Should We Be Celebrating Earth Day?
“The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.”—John Paul II
When it comes to Earth Day, I have run into two schools of thought. The first brustles at the idea of Earth Day. To those in this camp, Earth Day is symbolic and provides an avenue to make claims without actually reducing their impact. It is a vehicle for greenwashing. They are not wrong, at least to a degree. If your organization’s ESG program celebrates Earth Day each year and nothing more, you don’t have an ESG program; you have a marketing program.
However, the alternative view is that Earth Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness. It offers an opportunity to seize media attention that your residents, tenants, or employees will likely witness and highlight your own organizational or property initiatives. It is a rare moment in which multiple organizations are simultaneously providing similar messaging, which amplifies that message. Those who see Earth Day as an opportunity to engage their residents, tenants, and employees are not wrong, at least to a degree.
On April 22, every year since 1970, people across the world have taken a moment to discuss environmental issues that are negatively impacting our planet. Earth Day was an initiative of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, whose “objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy,” Senator Nelson said, “and, finally, force this issue permanently onto the national political agenda.” source
Since that first Earth Day, organizations across the globe have used the date to emphasize their role in fighting climate change and to engage stakeholders on environmental goals and other CSR efforts. The event provides an opportunity to align with our residents, tenants, and employees as we are all human, we share the same planet and are impacted by an increasingly volatile world due to a changing climate. The National Centers for Environmental Information has been tracking ‘billion-dollar disasters’ since 1980. Since that time, they have documented 291 Billion Dollar disasters in the United States alone, totaling over $1.9 Trillion in damages.
Earth Day and similar awareness days have a purpose and can provide public education and visibility. It is likewise important that we recognize Earth Day, and any other awareness day should not be limited to a one-day celebration, the efforts should have a year-round priority. If executed correctly, the effort should prompt conversations and can be the first step in initiating social change.
To maximize your organization’s efforts, I’ve pulled together three keys to consider as you plan for April 22:
Less is More. Marketing and communication of initiatives are key but as much as employees love swag, printing a t-shirt about your Sustainability Employee Resource Group, giving out reusable water bottles, or other logo’d gifts might not be as positive as you think. We are surrounded by a world of excess and adding another token really isn’t a sustainable action. You may get more traction by launching an employee, resident, or tenant-facing social media campaign instead. Tell your audience to tag your social media channels with why they celebrate Earth Day and for every post.
Use Earth Day as a Launching pad. Rally your employees around new environmental-focused initiatives and non-profit partnerships by using Earth Day as a launch date to communicate and activate. Our Community Solar Campaign is a great example of a campaign that can help your residents reduce their carbon footprint and reduce their energy costs at the same time.
Move towards Activism. Trash pick-ups and beautification projects can highlight community engagement and many of your employees probably love activity-based projects that can be done outside amongst nature. But beyond these volunteer events, make sure you’re supporting organizations that are proponents of climate advocacy. Outcomes are important.
While I understand, there are some who will say they do not want to promote Earth Day, as every day should be Earth Day, the bottom line is there is still work to be done. Earth Day provides our organizations a moment of reflection and of celebration. I believe most organizations do not view it as a once-a-year activity, but it is an opportunity to educate and engage.
Engaging less will not move us towards reducing our impacts, as outlined by the financial losses alone, our physical assets are at risk - and we ourselves are at risk as well. Every opportunity we have to engage our tenants, residents, and employees we should look forward to and celebrate!
You can help reduce the impact of the built environment by sharing this blog with your peers. Together we can impact the 39% of greenhouse gasses attributed to the built environment. It starts with awareness, and we succeed with teamwork.
Stay well!
Chris Laughman is the ThirtyNine Blog author, a blog dedicated to reducing the impact of the built environment. When not blogging, Chris is helping the real estate industry reduce energy and water impact as the Vice President of Sustainability for Conservice, the Utility Experts. Whether Multifamily, Single Family, Student Housing, Commercial, or Military, we simplify utility billing and expense management by doing it for you. Our insight into your utility consumption provides an opportunity to identify risks. Leveraging innovation and experience we ignite solutions with real impacts and track performance to ensure the trendline stays laser-focused on the goal. At Conservice we have developed a true bill-to-boardroom solution to help truly make a difference. We have before us a tremendous opportunity. Standing shoulder to shoulder, we will get this done. Contact me at claughman@conservice.com for more information.
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