In celebration of Earth day, I felt called to share a few ways in which we can all love our dear planet a little bit more. One of my favorite projects last year was the work I did as a Chief Sustainability Officer for CANOPY’s Climate-Positive initiative. By the end of 2019, the processes we set in place enabled us to offset 800 carbon tonnes, ensuring the company gave back more than it extracted.
In case you missed it, the current US government administration is loosening Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on efforts that support climate change. Although unsustainable businesses are the largest culprits contributing to climate change, there are always things we can do on an individual level to help. I understand we are all in different financial climates, so I’ve included something for everyone!
Switch to Renewable Energy
Contact your energy provider and ask if they have a renewable energy program. If you live in San Francisco, I can answer this for you, YES they do. Check out Clean Power SF’s SuperGreen program and consider opting in for 100% renewable wind & solar energy. For residential homes, this is often quite cost-effective by only raising your monthly bill by an estimated $3. Also, opt for LED light bulbs whenever possible as those are more energy efficient.
Recycle & Compost
I’ll keep this one short & sweet, but this can be a good time to review what to recycle vs what to compost. Recology has a detailed page on that here.
Offset your Travel
We are traveling much less now than we used to, but this could be an incredible time to look at your travel in the last year or two. If you are still making an income and choose to offset your travel, it is now more cost-efficient than ever. As little as $10 can offset one 7-9 hour round trip, and your contribution would go towards verified carbon offset projects all around the world. My favorite go-to organization is Cool Effect, family-owned and based in Marin, CA, they even send you updates on the impact your contribution has made.
Support Sustainable Businesses
Some companies, like Oboz are running a special initiative where anyone can “donate a tree” to be planted on behalf of a friend here. This will take anyone 3 seconds to complete and is absolutely free to do! They also plant a tree for every pair of Oboz boots purchased.
Other companies use sustainable products and processes to create their product line and/or exemplify a level of climate activism we can all get behind. Some examples include: MoonCloth, Prana, Mafia Bags, & Patagonia to name a few.
A lot of states have what you’d call Green Business Directories that allow you to look into local green businesses around your city that have gone or are going through a Green Business Certification. Here is the page for San Francisco and this is the page for Denver.
Community Education & Action
Education in Climate Change is the foundation of taking any sort of action. Tune in on the Earth Day website for virtual programming on April 22nd here. CANOPY is also bringing environmental programming all week ranging from topics such as sustainable buildings and designing products with less waste to name a few.
Once this pandemic is over, there are many ways for us to get involved by volunteering to plant trees and restore natural habitats in our local communities. There are many local organizations, for my San Francisco friends, Friends of the Urban Forest is one of them.
Practice Mindfulness
We are all interconnected with the planet, and we depend on it for survival in many ways. This is our call to be and do better as a species. It starts with our ability to take care of ourselves by developing a mindfulness practice that resonates with us. This is important because when we approach our daily experiences through a lens of being aware of our thoughts, actions, and emotions, we are more likely to make CONSCIOUS decisions that align us with the highest version of ourselves.
Meditation is just one of many mindfulness practices we can do. I am guiding an Earth Day meditation on April 22nd at 12pm PST (3pm EST) in celebration of this beautiful vessel we are lucky to call our home. I hope you’ll join me in this celebration! Zoom link is here. It is a free/donation-based offering, and while donations are much appreciated, please do not let a lack of funds keep you from partaking.
Thank you for taking the time to check out this list, you can reach out to me if you have any questions! Together, I know we can make a difference in our local community. We can be the example of what we want to see for a more sustainable future. Also, if you are a business that wants to invest in taking your company towards a greener future by becoming carbon-neutral or climate-positive, please feel free to connect with me for a consultation.