TW Lue

On Wed 24th April, I will attend the Earth Month Ecochallenge Webinar on Conservation to learn about what individuals, companies and other organizations can do to promote biodiversity and nature protection.

I will continue to contribute to Emerson's environmental sustainability goals beyond April by learning more about the Global Green Teams Network, joining a team near me, or maybe even creating a new team.

I will sign up to the Sustainability Aficionados distribution list to receive global news on sustainability at Emerson, including world news and Greening OF, BY, and WITH news.

I will take at least one photograph that is connected with this year's theme of Nature Conservation & Biodiversity (for example an urban park, bee hives, birds and other animals...) and I will post it on LinkedIn with the hashtags #EarthMonthEcochallenge #EarthMonthAtEmerson.

When we explore natural spaces around us, our connections with them change. I will spend 2 minutes exploring a new area around my neighborhood, office, or campus (e.g., park, water body, nearby trail, community garden, green space, etc.).

The more stuff we consume, the more greenhouse gasses we put into the atmosphere. I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach this month and only buy things I need.

Carbon is emitted into the atmosphere in a variety of ways, including through the foods we eat and food we waste. I will learn about low carbon foods and replace higher carbon foods with them in my diet.

At times it may not feel like it's up to us to keep our community clean and healthy, but we all have a role to play. Each day I am outside, I will pick up any litter I see.

I will record a video to share why I am taking action this Earth Month, a sustainable swap I've made, and/or a local conservation effort in my area.

Energy use and waste is often invisible. I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

Bees are vital to ecosystems. To help save the bees, I will learn which local flowers provide nectar and plant them in my backyard or in a pot on my balcony.

The waste we create daily can go unnoticed. I will track the waste I create in a day and post a photo log on the feed to see how much I create and where I can make different choices to reduce my waste going forward.

Millions of tons of plastic is produced each year worldwide. Each day, I will conduct a plastics audit of what I buy and use throughout the challenge (kitchen, bathroom, personal care products, etc.), to see how single-use plastic shows up in my life. I will find plastic-free alternatives to these products and advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, product manufacturers, at work, or on campus.

Hand washing dishes can use more energy and hot water than a dishwasher. To save water, I will use a dishwasher and scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading them into the dishwasher.