Favorite Things for a CAUSE would like to recognize the diligent efforts of one man and several volunteers. We were floored by the work that certain environmentally conscious people do individually to sustain our planet. It is inevitable that we must shift our consciousness and subconscious when thinking about the quality of air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we digest. It is all connected, just like the connection Shannon has had for many years. Shannon is the kind of man who shares endlessly and advocates progressively about our environment, via Sustain Charlotte. As the founder and Executive Director of Sustain Charlotte, Shannon listens and leads many initiatives in Charlotte, NC to invoke citizens to clean up their ACT. It takes thousands of volunteer hours to change the way citizens do business with planet earth.

Prior to moving to Charlotte in 2007, Shannon worked at The Nature Conservancy in Washington, DC where he was part of their Climate Change Science and Policy Team. Shannon also served as an agroforestry volunteer with the Peace Corps in Senegal, helped establish a tsunami relief organization in Thailand, and served communities across the Northeast US as a member of the National Civilian Community Corps. In the private sector, Shannon worked as an industrial engineer for Motorola, General Motors, and Trane. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University and a Masters Degree of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. He is a Senior Fellow in the Environmental Leadership Program’s Southeast Network and a 2009 graduate of the Arts and Science Council’s Cultural Leadership Training Program. 

Sustain Charlotte is a nonprofit organization helping to advance a region-wide sustainability movement, by serving as a catalyst for change. Their mission is to inspire, inform, and facilitate a holistic and collaborative approach to building a vibrant and sustainable future for the entire Charlotte metropolitan region.  

Sustainability is the new driving factor affecting the economic well-being, quality of life, population trends, public health, environmental conditions and other measures of regional vitality. The Charlotte region however, lags behind other metro areas in terms of sustainability. Additionally, there is not one entity taking a long-term, regional perspective or leadership role in this important area. Sustain Charlotte was formed in January 2010 in order to fill this void.

To achieve their mission, Sustain Charlotte focuses on three key strategies:

Educate
Engage
Unite

Their Vision: A region in which everyone has the knowledge, resources and opportunity to make and influence decisions with a clear awareness of their combined social, economic and environmental impacts.
Visit www.sustaincharlotte.com or email Shannon Binns at [email protected]

Favorite Things for a CAUSE salutes Shannon Binns and Sustain Charlotte, for discovering ways to raise our level of environmental consciousness to make wise decisions and changes today, for a bright, fruitful and sustainable tomorrow!

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