J.B. Hoyt is Michigan’s Great Southwest’s Sustainability Practitioner of the Year
Michigan’s Great Southwest Sustainable Business Forum has selected J.B. Hoyt as the 2018 recipient of the Sustainability Leadership Award at the Second Annual Great Green Gala. A MGSSBF co-founder and board member since 2010, Hoyt focused both his 36-year career at Whirlpool and his post-retirement activities on providing awareness and education for sustainability practices.
Retiring as Director of Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, Hoyt spent the last 10 years of his career improving the energy and water efficiency of appliances, promoting sustainable materials selection, and developing an industry-first program for recycling appliances at end-of life.
“In the early days, we were just pawing the ground, putting a strong foundation for sustainability practices in place,” he says. “After I retired six years ago, the team grabbed hold of sustainability and really ran with it.”
Hoyt working with St. Joseph Mayor Mike Garey to install recycling stations downtown.
Today, Hoyt consults on sustainability initiatives with for-profit and non-profit organizations. Two years ago, his input installed recycling at the Krasl Art Fair in St. Joseph. The recycling program is now embedded in the Art Fair’s operations. Because it took place the weekend after the Fourth of July, Hoyt influenced the City of St. Joseph to piggy-back testing of the recycling program at its downtown parks. St. Joseph has since instituted a permanent recycling program both downtown and at its parks. Hoyt has continued to consult with the City on a number of sustainability initiatives, including a tentative sustainability report. He also serves as a Berrien County Parks Commissioner, providing strategic guidance for six major park facilities.
“People tend to look at sustainability as something that’s going to cost them extra money. For the large part, that’s not true. We have an opportunity to help organizations understand that sustainability makes economic (as well as social and environmental) sense,” Hoyt says. “An example is replacing streetlights with LED light bulbs, which cost more initially but last much longer, while using substantially less energy. And they do not require replacement as often, thus saving the hidden costs of employing a bucket truck and personnel for frequent bulb replacement. When you look at the big picture, you see that the total costs are far less. Helping people see that has been rewarding for me.”
Additionally, Hoyt is involved in Michigan’s Great Southwest Strategic Leadership Council where he is developing both a county-wide vision for recreational trails and a potential funding approach for developing and maintaining recreational facilities of all types.
