
PROGRAMS

If the ability to transform ideas into novel products and services serves as the wellspring of prosperity, and economic growth thrives on fresh technologies and their inventive applications, then crafting solutions demands a well-educated populace and an environment conducive to collaboration. Consequently, our mission revolves around fostering environmental innovation through a dual approach:
The first is directly in individuals that we believe in: We invest in their education and development so that they can continue to create environmental innovation for their community and in places that we see are missing. This support may come in the way of scholarships, grants, or through providing workshops, mentorships, and think tanks.
The second way is by directly funding environmental innovations. We support those at 2 stages:
First, during the early research and development (R&D) phase, where we allocate approximately 20% of our resources.
Second, in commercialization, deployment, or pilot stage, where a substantial 80% of our funding is directed.
Internationally, we have set up programs in Ghana, Kenya, and the Philippines where our funding has the capacity to make the greatest impact due to currency exchange benefits. This allows us to cultivate developing leaders in this space while creating a method of measuring progress as they scale. Domestically, we are focused on rolling out several job training and economic development programs in Riverside CA and Atlanta GA.
In addition to being good for business, education increases workforce, creativity, quality of life, and empowers people to become good stewards of the planet, enabling them to protect and preserve the sacred biodiversity of this Earth. For too long we have destroyed the homes of animal families and their ecosystems, but every creature is an important piece in the puzzle of balance. That’s why innovation is (and will continue to be) crucial when it comes to addressing the enormous challenges we face today: combating climate change, lowering global greenhouse gas emissions, and preserving the species that hold within them the key to unlocking the wisdom and healing properties needed for our very survival. In order to supply society with the necessary tools, we need to scale clean energy, clean water, and reliable access to new innovations (such as irrigation technology, electricity, and urban infrastructure). This will create a positive ripple effect - education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development - where new and growing businesses represent the principal sources of job creation and unconventional approaches to economy. By teaching new technologies and processes of production, we can learn to work with Nature instead of against it.
PROGRAMS
Divert C&D waste from landfills by collecting, sorting, and repurposing materials into sustainable building products.
Reduce carbon emissions by promoting circular construction and minimizing reliance on raw materials.
Provide affordable, eco-friendly building materials to informal settlements, improving housing and infrastructure conditions.
Create employment opportunities through waste processing, material production, and construction work.
Enhance community capacity through workshops and training in circular economy.
Generate revenue through carbon credits, ensuring financial sustainability for the organization and its program.
Advocate for policy integration of C&D waste repurposing within Kenya’s urban planning framework, and also Circular Economy in design, construction, and material usage.
WOMEN IMAGINE THE FUTURE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
The University of San Diego’s Master of Science in Engineering, Sustainability and Health (MESH) degree program is designed to enable professionals from multiple disciplinary and cultural backgrounds to work together to co-define problems and co-create solutions to our most pressing health and sustainability issues.
Interested in getting a MESH Degree? Sign up HERE.
To learn more about our Scholarship Fund, click HERE.
Paragon Institute of Sustainable Development KENYA (PISDK)
What started off as a series of Circular Economy workshops in Nairobi, has now evolved into opening a sister NGO owned and operated by our incredible team of Kenyan partners!
Paragon Institute of Sustainable Development Kenya (PISDK) is a circular economy initiative focused on waste-to-resource transformation to tackle environmental and socio-economic challenges. The project will divert C&D waste from landfills, repurpose materials into affordable, durable building supplies, and train local communities in sustainable construction and entrepreneurship. The initiative will also facilitate the creation and sale of carbon credits to establish long-term financial sustainability.
Vision: To be a global leader in waste transformation and circular economy innovation, inspiring communities, industries, and policymakers to reimagine waste as a resource for economic, environmental, and social progress.
ZERO WASTE ECONOMIC SYNERGY PROGRAM - GHANA
Waste management is a global challenge despite the availability of recycling companies, and the implementation of up-cycling initiatives for continuous usage. One individual that has proven that waste can be a new resource is Ghanaian entrepreneur, Nelson Boateng. His social enterprise, Nelplast Eco Ghana, turns discarded plastic bags, water bags, plastic film and containers into pavement slabs and tiles, which last beyond 35 years and are 800% stronger than ordinary pavement blocks. Plastic waste is transformed through an innovative recycling process to produce new construction materials.
When we came across the incredible results Nelplast was having on the local community, we decided to extend our alliance by providing his company with a unique grant to support the scaling of his company. Nelplast has received numerous awards and recognition by the Ghanaian Ministry of the Interior and The Ministry of Trade and Industry. As such, we will be facilitating social investors and additional grant funding for the expansion of the Ghana plant, and over the coming months will work closely with Boateng to consult on the opening of a US Branch to work provide new alternative building materials to the US Affordable Housing sector.
By developing economically viable research and technology-based solutions to address the global problems of waste and mixed materials, the organization designed a strategy to properly have the resources to support multiple partnerships both domestically and internationally. By coordinating and collaborating with communities, universities and other social enterprises, we intend to energize a global team of innovators and visionaries to ensure that every opportunity, partnership, and program has measurable social, economic and environment impact. We are thrilled to be merging our efforts with our global partner in Ghana and are galvanized to report back with our measures of impact over the next year.
