Environmental Waste Solutions
Encyclopedia
Environmental Waste Solutions (EWS) is a private U.S.
small business
headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, which specializes in assisting businesses in becoming more environmentally friendly. The company can be seen as one approach to environmental consulting
, a growing international industry specialized in aiding home owners and businesses in their adjustment to an increasingly green economy
. Environmental consulting agencies like EWS also contend with issues such as the triple bottom line
and sustainability
.
The company's business model can be looked at as an example of both eco-capitalism
and upcycling
– in the respect that EWS will assist businesses in listing unused materials in a material exchange program, to source those materials and create something new and more environmentally friendly than simply disposing of the material as "waste".
The initial idea for the EWS business model came from Williams' first entrepreneurial pursuit, where his business plan was focused on helping businesses in the Baton Rouge area to save money on their over-assessed property taxes at no cost other than a portion of their savings. After experiencing some success with his business model, Williams created Environmental Waste Solutions in 1994 with the goal of extending his model to a more national scale while simultaneously contributing to the burgeoning green movement.
After witnessing the early success of its environmentally friendly business plan, Environmental Waste Solutions began marketing it as a business that other entrepreneurs could buy into and implement in their own locales across the United States. Independent affiliates, known internally as "independent waste consultants" pay about $26,000 to learn the basics from the business and then operate their own waste consulting businesses as they please. Additionally, after being trained with the proprietary skills Williams' utilized to form the business, EWS offers continued support and also assists independent affiliates should they eventually come to consult businesses with more complex waste streams. Williams reports that training aspiring entrepreneurs the intricacies of the company's environmentally friendly business model has been one of the company's most successful endeavors.
Since its inception, Environmental Waste Solutions has been honored in Inc. (magazine)
's Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies. Currently, Environmental Waste Solution's main office is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, which specializes in assisting businesses in becoming more environmentally friendly. The company can be seen as one approach to environmental consulting
Environmental consulting
Environmental consulting is often a form of compliance consulting, in which the consultant ensures that the client maintains an appropriate measure of compliance with environmental regulations...
, a growing international industry specialized in aiding home owners and businesses in their adjustment to an increasingly green economy
Green economy
A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities - United Nations Environment Programme...
. Environmental consulting agencies like EWS also contend with issues such as the triple bottom line
Triple bottom line
The triple bottom line captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational success: economic, ecological, and social...
and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
.
The company's business model can be looked at as an example of both eco-capitalism
Eco-capitalism
Eco-capitalism is one of several strategies of the green movement and Green Parties. Its central idea is that capital exists in nature as "natural capital" on which all wealth depends...
and upcycling
Upcycling
Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value....
– in the respect that EWS will assist businesses in listing unused materials in a material exchange program, to source those materials and create something new and more environmentally friendly than simply disposing of the material as "waste".
Founding
Environmental Waste Solutions was founded in 1994 by Darwyn Williams.The initial idea for the EWS business model came from Williams' first entrepreneurial pursuit, where his business plan was focused on helping businesses in the Baton Rouge area to save money on their over-assessed property taxes at no cost other than a portion of their savings. After experiencing some success with his business model, Williams created Environmental Waste Solutions in 1994 with the goal of extending his model to a more national scale while simultaneously contributing to the burgeoning green movement.
After witnessing the early success of its environmentally friendly business plan, Environmental Waste Solutions began marketing it as a business that other entrepreneurs could buy into and implement in their own locales across the United States. Independent affiliates, known internally as "independent waste consultants" pay about $26,000 to learn the basics from the business and then operate their own waste consulting businesses as they please. Additionally, after being trained with the proprietary skills Williams' utilized to form the business, EWS offers continued support and also assists independent affiliates should they eventually come to consult businesses with more complex waste streams. Williams reports that training aspiring entrepreneurs the intricacies of the company's environmentally friendly business model has been one of the company's most successful endeavors.
Since its inception, Environmental Waste Solutions has been honored in Inc. (magazine)
Inc. (magazine)
Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
's Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies. Currently, Environmental Waste Solution's main office is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
.