Join us and thousands of others as we resolve to make this the year that we decide to do more to help the environment, reduce global warming, and get a little greener in our daily lives.
Being accountable to our community and our planet is important to us. In fact, it’s our philosophy. To support this we only use eco-friendly cleaning products and we work to help our clients make changes to go greener at home and at work. But, in the spirit of “there’s always room for improvement” we created a list of small changes that everyone can make (even us!) to live a little greener.
Use powdered detergent
Liquid detergent—laundry and dishes—is literally soap and water. Switching to powdered detergents saves more than 50,000 gallons of water a year. Not to mention that the dry stuff comes in eco-friendly cardboard boxes, not plastic jugs.
Keep your tires inflated
Of course we want to encourage walking and public transportation. Living in New York City, there’s not much of an excuse not to walk or ride instead of drive; but if you do have a car remember to keep your tires inflated. Driving on low tires takes more gas and using more gas hurts the environment. It’s as simple as that.
Leave the box and bags at the store
I love to buy shoes, but I leave the shoe boxes at the store to be recycled or used again by someone else. It’s a small thing but it’s just another way to show I care about this planet. I do the same thing at the grocery store and Farmer’s Markets. Bringing my own reusable cloth bag allows me to carry more items, plus I feel good about not being a consumer of plastic bags.
Use energy saving light bulbs
Just switching traditional light bulbs to energy saving bulbs would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars, according to Energy Star.
Eat less meat
It takes vast amounts of natural resources—land, water, grains—to raise livestock for meat. In fact, according to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California. Just by eating less meat we can do more to save natural resources than we can by recycling!
Use eco-friendly products
Choosing environmentally friendly products for cleaning, food, clothes, and personal care allows you to keep your home and office free of harmful toxins and shows your support for a healthy planet. It’s easy to support the environment with your wallet, and we encourage everyone to choose eco-friendly products and businesses that share your values.
There are probably hundreds more small ways we can go green this year without spending a lot of money on big changes. In 2013, we’re concentrating on keeping our services eco-friendly from our products to switching off lights in the office. What are you planning on changing to stay environmentally friendly in the new year?