Eco Friendly Training

Sometimes when I talk about green living or a sustainable lifestyle to someone unfamiliar with environmental values, I get the "deer in the headlights" look.  You know, the eyes gloss over, there's a lost look in the face, and there's a gentle stare of confusion.  As a green living consultant, I view these moments as a gift in time to share the value of living a sustainable lifestyle for myself  -  with someone else.  
 
In my professional consulting, I've discovered the easiest way to promote a sustainable lifestyle to others is by sharing with friends, neighbors, and in the community.  Sharing is a genuine expression of the value found in the sustainability concepts that are embraced in your life.  It's easier for others to make the connection between the ideas of living green and how it's put into action when examples are shared. 
 
Following are suggestions mentioned in our eco friendly training to help get the conversation going.
 
•    Want to talk about the weather?  Grow that typical conversation about local weather patterns into an expanding discussion about climate change.  Take the lead and solicit opinions about global warming, pollution, emissions, or a host of other environmental issues and opportunities related to the weather.  Explore possible solutions and eco actions to take.
 
•    Want to talk about work?  Turn that uninspiring workplace problem into an exploration of business sustainability solutions.  Leverage those issues into a discussion of business innovation, operational efficiencies, or exciting new technologies.
 
•    Want to talk about family and children?  Explore conversations about green living, eco travel, or fun green activities for the kids.
 
•    Want to talk about projects around the house?  There is a number of topics to choose from, either though personal experience or thoughts of doing in the future.  As a starter, energy efficiency is always a conversation starter for home improvement projects and appliance upgrades.
 
Remember to share what you are doing and why you like taking those eco actions.  If it feels good to preserve natural resources, say so.  Are you saving money? Say that too!  We all have different motivations and your sharing of your sustainable lifestyle may very well inspire your friends, neighbors, and family members to discover the value in green living for them. 

Sometimes, corporate sustainability is like playing telephone.  Witnessed from a high level, a company's corporate sustainability plan may embrace all the right frameworks, include the buzz words, and authentically and credibly, embrace sustainability initiatives.  However, witnessed from the employee level, all that jargon and vision may be lost. 
 
While there may be a disconnect  between a corporate sustainability plan and the practical application in an employee's day to day activities, perhaps energy efficiency measures is one way to connect the two while simultaneously improving productivity by creating meaningful work. 
 
Employee engagement is an effective, but possibly underutilized strategy for improving energy efficiency.  In fact, energy efficiency can be a gateway to wider business innovation and engage stakeholders in broader process evaluations.  Suggestions made in our eco friendly training include:

• First establishing a baseline of consumption for benchmarking efforts.
• Create an energy policy for the business.  Using your consumption information, you may want to identify areas of improvement.  
• Implement behavior and usage modifications. 
• Measure and monitor your progress.
• Communicate your success and appreciation to employees for taking eco action.

 
Tying corporate sustainability initiatives to day to day processes makes CSR more personable to an employee and helps employees to identify their role in corporate responsibility.  Additionally, energy efficient  programs educate and inform workers of best practices in reducing energy consumption that can be applied at home and in the community expanding eco awareness and sustainability concepts from the workplace into the community for even greater energy savings.

Do you have to drive a hybrid vehicle or electrical car to drive green?   Sure, "green" cars are cool and are sparking innovation and eco awareness, but approaching your current vehicle with a sustainability mindset can also help to save cost and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   
 
Within our eco friendly training, we are often approached by those requesting resources and guidance to incorporate sustainability concepts into their daily living.  For most, this desire is sparked by a growth in eco awareness and an interest in saving money.  Transportation is an area that addresses both. 
 
Check out the following suggestions to see how you can reduce costs, reduce emissions, and live a sustainable lifestyle. 
 
