Today marks the celebration of the 52nd Earth Day! The first Earth Day on April 22nd, 1970, marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. Over 190 countries are engaged every year in celebrating Earth Day. Earth Day originated as teach-ins on college campuses, an initiative spearheaded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson and Congressman Pete McCloskey, and activist Denis Hayes. April 22nd strategically falls between Spring Break and Final Exams in college.
In 1990 a group of environmentalists, with the help of Hayes, took Earth Day Global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries, effectively catapulting environmental issues onto the global stage. As a result, President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Honor for his role as the founder of Earth Day.
Earth Day at Home
Many of us continue to work remotely, and there are plenty of ways we can celebrate Earth Day in both our home offices and general living spaces. With the current high price of gasoline, simply walking or taking public transit is a great way to honor the environment and save money. Additionally, electricity rates are increasing, so get rid of incandescent bulbs and install more energy-efficient and budget-friendly options. Small changes can have a significant impact.
While most of us are aware of the 3 R’s, try to focus on expanding your efforts to the 5 R’s this year: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle; in that order! Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Be wary of purchasing single-use or convenience items; consider if you already have something that does the same job or how many times you would actually use something before buying it.
- Carry reusable bags with you for shopping trips. Also, consider carrying reusable utensils and containers with you, ideally ones you already own, to cut down on single-use plastics.
- Start a garden; it doesn’t matter if it’s in your yard, on your windowsill, or on your counter.
- Donate used clothing, furniture, or other household items. Also, consider shopping preowned first before buying anything new.
- Start recycling and composting at home.
- Change to low-pressure showerheads and faucets. Consider switching to newer, more energy-efficient, and low-flow appliances if you want to go all out.
Earth Day at the Office
We also spend a lot of time working. While your home office is a great place to start making small changes, a company’s physical offices offer many potential options for improving our environment and honoring Earth Day. Reducing energy use is easy and will ultimately save money. Investing in sustainable products will reduce the business carbon footprint, generate consumer goodwill, and potentially increase sales.
- Turn off lights when not in use. Additionally, you can install motion detector lights to reduce electricity use in empty rooms
- Turn off equipment nights, weekends, and when not in use. Additionally, try to unplug equipment that isn’t in use.
- Explore using sustainable products. Investing in sustainable products, recycling, and reducing your overall carbon footprint are all things to celebrate and share with your customers. Research shows that sustainability is an important factor for global consumers.
- Implement weekly Work-at-Home days to reduce or eliminate having your staff drive to work. If your staff is still remote because of the pandemic, keep it going, and make remote work a benefit.
- Set up recycling bins for paper, plastic, and aluminum. Encourage recycling among staff and set goals.
- Donate used equipment and computers. See if your local school districts or other local organizations accept computer donations. Goodwill is another good option. Dell Reconnect has a partnership site to help locate participating Goodwill locations. Computers with Causes is another good option, as well as World Computer Exchange (WCE). The National Christina Foundation (hyperlink to Technology Donation Platform) will connect you with other local charitable organizations.
How will you honor our environment this Earth Day? What steps will you take to protect and improve our environment?
