SSE Partners with US Business Council for Sustainable Development

In a key strategic move for both Sustainable Surplus Exchange (SSE) and the US Business Council for Sustainable Development (US BCSD), the organizations have signed a partnership agreement to create a Materials Marketplace in San Diego.

The US BCSD is a member-led 501 (c)(6) nonprofit business association, founded in 1992, that harnesses the power of collaborative projects, platforms and partnerships to develop, deploy and scale solutions to ecosystems, energy, materials and water challenges.

Sustainable Surplus, a 501 (c)(3), based in San Diego,“turns corporate excess into community assets,” according to Executive Director, Sue Prelozni. SSE handles the internal surplus, everything from office supplies and furniture to computers and lab equipment, and redistributes them to schools, nonprofits and start-up organizations.

The Materials Marketplace aims to create a closed-loop, collaborative network of businesses, organizations and entrepreneurs in San Diego County where one organization’s waste becomes another organization’s raw material. In addition to diverting waste from landfills, the recovery activities will generate significant cost savings, energy savings, and create new jobs and business opportunities. 

There are four such Marketplaces located throughout the US – Austin, Detroit, Memphis and Columbus.  The US BCSD targeted San Diego after learning about the parallel mission of SSE to divert still useful product from the landfill. 

“We’re thrilled to be working alongside Sustainable Surplus in this groundbreaking new project,” said Daniel Kietzer, Program Manager for the US BCSD. “Many San Diego businesses and organizations are challenging the traditional take-make-dispose model; the Materials Marketplace is an important enabler to move this new circular thinking into action.”

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