Increase your fuel economy:

• If you don't know, find out what mileage your current vehicle gets by visiting the EPA's Green Vehicle Guide.
• Check out Smartcars
• Upgrade to a hybrid
• Learn more about biodiesel 

 Maintenance:

• Keep your tires properly inflated
• Don't haul around unnecessary weight
• Get a tune-up
• Be an Eco Driver using EcoDriving Best Practices
• Minimizing aggressive acceleration and braking
• Don't idle your engine

 
Consider other transportation:

• Mass transportation: bus/ train
• RideShare Company for Car and Van pooling
• Car sharing Programs like ZipCar
• Ride a bike
• Walk

 Other ideas:

• Get rid of your call all together.  Donate it to charity Cars for Causes eco friendly training is a sustainable option. 
• Purchase carbon offsets from Terrapass to offset your emissions

 
The most environmental impactful areas of our lives are those that we do by habit.  Replacing current behavior with eco friendly alternatives is a place to start.  Regarding transportation, changing what you drive and how you drive it can save money and reduce carbon emissions.

Who says bicycles can't fly?  Well, maybe they don't…exactly!  Next week, Taiga Company will be represented at the Breckenridge 100 mile Mountain Bike Race in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Going from sea level in Houston, Texas to Breckenridge, Colorado is a big jump in altitude and we're looking forward to flying "high" with excitement and perhaps, a new appreciation for oxygen.
 
There are a million reasons to fall in love with your bike and this event is one more reason to add to the mix.    As sustainability consultants, we love bike riding because cycling or bike commuting is a zero emissions form of transportation, is considered a great stress release, enjoyable exercise, and is a component of a sustainable lifestyle.   And, it gets you outside to enjoy our natural environment.
 
The Breckenridge 100 is one of Colorado's premier off-road endurance races promising spectacular views.  Outdoor enthusiast can appreciate the mountain bike challenge.  It features Solo and Three Person Team Competitions, a course climbing 13,719 feet over its 100 miles, the chance to cross the Continental Divide three times, climb 12,000 foot passes and forge high mountain streams.  Whew!
 
But wait! There's more!  Sustainable businesses are rising to the occasion too!  Several of the event sponsors are sustainable businesses demonstrating eco awareness in their products and services.  See if you recognize these sponsors:
 

• Chipotle’s is one of the fast food restaurants recognized for tasty food but also as a leader in building business sustainability.
• Cliff Bar, known for its tasty organic bars and most recently for its innovative use of CSR in retirement plans for employees.
• Voler is committed to business sustainability and furthering sustainability concepts into their business through their commitment to reducing their impact on the environment in several ways: using water based biodegradable sublimation dyes, recycling over 200 tons per year of paper waste, and use of electrical solar panels.
• Traditional Medicinals: Maker of teas and herbal products with business sustainability at the forefront.

 
We invite our twitter and cycling friends to join us at the event.  Look for us at the Taiga team tent or check us out wearing the Taiga Company cycling kits purchased from Voler Cycling Apparel.  If you can't make it, look for our pictures on Facebook after the event.

Wondering about my advanced training plan for the event?  Breathing through a straw! See you there!

With 4th of July right around the corner, you are probably attending a family BBQ, company picnic or some kind of other function.  Do you want to glam it up as a firecracker or a sparkler?  
 
They say beauty is only skin deep, but what you put on your skin matters.   Skin is the biggest organ in your body.  With growing eco awareness today is increased scrutiny in products we apply to our skin.
 
Traditionally, personal care product preferences have been very heavily brand-driven.   As a personal consultant to individuals seeking a more sustainable lifestyle, I encourage clients to evaluate alternatives to traditional brands.  Building a personal sustainability plan includes choosing products that are good for the environment as well as your personal health.  
 
Why opt for organic makeup?  According to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), many conventional products continue to have alarmingly high levels of carcinogens and recommend avoiding products containing the following ingredients:
 
•    Cocoamidopropyl Betaine
•    Oelfin Sulfonate
•    Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
•    Potassium Cocoyl Glutamate
•    Parabens
•    Phenoxyethenol
 
With so many eco friendly personal care products now available, there's also a variance in the degrees of how "clean" they are.   Our eco friendly training directs questions pertaining to safe ingredients in skin care to Skin Deep.  Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group.
 
For distinctions on natural, organic, and biodynamic, check out the post from EcoSalon:
How to Buy Organic and Natural Makeup Before Your Head Explodes.  
 
