Have you ever ripped off the lid of a pizza box to make an impromptu plate? With the Green Box, Jennifer Wright ’09 (EMBA) and her business partners at environmentally conscious organization, inc. (e.c.o.) have made the task a lot easier — changing the way we consume pizza, one box at a time.

Along with her two business partners, Wright — who is part of the Entrepreneurial Greenhouse Program Master Class led by Cliff Schorer, adjunct professor and entrepreneur in residence — created the box from 100% recycled material. The top of the Green Box breaks down into four serving plates, while the bottom converts to a small storage box — perfect for that slice you’re saving for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Wright’s e.c.o. partner William Walsh is the engineering whiz behind the new box. Walsh’s aha! moment, Wright says, came in college, when as a football player he consumed his fare share of slices — only to be left with a pile of leftover boxes. Walsh, who found the boxes too unwieldy for the recycling bin, realized that they could be broken down and put to use. They just needed to be perforated in the proper places.

Eight years later, the new box is patented and ready for buyers. “It’s our entrée product,” says Wright, who along with her partners at e.c.o. is busy developing other like-minded products.

Wright attributes a large part of the product’s early success to the Greenhouse Program.

“The program has been a fantastic experience for me,” she says. “It has provided the platform to go beyond the plan and actually further develop the business, as well as the access to potential clients that would be otherwise difficult to achieve. In addition, the guidance and support offered by Professors Schorer and [Brendan] Burns has been invaluable.”