RevoluSun and Surfrider pitch tents at the cleanup with educational displays and free giveaways for volunteers throughout the day.
The beaches of Hawaii are world-renowned, but like all natural wonders they are subject to the harms of human impact. When Honolulu solar contractor RevoluSun (No. 220 on the upcoming 2015 Top Solar Contractors list) saw trash collecting on a local beach, it stepped in to help.
In 2009, just two weeks after opening its doors for business, it partnered with the Hawaii Surfrider Foundation to host a cleanup of Sandy Beach on Oahu’s east side. It was such a success, the partners have made it an annual July event. Each year, RevoluSun staff members and volunteers remove about 900 lbs of trash from the shoreline. This includes everything from plastic bags, polystyrene from packaging, fishing nets and rope, batteries and even smaller items like bottle caps, cigarette butts and microplastics.
“Our goal is always to walk the walk of sustainability,” said Revolusun Chief Innovation Officer Eric Carlson. “We believe in being stewards of Hawaii’s environment, so not only do we provide solar power and smart home innovations, we strive to participate in as many community stewardship efforts like this as possible. This allows us to give back by physically getting dirty and being caretakers of this place we love so much. It allows our community and clientele to see that we don’t just sell renewable energy and talk about caring for the environment, we live that lifestyle.”
RevoluSun provides free T-shirts and lunch to thank cleanup participants. Carlson said the time and expense of running the event is worth it.
“Participating in something like this is part of our company philosophy of cleaner, smarter living,” he said. “It’s a way to connect personally with the more than 5,500 RevoluSun customers we have already connected to solar power. We don’t look at this beach cleanup as an expense, but a way to give back.”
The event is now in its sixth year. Each time, RevoluSun strives to improve organization so that more people can volunteer and more trash can be removed from Hawaii’s beautiful shoreline.