Using organic personal care products are not only good for you, but it's also good for the environment and good in supporting sustainable businesses.  By making a choice for alternative products, as a consumer, you are raising eco awareness and expanding the market for organic and environmentally friendly products.   Sparkle on!

There are multiple paths to career satisfaction but finding meaning in your work may be the single most contributing factor to long term satisfaction in the workplace.  According to the post, Getting Beyond Engagement to Creating Meaning at Work, "Those who succeed at creating meaning — either on their own or with the help of their boss — tend to work harder, more creatively, and with more tenacity, giving the companies that employ them a leg up in the marketplace. What's more, study after study suggests that when employees experience meaning, their employers enjoy higher rates of customer commitment and investor interest."
 
The question is twofold: As employers, how do you create meaningful work?  As an employee, how do you create meaningful work for yourself?

Business sustainability presents the unique opportunity to increase profitability, gain and maintain a competitive advantage over the competition, and create meaningful work in the process.   The key is in value alignment.  How can organizational values and employee values pair up?   Sustainable businesses with existing CSR and sustainability plans may have it a little easier, but those without can still create value.  Consider the use of the following strategies to align corporate and employee values to create meaningful work.
 

• Corporate volunteering
• Green teams-   allow participates to meet, collaborate, and discuss on topics unique to their position in the organization.  Namely, issues and areas of specific interest in how it relates to their job, their departments, and the overall organization.
• Create individual employee sustainability programs. The basic premise of a personal sustainability program is to reduce the carbon footprint, lighten the load on the planet as well as reap the benefits of living a more sustainable lifestyle.  Line this up with the corporate sustainability plan and initiatives.
• Educate: Offer ongoing workshops, training, lunch and learns, and educational activities to educate workers on the environmental issues (energy, water, waste, and others) and the associated actions causing the problems.  Identify new behavior and eco actions that individually workers can take to create new patterns of behavior and choices that support environmental solutions and are aligned with the company's overarching sustainability plan. 

 
Now, from an employee's  perspective:

• Consider your approach to your current position.  No one knows your job better than you.  You have a better chance of discovering ways to improve processes and integrate sustainability concepts than anyone.  Perform your job from the perspective of how can I do my job in a more eco friendly manner.
• Take eco action in your daily activities: recycle, commit to paperless, share with others what you are doing and why you are doing it and get them involved.
• Engage management by incorporating sustainability concepts in your personal development plan.
• Take on new sustainability roles and projects in the organization: start a recycling program, lead a paper free initiative, host a lunch and learn providing local and organic foods
• Become the “go-to” person for all things green
• Expand your corporate green network: engage in internal business activities, networking events, internal and external training, professional organizations, and business communities.  An easy option to engage in your company’s community outreach programs.

Creating meaningful work is both the responsibility of the employer as well as the employee.  How are you creating meaningful work? 

Each of us has one biological father.  Add all of the fathers in the US up and there is an estimated 64.3 million father's across the nation.   With numbers like that,  it's hard not to get excited about using Father's Day as a way to introduce sustainable lifestyle choices to our Fathers.
 
At its essence, a sustainable lifestyle, or living green, refers to a lifestyle and set of choices that minimizes a person's environmental impact.  While living green embraces sustainability concepts of efficiency, organics, waste management, and so forth, the mindset is more important than the eco actions.  Why?  Because life is dynamic.    As expressed in our eco friendly training, applying sustainability concepts one way today may not be the sustainable solution of tomorrow.  Your life circumstances change so it's in your approach to life that matters.
 
But, the trick is to actually get people started in living a sustainable lifestyle so that their approaches can take root and evolve.  For Father's Day, why not plant some thoughts of eco awareness in your gifts and watch them sprout a more sustainable lifestyle. 
 
