PYRO

Concept

Project Details

What?: PYRO is an appliance that converts food waste into renewable energy for hospitality companies.

Why?: While live-fire restaurants (LFRs) are known for their mouthwatering dishes, they face two major sustainability challenges: wasting food and burning wood. Restaurants are the second-largest producers of food waste. LFRs specifically face an additional challenge: excessive wood consumption. On average, LFRs burn two cords (3.62m³) of wood weekly. This practice contributes to deforestation and increased CO2 emissions (MIT). While wood-burning grills create delicious flavors, they also pose serious health risks, including lung cancer, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

How?: PYRO is short for “pyrolysis,” a thermal process that burns food waste into renewable energy such as biochar. PYRO utilizes this pre-existing process and scales it down to an appliance that can be easily implemented into back-of-house hospitality facilities. PYRO’s compact, portable design (0.42m³ food waste capacity) fits easily in any back-of-house area. PYRO is as simple to use as a compost bin, but with tangible output.

The process is straightforward: PYRO collects food waste, pyrolyzes food waste, then converts food waste into biochar. Biochar, also known as organic charcoal, can then be used as a more sustainable and more healthy fuel for your grill. This creates a cycle of sustainability for hospitality companies.

PYRO reduces food waste and eliminates the need for wood, combating deforestation and lowering CO2 emissions and promoting environmental sustainability. Biochar burning significantly reduces harmful emissions compared to wood, promoting better health for social sustainability. PYRO saves money on wood purchases while turning waste into a valuable resource, promoting economic sustainability. PYRO also allows LFRs to remain compliant with rising mandates and laws surrounding sustainability, promoting governance in sustainability. Overall, PYRO addresses all sustainability aspects

By addressing both food waste and wood consumption, PYRO offers a comprehensive solution for LFRs looking to enhance their sustainability practices without compromising on flavor. Join us in revolutionizing the LFR industry!

The Team

Emma Doherty

Cornell University

Francine Aclan

Cornell University

Roodabeh Elavia

Cornell University

Emma Doherty

Cornell University

About Emma Doherty

Emma Doherty serves as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PYRO. Aspiring to become a restaurateur, Emma is deeply passionate about improving the hospitality industry. She is committed to leveraging her experience and education to create positive change, aiming to make a lasting impact on the industry and the world at large. Because of this, she is excited to participate as a finalist in the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge and introduce PYRO to industry leaders.

As an experienced food and beverage professional, she brings 6 years of experience to her work at PYRO. Most recently, she served as a restaurant manager at the renowned Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Her professional background also includes restaurant management positions at several other Lettuce Entertain You establishments and Fleming’s Steakhouse & Wine Bar locations.

Emma’s educational background includes a current candidacy for a Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She also holds her Level 2 Award in Wines and Spirits with Distinction from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET).

Francine Aclan

Cornell University

About Francine Aclan

Francine Aclan serves as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of PYRO. As an aspiring HR professional in hospitality, she is deeply passionate about social sustainability—specifically, analyzing how business decisions impact employee engagement & wellbeing. Because of this, she is excited to participate as a finalist in the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge and is eager to learn more about other aspects of sustainability.

As COO of PYRO, Aclan oversees operational functions such as human resources, finances, and project management. She was inspired to become a founding member of PYRO because of its positive impact on the health & wellbeing of back-of-house employees in hospitality.

Aclan’s professional background includes HR insights & analytics, diversity & inclusion, and learning & development. She has worked at major hospitality companies such as Hilton’s Worldwide Corporate Headquarters, Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, and Cornell University’s The Statler Hotel.

Aclan’s educational background includes a current candidacy for a Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Global Business Administration at California Lutheran University. She is continuously seeking opportunities to expand her knowledge and experience in all HR functions in hospitality.

Roodabeh Elavia

Cornell University

About Roodabeh Elavia

Roodabeh Elavia serves as Co-Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of PYRO. As an aspiring sustainability professional in hospitality, she is deeply passionate about all aspects of sustainability–specifically, further developing or creating initiatives that address environmental or social issues in the hotel industry. As a result, she is excited to participate as a finalist in the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge and is eager to learn more about how hospitality products such as PYRO can impact sustainability in hospitality companies.

As CSO of PYRO, Elavia oversees research of innovative sustainability initiatives currently impacting the hospitality industry and ensures that our product meets all three aspects of sustainability–environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

As an experienced hotel industry professional, she brings 4.5 years of experience to her work at PYRO. Most recently, she worked in Operations and Sales for The Taj Group in India. Through this experience, she had the opportunity to work on a sustainability project for one of the company’s resorts which ultimately sparked her interest in overarching sustainability for hotels.

Elavia’s educational background includes a current candidacy for a Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management from Bombay University.

PYRO

Concept

The Team

Emma Doherty

Francine Aclan

Roodabeh Elavia

Emma Doherty

About Emma Doherty

Francine Aclan

About Francine Aclan

Roodabeh Elavia

About Roodabeh Elavia

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