Green Economy’s Earth Day tips

Engage your team 

One of the most important steps in your sustainability journey is engaging your team!  If you haven’t engaged your organisation at every level with the why and the how of environmental issues and sustainability, introducing positive changes will be much harder. Think about the different ways you can spark people’s interest  such as group training,  film screenings or other green social events and staff led green initiatives.

We run training sessions which help organisations come up with ideas for engagement and sustainability initiatives. You can achieve huge carbon (& cost!) savings just through behaviour change at work, and an actively engaged team will be far more successful when introducing low carbon projects and making a real impact.

Stuart Roberts, Associate Director

Figure out your footprint 

It has never been more important to look at the ways you can bring in low-carbon habits and actions. The best place to start is to measure your carbon emissions including emissions from the energy you use, how you travel, or the things you buy. Green Economy's Carbon Calculator is a great place to start.
 
Identifying avoidable emissions in the workplace and at home is now a necessity at local, national and international levels. Ultimately, creating a global low-carbon culture that limits global warming will limit the already seismic impacts of rising temperatures on our social-ecological systems.

Oli Holmes, Sustainability Consultant

Switch to a green web host  

Your website is probably your first point of contact, or it will be the first impression people make of you. Switching to a green web host ensures your website is running on clean, renewable energy, reducing the carbon associated with each click or page visit. It’s a very quick and effective way of reducing your carbon footprint.

For more information on your digital footprint, read our 7 steps for cutting emissions from the web.

Jacqui Musson, Head of Communications, Engagement and Operations

Find out what funding is available to you 

Funding is one of the main barriers businesses face when trying to implement green technology solutions. Our guide to green finance and funding provides details of schemes and funds to minimise this investment.

By accessing the right support you can outsource the management of these projects and focus on they day to day operations of your business. Find out more about our free green procurement support.

Priya Sirpal, Commercial Partnerships Manager

Improve your workplace for your team's comfort

Improving lighting, temperature and air quality can be a great boost to productivity and mood. Did you know poor air quality from a small group of people breathing through the day can have the same effect as drinking two pints of beer?

Indoor plants provide many benefits in a workspace, from improving indoor air quality to reducing stress levels. If you have no outdoor space planters, hanging baskets or an indoor desk plant can be effective. 

As extreme weather becomes more of a risk, take a look at our Sustainable Growth Toolkit for multiple ways to improve the workplace, and our Marketplace is a great source of local suppliers of lighting, nature-based solutions and temperature controls. 

Thalia Czarkowska, Green Tech Sector Lead

Set your carbon pledges  

Encourage everybody in your team to submit and carry out a carbon pledge. This is a commitment to a sustainable lifestyle change, or an action plan to reduce your organisation's carbon footprint and form's part of the Carbon Literacy for Staff Engagement training.

For example, you might pledge to switch to a greener bank that doesn’t invest in fossil fuels, or you could pledge to cycle to work rather than drive. Carbon pledges are an effective way to get people thinking about their climate impact.

Scott Whittaker, Team Support Officer