas that can be injected into a nearby gas pipeline, where it is distributed to provide power and heat, as well as fuel for vehicles. Additionally, these projects reduce land application of raw manure and improve odor, water quality, and nutrient management practices at farms.
Recent Brightmark RNG milestones include an expansion of five projects, including the Castor Project in Western Michigan, our second-largest RNG project to date, as well as the first gas delivery at Larson Family Farm, our first project in Florida with the largest family dairy in the state. To date, Brightmark has reduced more than 600,000 tons of CO2eq from the atmosphere through anaerobic digestion.
“We are so pleased to be recognized by the Business Intelligence Group once again for our work in addressing a critical global environmental issue, among other mission-based companies and organizations,” said Bob Powell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brightmark. “Our RNG projects demonstrate circularity at scale while curbing harmful emissions and benefiting partnering farmers and their surrounding communities.”
“We are proud to reward and recognize Brightmark LLC for their sustainability efforts,” said Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer, Business Intelligence Group. “It was clear to our judges that their vision and strategy will continue to deliver results toward a cleaner, more sustainable world. Congratulations!”
About Business Intelligence Group
The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, business executives—those with experience and knowledge—judge the programs. The organization’s proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.