With Greenbuild 2026, the world’s largest gathering of green building professionals, happening in New York City this October, the industry’s focus is on its central theme: “Invest for Impact.” But, the challenge for busy facility managers and sustainability directors is to translate this high-level concept into daily operations. Great Forest CEO Jackson Shulman breaks down what investing for impact means for businesses, discussing how to create tangible, high-yield strategies to achieve waste management and other sustainability goals for long-term viability.
Q: What does “Invest for Impact” mean for facility managers and business leaders focused on waste management and sustainability?
Shulman: In this era of climate volatility, it means long-term planning for operational resilience. We are going to experience more heatwaves, wildfires and destructive storms that impact supply chains and make waste costs and operations more expensive. Businesses can no longer afford to make short-term decisions. To “Invest for Impact” means viewing your building or business as an active, living asset. We must integrate predictive climate risk assessments into standard property management to mitigate risks before they manifest as physical or financial damages. When we say “Invest for Impact,” we mean securing all our futures.
Q: Many executives are under immense pressure to reduce costs while hitting ESG targets. Where should they start if they want to invest for impact?
Shulman: Start with hard data. To make informed decisions, you need to understand the amount and types of waste you are generating and diverting, and the logistics of how that waste flows through your facility for collection. This means conducting detailed waste audits as well as on-site waste infrastructure assessments to gain a full understanding of your site’s waste profile, determine if your site is in compliance with local laws, identify operational choke points, and ascertain what programmatic or educational programs are needed to improve sustainability outcomes. With the data, you can then stop guessing and start reducing waste, which is where the cost savings really happen.
Q: Certifications like LEED and TRUE Zero Waste are often viewed as trophies and an easy way to invest for impact. Do you agree?
Shulman: Certifications like LEED and TRUE Zero Waste are much more than just accolades. They are rigorous frameworks that you can use to prioritize your investments for operational excellence. Utilize certification checklists as a gap-analysis tool to identify inefficiencies in your waste stream. To ensure success in zero waste certifications, we recommend a TRUE Feasibility Assessment, which evaluates 81 credits across 16 categories. This allows businesses to prioritize high-impact, low-effort credits first, creating a roadmap for certification while building momentum for deeper systemic changes. A reminder, while certification is a great way to invest for impact, businesses do not need certification to achieve an impact.
Q: What are the top 5 strategies to “Invest for Impact” for waste management?
Shulman: In our 30 years in the business, we know these 5 waste management strategies work every time.
1) Secure reliable and accurate waste data. This forms the foundation for every effective waste management plan. Without data from waste audits and waste infrastructure assessments, you will never know if any strategy you implement is really working.
2) Focus on long-term strategy and results. Short term fixes just kick the can down the road. You end up spending more money while the real problem grows. One simple example: using compostable food service ware to reduce waste and costs may backfire if local disposal facilities are not able to process them. Investing in reusable products instead of single-use items when possible is almost always the better long-term solution.
3) Maintain legal compliance. Solid waste-related regulations are often designed to incentivize waste generation reduction and enhanced environmental performance. So, maintaining compliance is not just a business necessity to avoid fines, it is also a valuable tool that guides your business towards greater efficiency. Download our compliance guide for businesses.
4) Address organics. Globally, organic material consistently makes up the largest portion of divertible material discarded in the trash. Our analysis of data from over 100 waste audits conducted around the world for the largest global study of commercial waste has confirmed that organics represents the biggest missed opportunity. Addressing organics will help most businesses make a big impact and can deliver significant returns on investment.
5) Find smarter solutions for electronic and hazardous waste. The surge in AI adoption as well as a focus on employee wellness post the COVID-19 pandemic, are creating an unprecedented spike in electronic waste, new types of waste materials such as expired hand sanitizers and lithium-ion batteries. Businesses that learn to optimize the management of these materials responsibly can reduce costs and improve circularity in a big way.
- One business was able to save $10 million by processing their e-waste as ITAD (IT Asset Disposal) instead, allowing the company to recover significant residual value from the electronic components that were returned to the market for resale and reuse.
- Another company was able to cut their hazardous waste costs by 25% by identifying a unique recycling solution for a large amount of hand sanitizer instead of discarding it as hazardous waste.
Q: What is the most common mistake organizations make?
Shulman: Businesses often forget about their human capital. No business or building can achieve their sustainability goals without stakeholder and tenant engagement. This includes educating employees to become active participants and champions in your sustainability journey and engaging partners and vendors in finding sustainable solutions. Below are a couple of examples:
- A large commercial building achieved more than a 200 percent improvement in its waste diversion performance following an intensive tenant education and outreach program that successfully changed tenant behavior.
- A global financial tech company reduced their landfill waste by 43 percent by training a waste team to do hand-sorting to reduce contamination.
Q: As we look toward Greenbuild in October, what is your final message to business leaders?
Shulman: Think about waste right from the start of any project, especially for large scale efforts like a renovation or a new build. Early investment in waste systems design prevents daily operational headaches and preserves asset value for years. A lack of waste system design planning can cripple a property’s ability to efficiently remove waste, which in turn impacts cost, building performance, compliance, tenant satisfaction, and a whole array of other issues that can snowball over the years. It also handicaps efforts to reach zero waste, achieve sustainability goals and certifications like LEED.
See you at Greenbuild 2026. Use code GFEXPO for expo passes at the discounted rate of $59.00.