Every year, Earth Day is a call to action: a reminder that our planet’s health is in our hands and a motivation to take meaningful steps toward a brighter future.
POET answers that call. With a team dedicated to living every day like it's Earth Day, POET’s core mission is to be good stewards of the Earth and give back to the communities it calls home. To that end, every year, POET hosts a company-wide Earth Day volunteer event, with participation from its 34 bioprocessing facilities and its corporate offices in Sioux Falls and Wichita.
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“At POET, we recognize that every day is an opportunity to champion sustainability and environment stewardship,” said Nathan Hay, POET Vice President of People & Culture. “In every aspect of what we do at POET — from our low-carbon biofuels and plant-based bioproducts to our team’s culture — we are passionate about innovation and changing the world for the better.”
On Earth Day, April 22, POET’s corporate headquarters hosted its fourth event in partnership with the City of Sioux Falls. Nearly 100 team members volunteered to participate in clean-up and maintenance projects at four local parks. They assisted with a wide range of tasks, from landscaping projects like tree pruning, mulching, and weeding to staining picnic shelters and picking up trash to setting up windscreens on pool perimeter fences.
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“While Earth Day is a great reminder of the role we all play in making an impact, at POET, we strive to work in sync with nature in all we do throughout the year,” said Alyssa Broin Christensen, POET Vice President of Team and Community Impact. “It’s one thing to talk about making a difference, but actually getting out there and taking action through the hands and feet of our people is what we’re all about. We’re grateful to have an opportunity to do something positive for the communities we call home.”
And the POET team makes it clear just how much they enjoy giving back through their widespread participation. Each year, the Earth Day volunteer event is observed by all locations throughout the month of April, with participation from its 34 bioprocessing facilities as well as both of its corporate offices in Sioux Falls and Wichita. Some facilities have kept up with a tradition, while others choose to find a new activity each year.
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Plants that participated in some type of litter clean-up included Arthur, Iowa; Caro, Michigan; Emmestburg, Iowa; Fairbank, Iowa; Fostoria, Ohio; Gowrie, Iowa; Hudson, South Dakota; North Manchester, Indiana; and Shelbyville, Indiana.
A few facilities chose to plant trees this year, including the Wichita office; Big Stone, South Dakota; Caro, Michigan; Corning, Iowa; Groton, South Dakota; and Marion, Ohio.
Team members from POET Bioprocessing – Coon Rapids, Iowa, partnered with Whiterock Conservancy – a local nonprofit land trust – to ready their grounds for the spring and summer seasons by mulching and cleaning up walking paths and bike trails.
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A few teams, including Hudson, South Dakota, and Cloverdale, Indiana, also visited local elementary schools to sponsor coloring contests, present about what they do at POET, and educate students about sustainable habits.
“Our Earth Day efforts across the POET network are just one component of our ongoing commitment to leaving the world better than we found it,” said Christensen. “It’s a small but powerful reminder that when we unite behind a common goal, we have the power to influence real change.”
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To learn more about POET’s sustainability efforts, visit poet.com/sustainability.
