Meet our Senior Project Manager: Jade Hebling
What inspired you to want to work with Re-Nuble?
I wanted to work at Re-Nuble since I firmly believe in their mission to reimagine food waste and create more sustainable, closed-loop food systems. I believe it’s critical to reimagine food waste and recapture the value that we’ve been throwing away in landfills. More specifically, I’m thrilled to be part of the USDA Climate-Smart Commodities project to help farmers implement more climate-resilient and regenerative practices, and help support the environment and our soil.
Do you have a green thumb and how do you practice it?
Yes, I definitely have a green thumb! Indoors, I have 20+ different houseplants. I'm most proud of my fiddle leaf fig, Phillip, who is taller than me now. Outdoors, I volunteer at 2 community gardens in my neighborhood and tend to a garden in the backyard of my apartment building. I also spent this past summer working professionally as a maintenance gardener with garden design companies in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley, and as a salesperson at a garden center!
What does a Sustainable NYC mean to you and how do you envision Re-Nuble fitting into that vision?
I believe that Sustainable NYC means creating more closed-loop systems, connecting people with local food, reducing our waste production and investing in protecting our green spaces. It also means doing this in an equitable way, that takes into account ALL people who live in this city, and supporting incredible organizations like EarthMatter, Harlem Grown, GrowNYC, LES Ecology Center and so many more. We are beyond lucky to have fantastic community partners and non-profits who are deeply invested in this work. I also believe urban agriculture will be a critical part of this vision, bringing food production close to home and creating these community-based systems. Re-Nuble will be critical in helping both indoor and outdoor farmers with doing this in a sustainable, circular way.
How do you practice aspects of a circular economy/sustainability at home?
We do our best to buy local produce and support NY farmers through seasonal CSA boxes and our Park Slope farmers market. We also are committed to composting all of our organic waste, and try to reduce single-use plastic as much as possible by shopping at our local sustainable store, Earth and Me. We love using laundry tabs, refillable face wash, shampoo bars and more!
What would you like to see Re-Nuble do differently for cities that other companies or brands have failed to do so or have not invested the efforts in creating?
I’d like to see Re-Nuble continue to incorporate sustainability into how the business is run. How can Re-Nuble reduce emissions as a business? How can Re-Nuble encourage its own employees to continue implementing sustainability at home? How can Re-Nuble continue investing in running a sustainable and ethical business even as it grows and scales? I believe Re-Nuble is already doing a great job thinking about this and incorporating this into its values.