Aiming to find an environmentally friendly use for approximately 164 tons of organic waste generated monthly in its food courts, Shopping Eldorado in São Paulo has invested in the Telhado Verde (Green Roof) composting project since 2012. The initiative transforms food waste into organic compost, recycling more than 30% of the waste generated by the establishment.
The initiative aims to significantly reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills. This reduction also avoids carbon emissions associated with transporting the material, as well as methane emissions generated by the decomposition of organic waste at landfill sites.
Another significant area of savings is linked to the green roof: it helps lower the building's internal temperature, reducing energy consumption and preventing water waste in air cooling systems.
Green Roof: Composting and Urban Garden
The organic compost produced from the waste is used to grow pesticide-free vegetables, greens, and herbs across a 6,800-square-meter area on the mall's roof. Mall employees are responsible for sorting the waste, composting, and tending to the garden, and they also receive the harvested food.
According to the mall's general manager, Sérgio Nagai, a shopping center is also an instrument for social development and has a commitment to improving the quality of life in its surrounding communities. “With the Telhado Verde, we address the triple bottom line of sustainability through a cycle that seeks to encompass not only environmental but also social aspects,” he explains.
The garden produces various vegetables, greens, and some fruits, including eggplant, scarlet eggplant (jiló), bell peppers, chili peppers, parsley, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, cucumber, zucchini, arugula, kale, lemon, blackberries, and beets, as well as ginger, lemongrass, mint, fennel, rosemary, and pennyroyal. Every month, a specific date is designated as ´Harvest Day´, when all mall employees can visit the roof and harvest produce free of charge.
In 2014, the initiative won the sustainability award from Abrasce (Brazilian Association of Shopping Malls), and in 2015, it received the Large Company award from the São Paulo Federation of Commerce, as well as the ICSC Global Awards Latin America. In 2016, the project once again earned a sustainability award from Abrasce for its positive impact on the employees' lives, followed by the ADVB Top Sustainability Award and the Lide Varejo Award in the Sustainability category in 2017. “These awards show that our approach to business and the environment is on the right track,” Nagai adds.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by CicloVivo. The translation is powered by AI.
