May 14, 2025

A new Texas group is paving the way for sustainability practices and education in the North Texas area. 

The Sustainability Coalition of Texas (SCOT) is a new sustainability-focused group created to educate the community on sustainable practices, that can be implemented in the workplace and in our everyday lives.  

Heather Douglas and Wendy Chance cofounded SCOT with colleagues. Courtesy of Facebook.

Founding members include Heather Douglas, general manager of Evergreen Paper Recycling and Disposable; Lora Hinchcliff, municipal solutions manager with Living Earth; Terry Shultz, regional account manager at Green Glove Technology; Robert Medigovich, municipal coordinator at  Community Waste Disposal; Cheryl Brock, municipal services manager of Republic Service Waste Hauling Company; Wendy Chance, procurement representative of Pratt Industries Paper Mill; Lanny Shivers, business development director at EarthX; and Jonathan Kraatz, executive director of US Green Building Council. 

SCOT’s mission statement: “Bringing organizations, businesses, government entities and academics together to support sustainability in the Texas state for the mutual benefit of all,” opens the door for all Texans to partake in practices that will make our state a greener place. 

RECYCLING AND MORE

Douglas, also a board chair for the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling, explains the need for a group that focuses on multiple forms of sustainability. 

She said that there have been a few recycling groups in the DFW area, like the now disbanded North Texas Corporate Recycling Association which she once headed up, but many of those groups disappeared during COVID-19. 

While those groups were solely focused on recycling, Douglas and her colleagues felt it was important to create a group that dealt with various facets of green practices. 

“We wanted something that kind of encompassed a greater need than just recycling, and sustainability just seemed like a fit,” she says. “We’re all in different businesses with regard to sustainability and it goes so much more beyond just recycling.” 

Douglas pointed that there a few other active groups in North Texas area focused on sustainability, including Women in the Environment, a women-led group currently looking for solutions for environmental challenges across DFW; as well as STEP, the Society for Environmental Professionals, which focuses on the more scientific part of the environment, handling hazardous and chemical waste. 

But Douglas and her colleagues felt there was still a gap to fill.

“We searched,” she said. “The need for making a new one was early identifiable.” 

That is when Douglas looked to other organizations for help and came across Jonathan Kraatz of USGBC, an active group that supports green building. With this combination of sustainability-focused mindsets, SCOT was formed. 

BIG LAUNCH

Lanny Shivers of Earth, one of the founding members of SCOT, at the launch party. Courtesy of Facebook.

In February, SCOT hosted its Inaugural Networking Happy Hour event. About 50 people attended the event, according to Douglas. 

“It was all just kind of word of mouth. We did put it on LinkedIn and Facebook, but it was mostly just us kind of inviting a few of our other colleagues or people in other industries.” Douglas said she did not expect it to reach so many people. 

The event attracted multiple groups, from industry leaders and large businesses to individuals like students. 

“They want to learn more about how they can be greener too,” she said.

GREEN REVIVAL

Douglas says this is the beginning of a new wave of the sustainability movement following Covid 19, when sustainability practices and education took a “back seat.” 

Now that people are returning to the workplace, she says there is a need to implement sustainable resources and methods, especially on big corporate campuses.

SCOT has more events planned for the future, with the primary focal point being networking. “We’ve decided that our focus is going to be strictly just networking events for this first year,” said Douglas. 

After the success of the Inaugural Happy Hour, the group sent out a survey asking participants what kind of events they’d like to see from SCOT in the future. The survey included topics like event locations, times and event types. 

“Most everybody responded that they were interested more in the networking aspect,” said Douglas. 

In the future, Douglas says there is a possibility of more events, like “lunch and learns”and speakers. 

SCOT plans to meet once a month while having events planned for every other month. Douglas mentions that the amount of events can increase depending on how many people show interest in the group. 

“Hopefully, someday we’ll have 200 people and we’re getting to tour some amazing sites where everybody can learn more about sustainability practices,” Douglas said.  

SCOT has plans to expand beyond North Texas, to a more statewide audience. 

“We’ve already heard from people in other areas of the state,” Douglas said. 

Douglas highlights how SCOT’s successful journey from idea to successful launch showcases the importance of baby steps and small wins. 

“Being in any sustainability field is all about the small wins,” she says. 

These small steps can be as simple as convincing a business to use solar panels or having people of all backgrounds attend their events, which will eventually lead to something greater, as it already has.

“We are just trying to get everybody together to support sustainability in Texas, for the mutual benefit of all,” Douglas says. “And I have all confidence that we will be very successful.”

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