Etsy has some new tools that developers can use for crafting, but not in a manner typically associated with the online marketplace.
The company is making some of its internally-developed software available for free to anyone—a process in tech industry terms typically summed up as “open-source.”
The software—dubbed “DIVERTsy,” a portmanteau playing on the company’s name—is interwoven with hardware to track and measure a building’s waste streams, divided up by landfill, recycling, and compost. Etsy also uses the platform to manage other outgoing materials, such as electronic waste (i.e. Used batteries and laptops), food scraps, and textiles. (Keep in mind Etsy’s bread-and-butter.)
An Etsy spokesperson explained that the proprietary technology was customized to Etsy’s offices based on local infrastructures because cities differ in how they organize and manage waste and recycling. (For example, some cities insist glass and paper recycling be separated, while others allow businesses and residents to mix everything in the same bin.)
The open source code for DIVERTsy will allow for customization at individual locations.
DIVERTsy will be live on GitHub, a popular open source Internet repository, on Wednesday. Etsy plans to launch a pilot program for DIVERTsy in the coming months, opening up the program to select organizations on implementation and data analysis.
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Etsy coupled the rollout with the news that the online brand’s brick-and-mortar headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y. Has achieved a new sustainability standard certification, known as the “Living Building Challenge Petal.” Etsy boasted its building is the largest of its kind worldwide with this certification as well as the only project of its kind in New York City.
The company said it achieved this through a number of initiatives, including vetting toxic or harmful building materials, installing solar panels on the roof, and using only wood that was salvaged, reused, or sourced from “responsibly managed” forests.
Etsy also announced a company commitment to running zero waste operations globally by 2020. Etsy has 10 offices worldwide.
Touching back to the other part of “DIVERTsy,” Etsy plans to divert at least 90% of its waste generated in its offices from landfill while reducing overall waste consumption and creation.