Over the past several years, love for cannabis has blossomed. As more and more states legalize cannabis consumption and awareness around its benefits continues to spread, the industry is primed for massive growth and is only just getting started. But with this great momentum and normalization comes a pivotal juncture in the budding industry's history.

There is an exciting opportunity to not only grow the cannabis industry in a sustainable way, but also to set an example for other industries to follow. And that starts with a conscious decision from the industry's leaders to build sustainable practices into their businesses.

In this piece, we'll walk through why sustainability in cannabis matters, the challenges the industry may face, and how decisions made today will shape our future.

What is Sustainability?

First things first, let's define what we mean by sustainability. According to the UCLA Sustainability Committee, sustainability can be defined as "the integration of environmental health, social equity and economic vitality in order to create thriving, healthy, diverse and resilient communities for this generation and generations to come." Essentially, sustainability boils down to the principle of striking a balance between the environment, equity, and economy, and meeting the needs of today without sacrificing tomorrow.

So returning to our definition of sustainability, three criteria - the three E's - must be addressed:

• Environment

• Economy

• Equity

As the cannabis industry experiences rapid growth and more production facilities begin to open thanks to the continued push for legalization and mainstream normalization, it goes without saying that now is a more important time than ever to make a conscious commitment to growing cannabis in an environmentally-friendly way. If some current practices are not addressed or altered, the increasing production of cannabis could be detrimental to the environment. 

Meanwhile, the economic opportunity that has come from cannabis has been nothing short of spectacular. In 2019 alone, the industry created over 33,000 new jobs, according to Leafly’s annual Cannabis Jobs Report. And what’s more, these jobs come with a median salary that’s 10.7 percent higher than the national average, according to a 2019 Glassdoor report. It is safe to say that the industry is thriving economically, and this success is only going to continue to grow.

Perhaps most importantly, however, we have to take a look at the equity portion of the equation. Because people of color have been disproportionately targeted by law enforcement for possessing, consuming, or selling cannabis, social equity is a particularly crucial pillar of sustainability that the cannabis industry is obligated to uphold. For example, according to a 2020 ACLU report, African-Americans are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than white people.

Fortunately, both cities and brands have been pushing to hone in on social equity. Between laws being passed to bespoke social equity programs, such as Viola Cares' mission to create a toolkit to help people imprisoned on cannabis-related charges expunge their records and find a place in the industry, there is certainly progress being made on a daily basis. But there is significant work to be done to ensure that communities of color are included and represented in every aspect of cannabis, from cultivation to consulting.

Unfortunately, the nature of cultivating cannabis presents its fair share of challenges to creating sustainable practices, as the industry has demonstrated its potential to negatively impact the environment in a variety of ways:

• Air pollution

• Energy consumption

• Water consumption

• Waste

Starting with air pollution, while consuming terpenes have demonstrated positive health benefits, they may also contribute to the emission of harmful substances. A University of Colorado, Boulder research team that studied terpene release from the growth of marijuana plants identified that cannabis could possibly contribute to the existing rate of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere by more than two fold.

Massive energy consumption in cannabis is another environmentally taxing aspect of the industry. In 2015, a 5,000 square foot indoor cannabis facility in Boulder County, Colorado, consumed nearly 7 times the amount of energy as that of an average household in the same county. Meanwhile, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) reports that indoor cannabis facilities require similar energy consumption to that of hospital operating rooms. 

And just as cannabis production consumes significant energy, it also requires large amounts of water. According to a 2015 BioScience report, cannabis requires a minimum of 22 liters of water per plant per day during the growing season from June to October, translating to approximately a whopping 3 billion liters per square-kilometer of indoor growing space and 430 million liters per square-kilometer of outdoor growing space.

Finally, cannabis waste, such as extraction solvents, contaminated lab debris, vape pens with batteries, and cannabis lighting equipment, presents its own set of problems with the potential to infect landfills, release more VOCs into the atmosphere, and pollute water supplies.

However, it's not all bad news. There are methods and practices that can curb these negative effects, and some companies and jurisdictions are taking the right steps. For example, in Boulder County, growers are required to utilize renewable energy or pay a charge of $2.16 for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) used. What's better: the money collected from these charges goes toward financing green energy initiatives, such as the development of environmentally-friendly equipment for cannabis cultivation.

There are also promising practices that exist to reduce water consumption. Some cultivators are exploring the following methods:

• Filtering and recycling their water through an advanced filtration or reverse-osmosis system

• Using condensate reclamation systems to capture and reuse wastewater runoff

• Relying more on hydroponic systems, which recycle water by nature and require as much as 10 times less water than traditional growth methods

And as for waste, there are well-documented principles that enable a facility's carbon footprint to be significantly reduced:

• Filtration

• Conservation

• Reclamation

• Waste management

Additionally, thanks to a rapidly growing and increasingly creative market, cannabis is available in a variety of forms aside from vape pens, including oils and creams, tinctures and droplets, edibles, and cannabis-infused beverages. The availability of other forms of cannabis can potentially help offset the waste caused from vape pens by simply reducing the frequency at which they are purchased and used.

The importance of raising awareness around sustainability and ensuring we engage in positive practices as a society cannot be understated. We only have one planet, and we have to treat it the right way so future generations can continue to thrive and everyone has the same opportunities to find success. 

The relative youth of the cannabis industry places it in a unique position to set a precedent for how to grow sustainably and responsibly that other industries - both rising and established - can follow. The cannabis industry has an incredible opportunity to truly address each aspect of sustainability and trailblaze a path forward for future success: now is the time to embrace sustainability and build it into our mission statements.

At Good Feels, we work diligently to play our part in creating a sustainable cannabis industry. Our vision is to provide drinkable cannabis to fun and health-conscious people while nurturing a healthy society and protecting our environment. We are proud to ensure that all of our employees start at $20 and up, and we use 100% renewable energy and are transitioning to all plant-based materials. Soon we’ll be carbon neutral, too.