Looking for gift ideas?  As suggested in our eco friendly consulting, look for gifts that introduce sustainability concepts and eco awareness.  Here's a start:
 
Dad, the car lover:
•    Check out waterless car wash products
•    Sell Solar Tire Pressure Gage
Dad, the sports enthusiast:
•    Eco Friendly Golf Gear
•    Klean Kanteen to stay hydrated
•    Organic Pool Towels
Dad, the Techie:
•    Solar backpack
•    Solar patio lights
•    Eco Friendly Water powered clock
•    Kill a Watt, Electricity Usage Monitoring Power Strip
Dad, the Chef:
•    Green Grilling
•    Bamboo kitchen tools
•    Organic Beer
 
Remember to not only give a gift with eco awareness, but share why that gift reduces the environmental impact, is more efficient, or how it helps contribute to a sustainable lifestyle.  The reason behind the eco action is the fuel that keeps the eco actions going.  

"We grow great by dreams.  All big men are dreamers.  They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening.  Some of us let our dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through bad days till they bring them to sunshine and light." ~  Woodrow Wilson
 
What is green living?  Is it living off the grid? Living in a green house? Working at a green job?  What exactly does it mean to be green?
 
At its essence, a sustainable lifestyle, or living green, refers to a lifestyle and set of choices that minimizes a person's environmental impact.  While living green embraces sustainability concepts of efficiency, organics, waste management, and so forth, the mindset is more important than the eco actions.  Why?  Because life is dynamic.    As expressed in our eco friendly training, applying sustainability concepts one way today may not be the sustainable solution of tomorrow.  Your life circumstances change so it's in your approach to life that matters.
 
The bigger the dream, the more you aspire to become.  Are there areas of a sustainable lifestyle that you've dreamed about exploring?
   

• Explore healthier living.
• Improve your quality of life and work life balance.
• Reconnect with your local community.
• Build your career with eco awareness.
• Become an educated and conscious consumer.

Imagine for a moment your personal accounts of the thrill of doing something you have always wanted to do.    The personal reward and accompanying excitement is lasting and inspires you to more.   Living your very own green dream can be a thrilling adventure.  

• Discover what can be recycled and what cannot!  Can you recycle paint? Hair? Crayons?  Find out here.  Better yet, discover recycling centers near your home by visiting Earth911.
• Discover the rewarding sensation of volunteering in your community.  Not sure where to start?  Visit VolunteerMatch and enter your zip code and area of interest to find a perfect volunteer match.
• Discover cycling as part of a sustainable lifestyle and as a rewarding personal adventure. Explore health, environmental, and cost saving reasons for biking to work and pick out your favorite resources to help you do it.
• Discover ways to decorate the eco friendly way with eco friendly materials, paints, and plants.
• Discover ways to green your routine.   Pick a different day of the week to take eco action on different sustainability concepts.  The thrill is in changing habits on a daily basis.  Need ideas?  Visit here.

 
Through our daily living, we are presented with opportunities to expand our eco awareness and make informed choices. If you have dreams of living green, now is the time to take action.   As you live your green dream, it inspires others to live theirs. 

Were you aware that the average American throws out 550 pounds of paper, 318 pounds of food, and 90 pounds of glass per year?   About 80 percent of that garbage ends up in landfills.  Inspired to do better, those living a sustainable lifestyle are striving to live a zero waste lifestyle as well. 
 
Within our eco friendly training we share the intention behind a zero waste lifestyle is to  maximize recycling, minimizes waste, reduces consumption and ensures that products are made to be reused, repaired or recycled back into nature or the marketplace.
 
A quick start to set you on your personal sustainability plan on waste reduction will not only reduce waste, but save you money as well.  But what does reducing waste mean?  When you avoid making garbage in the first place, you eliminate the disposing of waste or recycling it later.  It's the first component of the sustainability concept of the three R's: reduce, reuse, and recycle. 
 
Ready to get started?  Check out your garbage!  Your garbage gives you clues as to how to reduce waste, save money, and live a more sustainable lifestyle. 
 
Clue #1:
This is an easy one.  If you look in your garbage and notice paper, plastic, aluminum, kitchen waste and more all combined together, then your first step towards building a personal sustainability program is to embrace the sustainability concept of recycle.  Separate the paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum into bins and begin a recycling program. 
 
