Exploring Circular Technology That Enables Sustainability, Inclusion, Net-Zero Waste, and Circular Cities with Dr. Garry Cooper of Rheaply (SAP.iO)

Dr. Garry Copper, neuroscientist turned sustainability
technologist and circularity advocate had a pivotal moment - that
our field is one-noted and we need to build a reuse bridge to
capture value left in materials to transition to a sustainable
world, a fly-wheel of wealth for communities who have been
left out in the linear economy. Led by curiosity and studying how
people remember and forget, he stumbled on CE, and his life was
changed forever. He is the CEO of a Chicago-based technology
start-up Rheaply that helps manage material flows and the life
cycle of assets in the circular economy through reuse, realizing
the 4.5 trillion dollar opportunity. 


I met Garry a few months back at a Green Biz event and had chills
after hearing him evangelize how the "circular economy can only
be realized when it’s real for everyone, and everyone can
participate. Materials flow everywhere.” I was blown away as he
described his purpose "to make his story not remarkable,”
empowering more people and particularly women of color to
participate and not just be a passive stakeholder in making our
communities sustainable. Rheaply is a part of Circular-City
Chicago in tri-sector partnerships including local non-profit
community champions. We pull on the threads of digital divide and
food sovereignty, and hydroponic farming in Chicago too.


The future is bright. In Episode 45, he explores his journey
as someone who wants to make an impact, and a black man in an
almost exclusively white environment for most of his career. His
dream for Rheaply is to operationalizing a net-zero waste
strategy and help businesses be efficient in a COVID world by
reducing holding and carrying costs, capturing material value and
leveraging spend avoidance. However, we diverge and in a
provocative discussion to explore the business case “let’s keep
our marketplace on Earth” (not to be missed)!


As we unpack the business model emergency for circularity, the
big question emerged…has COVID accelerated or decelerated climate
and sustainability transition? We talk about recent weather
disruptions and fires in California, and the burning question is
“can you do business when folks can’t go outside?” The Earth is
the business case. It’s not climate change, it’s a climate
emergency. We also talk about doing the right thing particularly
when it comes to social responsibility in forced child labor and
the black lives matter movement. Do either of these pressing
social issues really “need” a business case or is this a space to
step up and be good stewards in business?


One of Rheaply’s key partners is SAP and Rheaply is currently in
the SAP.iO Foundry. Big shout out to John Licata at SAP.iO.
Garry explores his journey as a start up founder with lessons
earned for other technologists. Also shout out to John Holm,
a friend of Supply Chain Revolution from Pyxera Global, and a
Circular Cities-Chicago advocate. Also, shout out to Harold
Chapman for all the work you do to feed and teach the students in
Chicago that there is sustainable way to live, eat, and
learn. 


To learn more about Dr. Garry Cooper, visit https://rheaply.com/
or https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrycooperphd/


To learn more about the Supply Chain Revolution, visit
supplychainqueen.com or supplychainrevolution.com