Getting Charged Up For A New Non-Profit

This summer, Asher was honored to help launch a new nonprofit, the Responsible Battery Coalition. Formed in April 2017, RBC is committed to the responsible management of batteries across their entire lifecycle, from resource extraction to recycling. Included are lead-acid vehicle batteries found in cars and boats, lithium-ion batteries in electronics, as well as new battery technology that hasn’t been imagined yet. Among RBC’s growing list of member companies: Honda, Ford, Walmart, Advance Auto Parts, O’Reilly Auto Parts and founding member Johnson Controls, a global manufacturer of batteries.

One of RBC’s goals is to collect and recycle the 1% of batteries hiding in garages, abandoned cars, and waterways.  For its first major event, RBC sponsored two battery collections recently in Milwaukee. Asher promoted them on social media, handled media relations, and created signage and reusable shopping bags to use as giveaways. My colleague Mike Fulton and I also went to Milwaukee to support RBC and:

1. Visit Johnson Controls’ impressive LEED Platinum-certified headquarters, where RBC executive director Pat Hayes spoke to employees and community leaders about the group’s work.
2. Meet RBC’s first partner, Chad Pregracke of Living Lands & Waters, who cleans up America’s rivers and lakes (finding many batteries in the process). CNN named Chad their Hero of the Year in 2013.
3. Attend the Rock the Green music festival in Milwaukee’s historic Reed Street Yards, one of the battery collection sites. The zero-waste festival featured paperless tickets, compostable tableware, refillable water bottles, and musical groups playing on two stages. The Pedal Power Stage, sponsored by RBC, featured teams of 10 cyclists pedaling on stationary bikes to keep the stage powered into the night.

While Asher’s efforts for the Responsible Battery Coalition are just getting started, we are proud to play a key role in their important work.