Rubicon Named Official Sustainability Partner of UK Athletics
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rubicon®, an innovative leader in the global waste and recycling industry, and University of Kentucky Athletics today announced a new marketing and strategic partnership that will help the athletics department accelerate progress toward its sustainability goals.
Rubicon has been named the first Official Sustainability Partner of UK Athletics. The partnership is effective immediately and will include joint efforts to promote new awareness around reducing, reusing, and recycling waste.
Initial signs of the partnership and joint commitment to sustainability will be evident on waste and recycling bins throughout UK’s athletic facilities. Additionally, Rubicon will become the new presenting sponsor of UK Recycling’s “Big Blue Crew,” as well as presenting sponsor of the Rubicon “Green” Lot, a parking lot directly adjacent to Kroger Field.
“UK Athletics is committed to operating a world-class program in all that we do,” said UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart. “That includes our efforts to achieve sustainability at Kroger Field, Rupp Arena, and all of our athletics facilities. This partnership with Rubicon will help us do just that.”
Rubicon was founded in Kentucky by Nate Morris, the company’s current Chairman and CEO, and is headquartered in Lexington.
“The University of Kentucky means so much to me, as well as to the entire Commonwealth,” said Morris. “We are proud to partner with UK Athletics in our joint efforts to promote new awareness around reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. We are eager to help accelerate the university’s strategy to move toward zero waste highlighted in the Sustainability Strategic Plan.”
University of Kentucky graduate and benefactor C.M. “Bill” Gatton was an early investor in Rubicon and is a strong supporter of the company.
“Nate Morris is an extraordinary young man with a unique vision, and Rubicon is a strong example of a company with deep Kentucky ties reimagining industry in America,” said Gatton. “This partnership will be great for the University of Kentucky, great for Rubicon, and great for Kentucky.”
The affiliation deepens Morris’s ties to the university, where he is “Entrepreneur in Residence,” a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, and in 2019 endowed the Presidential Fellows Program at the Gatton College of Business and Economics.
About the University of Kentucky
Founded in 1865 as a land-grant institution adjacent to downtown Lexington, the University of Kentucky is nestled in the scenic heart of the beautiful Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. From its early beginnings, with only 190 students and 10 professors, UK’s campus now covers more than 918 acres and is home to more than 30,000 students and operates an annual budget of $5.1 billion. The University of Kentucky’s Sustainability efforts are guided by the UK Sustainability Strategic Plan.
About Rubicon
Rubicon is a Lexington, Kentucky-based software platform that provides smart waste and recycling solutions for businesses and governments worldwide. Using technology to drive environmental innovation, the company helps turn businesses into more sustainable enterprises, and neighborhoods into greener and smarter places to live and work. Rubicon’s mission is to end waste. It helps its partners find economic value in their waste streams and confidently execute on their sustainability goals. Learn more at Rubicon.com.
