21-04-2025
Statewide climate tour comes to West Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As part of Earth Month, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's statewide climate tour came to West Michigan Monday, highlighting local projects and businesses tackling climate change.
MEDC's chief growth officer, Hilary Doe, and her team made their first stop Monday at Brewery Vivant, where staff brew and cook with solar energy from 192 panels installed on the roof above. They also compost and recycle with local partners to achieve near-zero landfill waste and aim to have at least 50% of their menu's proteins, produce, grains and dairy be locally sourced.
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'We have such a diverse agricultural economy in the state that when you can be inspired by what's growing right now … those little constraints create an opportunity to be innovative or just really focused on how we can connect people to their local environment. I think that serves as inspiration for the team,' said Kris Spaulding, owner and founder of Brewery Vivant.
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'Sustainable practices, in fact, really help Michigan's economy. It's a growth driver. We're helping create new jobs with these sustainable industries, for example, and our local small businesses are implementing these practices to great effect and bringing more customers through their doors,' Doe said.
Other stops included a microgreens farm that grows food indoors year-round, a fashion reuse company turning textile waste into new products, and a landfill-free label manufacturer.
The MEDC projects about 160,000 clean energy jobs will be created over the next decade.
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