Lanham, Md.-based Optoro, whose software enables retailers and manufacturer to save money on returned and excess inventory, has joined the Smarter DC Challenge. Founded in 2013 as a pilot program, the challenge is a mayoral initiative where companies across the city compete for points by leading sustainability efforts.
The news comes as Optoro announces the hiring of Ann Calamai as their sustainability director to reach its internally designed sustainability goals.
The goal is to create a “greener” supply chain platform for the retail returns industry. In a statement, Optoro said the renewed focus on sustainability should help both to maximize returns for their clients and reduce emissions and waste.
Calamai previously served as Optoro’s Senior Customer Care Specialist after working on the EPA’s Hydraulic Fracturing Task Force at the Office of Research and Development. In her new position, Calamai will be tracking the waste and transportation impacts of the retail returns industry while analyzing the impact of Optoro’s proprietary technology on it.
Learn how to get involved with @Smarter_DC in this month's Employer Services newsletter: http://t.co/wf4rums0bq
— goDCgo (@goDCgo) March 30, 2015In December, Optoro received a $50 million Series C investment led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The round also included a London-based fund chaired by former vice president Al Gore, Generation Investment Management. Reporting directly to Optoro co-founder and president Adam Vitarello, Calamai will work closely with Kleiner Perkins' Green Growth Fund, which supports young companies leading new markets in sustainable ways.
“The Smarter DC Challenge is a free online and in-person program designed to catalyze sustainable actions in and for the workplace. It is supported by the District and its Department of the Environment and is designed to meet Sustainable DC's goals for the business and nonprofit communities,” Director of the District Department of the Environment Tommy Wells wrote. The challenge incorporates a gaming approach that is designed to inspire a competition between rising D.C. businesses. Points are awarded and displayed via a public leaderboard based on the completion of challenge driven sustainability goals.
The Smarter DC Challenger is a good tool because it organizes a great deal of sustainability information into helpful subsections accessible through a portal, providing suggestions that businesses of all sizes and forms can follow, Optoro’s new Sustainability Director told DC Inno.
We're proud to have signed up for the @Smarter_DC Challenge! Check it out here: http://t.co/C9956g1Qj1 and join us in going green!
— Optoro (@optoroinc) March 11, 2015
The program is open to all businesses, nonprofit organizations and property managers/owners who have workplaces in Washington, D.C.
