April 22, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by POET.

POET is a global leader in sustainable biofuels and bioproducts — headquartered right here in Sioux Falls — whose mission is centered on being good stewards of the Earth.

Every day, POET converts renewable resources to energy and other valuable goods and strives to do it as effectively as humanly possible.

That’s why at POET every day is Earth Day.

But the team goes above and beyond to officially celebrate Earth Day when April 22 comes around.

“We always strive to take our mission outside our walls, and Earth Day is a great opportunity to do that,” said Joshua Shields, senior vice president at POET.

“POET produces sustainable, plant-based biofuels to clean our air and improve the environment, and we encourage our team members to do their part for their communities and the planet on an individual level as well.”

This year for Earth Day, “we were proud to have team members across every location — from our 33 bioprocessing facilities to our corporate offices — participate in environmentally friendly activities in our home communities,” Shields continued.

On Thursday, POET headquarters hosted its second annual litter cleanup along the Sioux Falls bike trails. Over 150 team members volunteered to participate. The team split up to cover Yankton Trail, Sertoma and Sherman parks, as well as the area surrounding the Benson Road exit on I-229.

The volunteers covered nearly 4 miles of the bike trail and in just two hours collected over 160 bags of trash. POET coordinated the event with Sioux Falls city officials, who arranged to dispose of the collected trash and recyclables.

“All of us at POET are really proud to be a part of the Sioux Falls community, and this cleanup event is just one small way we’re able to give back,” said Miranda Broin, POET director of external communications. “We’re starting to build some momentum with this event, and we’d love to  see more in our community get involved down the road.”

A few other highlights from the many Earth Day activities across POET’s footprint include:

• POET Bioprocessing – Alexandria, Indiana, hosted a three-day event to remove trash from county roads.
• POET Bioprocessing – Fairbank, Iowa, coordinated with their County Conservation Board and invited other companies to help clean up a local park and plant trees.
• At POET Bioprocessing – Portland, Indiana, each team member was given a tree to take home and plant.
• POET Bioprocessing – Hudson, South Dakota, visits the local elementary school each year to hold an Earth Day-themed coloring contest and give a brief presentation on POET’s sustainability initiatives and why it is important to care for the Earth.

“Earth Day was established to unite people to restore and protect the planet. POET was essentially established to do the same thing,” Broin said. “At the end of the day, we all come to work hoping that what we’re doing will create a better world for our children and grandchildren, so it really does feel like it’s always Earth Day at POET.”