For Alex Freid and Brett Chamberlin, the past month has been a heady whirlwind of high profile meetings and prestigious accolades, cross-country flights and Nobel handshakes.
Now, the brains behind the Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN), a non-profit organization committed to reducing waste on college campuses, are setting their sights on what lies ahead for their momentum-charged movement.
Freid and Chamberlin, both 22, might know where they’re going and how to get there, but Marcom4 – a branding, messaging, and content development company based in Greenland – is making sure PLAN’s brand becomes as powerful as the message itself.
“We’re helping them apply a communication and marketing strategy, and doing it in as simple a way as possible,” says Andrea Knowles, Marcom4’s director of marketing strategy. “Their growth potential is just enormous – anyone who meets them can see that. So we’re just trying to help them take that next big step.”
“Exactly,” adds Jane Cutter, Marcom4’s director of client development. “PLAN is a great idea that is fast becoming a movement. How far Alex and Brett have come already is fabulous.”
That might be putting it lightly: Recently, Freid accepted one of the nation’s most prestigious environmental accolades – the David Brower Youth Award for Environmental Conservation, named in honor of the Earth Island Institute Founder and the Sierra Club’s first Director.
And that’s just the start. While on a recent trip to San Francisco, Chamberlin met with executives from Clif Bar. This just weeks after receiving first prize for the student track at this year’s University of New Hampshire Social Business Innovation Challenge, keynoted by Nobel Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus.
Appalled by the tremendous waste he witnessed at the University of New Hampshire, Freid launched PLAN in 2010. The impetus was simple: Rather than stand idly by while countless chairs, bins, lamps, and other campus refuse were being tossed into landfills every spring, Freid saw instead an opportunity to re-sell the dorm staples at a steep discount to returning students the following fall.
“When the only solution is a dumpster – which is how it was for a long time – everything is trash,” explains Fried, who graduated from UNH last May. “The slogan for our organization is Waste Is Solvable, which is simple and practical for a reason. The problem of waste – on campuses, and in society in general – is one of logistics. So we’re always thinking in terms of what’s the most practical solution available, and I think that helps keep us looking in the right direction.”
“The solutions we’re offering are practical,” Fried continues. “And they should be acceptable to everyone. So now it’s about empowering people to think about waste as eminently solvable, and that it’s possible for them to directly participate in that solution.”
And the benefits to that solution are clear: Since inception, PLAN – which grew out of a pilot program, UNH Trash 2 Treasure – has diverted 100 tons of materials from local landfills; generated $50,000 in sales; donated five tons of food and clothing to local shelters; saved $10,000 in campus disposal costs; and saved an estimated $125,000 by families and students.
“These stats are part of what attracted us to PLAN,” Cutter says. “What we all want is to protect the area where we live and work. The fact that Alex and Brett are able to do this while building their entrepreneurial careers is so inspiring – and we want to support that.”
PLAN is now aiming to broaden its reach to more regional campuses (they’ve partnered with 20 to date) by hosting workshops; collaborating with like-minded organizations and businesses; and making sure their core message – of turning frustration over our country’s throw-away mentality into a multi-faceted solution – remains squarely at the forefront.
It’s a message Marcom4 knows well. From renewable energy to public transportation, the company touts a client list both local in its geography and green as its aim – along with decades of experienced across myriad professions and platforms. Now, with PLAN, the team has a client with the potential to turn savvy branding and tightly honed messaging into a true movement.
“The idea of getting on the floor of a really wonderful business strategy is really exciting for us,” Knowles exclaims. “These kids are well beyond their years, and they know exactly where they’re going. So we’re working to help them get there.”
Learn more about Marcom4 at www.marcomfour.com
For more information on PLAN, go to www.postlandfill.org
