Balchunas Sustainability is the solo practice of David J. Balchunas Jr. — an environmental consultant based in Elizabeth, NJ. The practice exists to do honest, on-site sustainability work for the customers actually asking, at a price that makes sense for them.
Environmental Sustainability Consultant. Age 17. Class of 2027.
Union County Vocational Technical School — School of Sustainable Sciences. Environmental science, sustainability systems, and field-methods coursework.
Five InforMEA certifications from the UN Environment Programme: International Environmental Governance; Multilateral Environmental Agreements; Chemicals & Waste; Biodiversity; Climate Change.
Certified lifeguard (American Red Cross). Summer-camp counselor and lifeguard at Mount Allamuchy Scout Reservation (2025). Community Development internship with the City of Elizabeth, NJ (2024). Eagle Scout track, BSA environmental merit badges (Sustainability, Environmental Science, Soil & Water Conservation, Oceanography).
Four published books (2023–2025) — three Catholic theology, one political philosophy. TypeScript / Node.js developer; builds Obsidian plugins. Active writer at the intersection of environmental practice, integral ecology, and small-business operations.
Recommendations are ordered by real impact and real cost — not by what's easiest to put on a marketing page. The independence of the report is the product.
Assessments are conducted against:
A BPI- or RESNET-certified energy audit. A structural, electrical, or plumbing inspection. A code-compliance review. A contractor scope-of-work. A guarantee that any specific incentive will be approved by the issuing agency. Recommendations are advisory.
Small organizations are increasingly asked to act on sustainability. Most existing resources are either generic online checklists at $0 or enterprise sustainability consulting at $2,500+. Homeowners face a similar gap: $0 checklists at one end, $400–$700 BPI/RESNET energy audits at the other — narrow and deep.
Balchunas Sustainability is built for the gap between them: a broad-scope, on-site, written-deliverable assessment for the customer who wants more than a checklist and doesn't yet need an enterprise firm or a single-domain audit. Priced for the customer actually asking.
The practice is in its customer-discovery phase. The first paid pilot is targeted for August 2026 — after Eagle Scout completion, NYLT staff (June 24–July 3), and entity formation + liability insurance are bound. We say so out loud because the alternative is overstating, and the alternative is what we exist to push back against.