The cannabis industry has inadvertently become riddled with environmental issues.
Compliance guidelines often require bulky and plastic childproof packaging, while large-scale cannabis-grow operations require vast amounts of water, soil and energy that lead to damaged ecosystems and water pollution.
But for Aeriz, the world’s largest aeroponic cannabis cultivator, these are issues that can be addressed, specifically through cultivation techniques, packaging choices and community partnerships.
Aeroponics is a form of plant cultivation in which, instead of soil, roots are grown in air where they are lightly misted with nutrients. This process uses 95% less water than conventional farming methods.
Growing cannabis aeroponically also allows growers to assess the health of young roots, quickly identifying key issues with a cannabis plant.
According to Aeriz’s marketing director, Ryan Thomas, implementing an aeroponic method of cannabis cultivation has been key in committing to sustainability.
“One of the biggest things about our grow, in terms of sustainability, is that our tables run on a closed-loop system; water gets misted up from the misters, which are beneath the plant’s roots which are suspended in reusable clay palettes,” Thomas said.
The clay beads are more essential than one might think.
“Even though we’re not using any soil, it still needs some sort of medium to brace itself and house the root system,” Thomas said.
“That’s where the beads come into play. It’s a medium that allows the roots to be stable and take their shape, and go whichever direction they want to go.”
Although aeroponics already requires less water than other forms of cannabis cultivation, Aeriz has implemented another method to conserve water.
“The misters beneath our root systems spray water and our proprietary mix of sulfates, nutrients and water. Anything that’s not taken up by the roots drains back into our closed-loop system and gets re-used,” Thomas said.
One of Aeriz’s initiatives revolves around cannabis packaging. Most of it is compostable, but Thomas explained that Aeriz will launch a jar that is made out of P.E.T.-ocean bound plastic.
Aeriz seeks to target carbon emissions, too. In 2021, Aeriz partnered with Pachama, a carbon credit and technology company, to offset the company’s carbon footprint.
Through this partnership, Aeriz has invested in Pachama’s project in the Borneo Peatlands in Indonesia. That aims to collaborate with local communities to protect and restore essential swamp forests at risk for planned deforestation. Peatlands are crucial to the environment, thanks to their ability to robustly absorb CO2.
As of June, Aeriz has purchased carbon credits for 13,186 metric tons of CO2 emissions, circumventing financial resources to parts of the world most impacted by global warming.
“We take our power and gas bills from our facilities, and then we calculate what our production emissions are to grow our plants,” Thomas said.
“Pachama calculates how many tons of carbon are needed to offset that impact, and we purchase those carbon credits from Pachama.”
While investing in sustainability can be pricey, a focus on sustainability has always been intrinsic at Aeriz.
“It’s a spirit that runs through myself and my team. And especially when you look at the scope of what we do, and how many hundreds of thousands of units we’re manufacturing nationwide, at any given month, these choices really add up,” Thomas said.
Aeriz can be purchased at these Tucson dispensaries:
Botanica
Curaleaf
D2
Earth’s Healing
Hana Meds
Trulieve
