Our Climate Journey with Michele LaFrance
“To me, sustainability is all about re-using and upcycling materials when I can.”
Michele LaFrance is the Director of Conferences and Events at Zūm, and has nearly 20 years of marketing and event management experience. She values time spent with her family and close friends and cherishes her two Labradoodles, Phoebe and Pippa. Michele loves to keep her creative juices flowing by taking on a painting project or a room refresh in her home. She’s always up for traveling and most recently took a glass top train through the majestic Canadian Rockies.
At Zum, we’re revolutionizing student transportation in order to build a green, sustainable future. What does sustainability mean to you?
To me, sustainability is all about re-using and upcycling materials when I can.
I love floral and interior design. I’m big into decorating, refreshing my spaces often , making my home unique and special. I’ve helped many friends transform rooms in their homes as well—and most of the time, without spending a dime. People dive into a project wanting to buy new things, saying, “Let’s gut this room and go for a completely new look,” with this notion of starting from scratch. In our society, there’s such a habit of consumerism—always buying new things instead of using what we have and upcycling. So, I try to encourage people to repurpose, or repaint what they already have in their possession to freshen up a look.
The same is true for floral design—I like having fresh flowers in my home.. Rather than buying them each week, , I’ll often harvest from what I have around me. On walks with my dogs, I forage for perennials, greenery and floral branches.
I live in a neighborhood with a Homeowners Association, and for about six years I was on the board of it. While beautification and maintenance of our grounds was a priority, I was always really sensitive to trying to minimize waste and maximize re-use of our shrubs and trees. So, if there was a proposal to remove a perfectly healthy tree or refresh some landscaping, it was always my plan to first justify the changes, then address how we could re-purpose those trees or bushes elsewhere. Nothing went to waste.
I’d love us all to take a more upcycling and re-using approach when possible, rather than always leaning so heavily on buying new. That would keep our goods in rotation for longer, and help us sustain our lifestyles longer over time.
Climate change is the single greatest threat to our way of life, but it can sometimes feel abstract, far away, a problem for another time. How has climate change affected you personally?
I’ve lived in the D.C. area almost all my life. Growing up, our winters used to be much colder—our holidays were frigid, the ground typically covered in snow. As a kid, I used to get so excited about all of those snow days!
We don’t get that any more. The winters are milder, if there’s snow it’s only a dusting. And now things are so dry that, even if it were cold enough, we’ve recently experienced advisories against outdoor fire pits.
I know it’s a small thing, but over time you notice these changes to the weather—these things add up.
What can Zum do to be a leader in sustainability, to spearhead the charge in the fight against climate change?
I love that we’re electrifying our fleets. It’s a huge strategic initiative that we need to take, and I’m so glad to be a part of a company that’s leading that charge.
In my day to day, I’m in charge of all our events and conference participation. Of course, the collateral we create talks about our electrification, but I’m also able to reduce waste on a much more granular and tactical level.
Having been in the event management industry for over fifteen years now, I’ve seen firsthand how much waste we can create—disposable booths that get broken down and thrown away, brochures and swag that wind up in the trash and ultimately our landfills. In my role at Zūm, I am doing everything I can to minimize that impact.
Our brochures and left over swag don’t go in the trash—they’re boxed back up and sent on to our next conference. We own a modular booth that is designed to be used with various rented components that are also re-used. There is no waste. Our graphic panels were designed such that if any messaging or updates need to be made, the impact is minimal. I make sure we ship out only what we need. Over time, this adds up—I want to be sure we are doing our part.