BusinessWest & Healthcare News: Business & Health Talk Podcast · Audacy

Editor Joe Bednar talks with Ashley Muspratt and Emily Gaylord

·23 min·1 clip

CET says 40% of food in the US goes uneaten while one in eight Americans are hungry.

Joe Bednar opens the program by introducing Ashley Musprat, CET’s President and CEO, and Emily Gaylord, the organization’s Director of Communications and Relationship Development. The conversation begins with CET’s founding in 1976, during the energy crisis. Ashley explains that the organization first focused on energy conservation and helped invent the energy audit in Massachusetts. She says that work still continues today in homes and businesses. The discussion then moves through CET’s history as its mission changed with the times. By the 1980s, waste management had become part of the picture, and CET expanded into related work. From there, the organization kept broadening its focus. Today, it works on carbon reduction as a whole-building and whole-operations challenge. Ashley describes that as looking at the carbon footprint of a building in a fairly complete way and finding ways to bring it down. The tools include insulation and weatherization. They also include heat pumps. Food waste reduction is part of the work as well. Emily emphasizes that CET’s staff spend a lot of time in people’s homes and businesses. That gives the organization a direct view of the barriers people run into. It also helps CET adjust its programs. Ashley brings up inclusive utility investments as one example. She explains that the model is meant to help people move ahead without taking on the usual burden of individual debt. Instead of putting a loan in one person’s name, the cost is tied to the meter. She contrasts that with more familiar financing that depends on credit checks and personal debt obligations. The discussion treats this as one way CET tries to move farther and faster for the people it serves. Emily adds that CET wants businesses to know they are not on their own. She says the organization will do most of the work for them. The closing exchange returns to that plain promise of help, access, and partnership. Joe thanks both guests for the conversation and wraps up the program as a Business West podcast.

As heard by us

A grounded look at how CET turns climate work into practical problem-solving.

Business West follows this conversation to show how the Center for Eco-Technology has grown from energy conservation work in 1976 into a wider mix of practical services for homes and businesses.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a clear look at how CET helps homes and businesses cut energy use.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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