Sustainability Resolutions for the New Year
As we enter the New Year, full of anticipation for a return to normalcy, it is imperative to incorporate sustainability into your New Year’s resolutions. It is likely that you’ve spent more time at home in the last nine months than you previously had, meaning your greenhouse gas emissions likely changed as well. While you may have reduced your emissions from car or airplane travel, you may have also increased your emissions through online shopping and food delivery. In any case, as you return to your physical workplace, here are some tips to contribute to a healthy planet at work.
Become an informed consumer and employee: Did you know that when fire extinguishers depressurize over time, they can release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to your company’s carbon footprint? This is just one small aspect of the physical workspace that you may not think of that contributes to your environmental footprint. Before you can take any action, it is imperative to familiarize yourself with how the items around you interact with the environment. We recommend reviewing the Sustainable Business Guide published by the City of Philadelphia.
Advocate for your company to make sustainable decisions, no matter your position: It is easy to believe that if you are an entry-level employee, your positional power leaves you with less space at the negotiating table for things like sustainable business practices. In reality, speaking proficiently about a topic like sustainability brings you credibility, allowing you to effect change. Start by speaking with your direct supervisor about sustainable decisions related to your role directly, and move to larger and larger projects as you create buy-in. Follow these tips from Forbes to get your voice heard
Support local vendors: Despite the countless economic benefits that come with supporting local businesses, sourcing from local vendors also has a positive environmental impact. Residents who live in neighborhoods with more local business drive on average 26% fewer miles than people in cities with more chain stores. More local tax dollars also means that cities have more money to invest in services like public transportation, creating options for transit that produce less carbon.
Craft better commute options to your office: One of the most common reasons why people make decisions that are not sustainable is the extra effort involved in pursuing a better alternative. Transportation to work is no exception. In a world where a car is seen as a necessity in the United States in all but a few major metropolitan hubs and with ride hailing services cheaper than ever, it is easy to see how the daily commute may fall by the wayside for sustainability. Take the initiative within your workplace to map out the public transportation options from the most popular neighborhoods your coworkers live in. Alternatively, offer to set up carpooling groups if your workplace relies on private transportation.
Sign the RyeStrategy Carbon Neutrality Pledge: To affirm your company’s commitment to sustainability and signal these efforts to your competitors and customers, we suggest signing the RyeStrategy Carbon Neutrality Pledge. Signatories pledge to be carbon neutral by December 31, 2022, report their carbon emissions to RyeStrategy, and complete a biannual check-in. In return, signatories will receive a free guidance package on the four key aspects of going carbon neutral (footprinting, offsetting, mitigating, and understanding the benefits of neutrality), as well as a 5% discount on our end-to-end neutrality services.
From all of us at RyeStrategy, we wish you health and prosperity in the New Year.
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About RyeStrategy
Based in Seattle, RyeStrategy is a CDP-accredited, mission-oriented company specialized in carbon accounting, mitigation coaching, and climate disclosure solutions for organizations at any point in their sustainability journey. Learn how RyeStrategy helped Salesforce, Ideascale, and Wazoku achieve their sustainability goals.
From exhaustive carbon footprinting and mitigation coaching, to setting science-based targets and reporting climate data to CDP, SBTi or custom reporting platforms, RyeStrategy acts as a hands-on extension of the team, custom-tailoring services to fulfill climate disclosure requirements easily and accurately.
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