Sustainability Spotlight: Alyah Kanso
Sustainability Spotlight is a new blog/interview series where we give the spotlight to key players and advocates in the food recovery space who we’ve personally worked with. This week - we’re highlighting some insights from Alyah Kanso, sustainability manager for the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center! Alyah led the charge to get a food recovery system put into place for surplus food from concerts and home games at the Chase Center, and the program continues to be a huge success.
Replate: At its most basic level (or, in your own words/feelings) - what exactly is corporate sustainability?
Alyah: Corporate sustainability should mainly refer to actionable goals being taken within an organization to reduce their impact [on the climate]. It’s important that businesses do more than just have a team that’s ‘responsible’ for sustainability - real action needs to be taken, especially now that we’re finally recognizing that these larger entities have such strong links to climate change.
R: Why is it important for businesses, especially those that are involved in the production of waste & surplus, to prioritize sustainability?
A: In short, - It’s their responsibility - these businesses should NOT be allowed to ignore their impact. Simply by operating, you are impacting the planet in some way, especially given how globalized many of our systems (i.e food production/manufacturing) are. Business owners and leaders are not considering their impact enough - and it’s crucial to move away from prioritizing money and quick profits. Statistics show that it’s clearly their [businesses] responsibility and not ours as citizens to address the worst effects of climate change.
Having a career in corporate sustainability isn’t exactly how Alyah pictured themself while growing up. Initially, they had goals to become a pediatric surgeon and even volunteered at a local children’s hospital to gain some firsthand experience.
However, during their undergraduate program in Baltimore, major global and national events (especially regarding climate change and social justice) served as a call to action - Alyah felt as if they could be doing something more for the larger world around them.
After completing an internship with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Alyah realized that working in a space where they could address the interconnectedness of climate justice and other social issues was something they were truly passionate about.
Before becoming the sustainability manager for GSW, Alyah had mostly worked for smaller, climate-focused organizations. Undertaking a large-scale effort like food recovery for an entire stadium was definitely something that was new for them. Alyah notes that it was very difficult to get all of the relevant stakeholders (including caterers, Chase Center staff, and other colleagues) to buy into the idea:
“It can be difficult to even get colleagues on board to begin with, since sustainability goals must also align with the other goals of the organization, and these two can clash. Ensuring that sustainability goals are not siloed into their own lane — getting everyone to recognize that these goals are important – is key. Ideally, everyone in the company can speak to our sustainability goals to ensure real systems are put in place.”
Despite the difficulty, after more than a year of hard work and advocacy behind the scenes, Alyah’s persistence finally paid off, and the program continues to operate to this day!
To date, the Chase Center has donated more than 15 tons of the stadium’s surplus food through their donation program with Replate - providing nutritious food to those who may otherwise lack access to it, and diverting a significant amount of waste from landfills!
Since working with the GSW/Chase Center, Alyah has also spearheaded other climate focused initiatives, including:
Advocating (successfully!) for a new sustainability hire within the company
Created a climate collective within the company to encourage anyone interested in the topic of climate justice to discuss with others (providing resources, recommendations, organizing tours, etc.)
Put together a Gala for Good - an event created in collaboration with Farming Hope highlighting key players in the food & climate justice space, and linking different organizations and people together with the goal of discussing new/ongoing initiatives and impacts.
Players in the climate justice space like Alyah are crucial in the fight to normalize concepts like sustainability and food recovery. Like they mentioned, simply having a portion of your staff dedicated to ‘sustainability’ is almost meaningless if that team isn’t given any actionable goals to work towards.
By helping to establish the food recovery program at the Chase Center, Alyah has demonstrated not only their own commitment to sustainability, but has also set a fantastic precedent for any organizations that produce a similar amount of surplus and need a solution.
Even though these types of food recovery systems can be incredibly difficult to put into place, they’re essential in the fight against both climate change and food insecurity. Now that food donation is part of the law (SB1383) - it’s even more crucial for businesses, especially food generators, to get on board.
Thank you Alyah for doing your part to ensure that #EverybodyEats!
Read more about Replate’s donation program with The Golden State Warriors here!
Not familiar with California’s new food donation law? We’ve got blog posts to catch you up to speed!