Clue #2:
Inspect the paper and plastic in your garbage.  Are the paper products you are using made from recycled content?  Do you receive a lot of junk mail? Are you using reusable containers?  What kind of garbage bags do you use?  Take eco action and make a difference.  Address each area and explore ways to reduce your waste as well as make more environmentally friendly choices. 
 
Following are some suggestions from our eco friendly training classes:
 
Reduce Food Waste:
•    Pre plan your meals, buy in bulk, and prepare what you need.
•    Compost and turn your old food into healthy soil.
 
Reduce when you shop and shop with the environment in mind:
•    Purchase products that are returnable, reusable or refillable.  Use reusable and refillable containers in your home instead of disposable items.
•    Purchase products with the least amount of packaging.
•    Get the most out of what you buy by comparing warranties and cost to repair or replace the item.
•    Look for products designed with the environment in mind.  Organic clothing, sustainable furnishings, and solar powered products are just a few examples.
•    Rent or borrow instead of purchasing.  Check out the post, Buy or Barter? Best Trading Websites for ideas.
 
Reduce items at home:
•    Reduce paper consumption- go paperless.  In fact, try using technology to go paperless.
•    Find new life for old furnishings, appliances and clothes.
 
By evaluating the contents of your garbage, there exist the opportunity to make more sustainable purchase choices, to reduce your waste, and to modify behavior to support the environment.        

While we may be more familiar with  Wal-Mart’s business sustainability strategies demonstrated in broad supplier-focused efforts like its Packaging Scorecard and Sustainability Index, in celebration of National Bike Month during May, Wal-Mart is offering free shipping and free assembly on ALL bikes purchased online at Walmart.com. In addition, customers who purchase Cruiser bikes on Walmart.com during the month of May will receive a free $20.00 e-Gift card.
 
Why is riding a bike sustainable?  As expressed in our sustainability consulting, bike commuting is a win-win for both businesses and individuals looking to reduce costs, embrace eco awareness, and adhere to business and personal sustainability programs.  It's not uncommon to be asked in an eco friendly training session, "Why ride a bike to work?"  Current commuters understand the benefits, but for those that don't, here's why:
 
Bike commuting improves your health:
•    Staying in better shape will decrease your chances of getting sick.
•    National health statistics show that when you're more active, you decrease your risk for cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
•    Bicycle commuting allows you to include your workout in your daily schedule and helps to meet fitness goals.
 
Bike commuting improves your mood:
•    More energy available throughout the day.
•    Improved health and happiness.
•    Regular participation in a cycling routine naturally shifts your focus to include thoughts of the weather, areas in your community to ride, road safety, and traffic.  Thereby increasing your awareness of the link between the environment and your community.
 
Bike commuting saves you money:
•    Reduce car maintenance.
•    Reduce your gas bill.
•    Reduce parking costs.
 
As President Obama’s Recovery Package helps more cities make their infrastructure bicycle friendly, and as Americans look to less expensive,  healthier, and more eco friendly ways to get around town, now is the perfect time to adopt a bike commuting lifestyle.  Cycling as alternative transportation can help conserve energy, reduce traffic, reduce carbon emissions, and help to preserve the environment.  Bike commuting helps the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. Get started today and ride your bike!

A recent Gallup shows that 94% of Americans are aware of Climate Change issues, and of that segment 75% feel that action needs to be taken. In light of recent events,  I'd argue that eco awareness has sharply increased. 
 
With so much focus on the outcome of the recent oil spill, it may appear that personal sustainability is unimportant and small in comparison.  Within our business world today, consumers, investors and the like are asking for accountability in the restructuring of businesses, financial systems, government, and our business leaders. Perhaps we need to ask: Are we as individuals holding ourselves accountable and How can we help?
 
Here's how.  The easiest way to promote a sustainable lifestyle is by living your values. Demonstrating values is a means of sharing with friends, neighbors, and in the community.  Matter of Trust is collecting hair and nylons to create booms that will attract the oil and assist in the cleanup efforts.  Take eco action and call your hairdresser requesting them to visit the Matter of Trust website. 
 
USA Today's Gulf Coast Oil Spill: How to help offers eco actions to take on behalf of the environment: 
 
•    The BP Community Support Team has set up a hotline for those who would like to help: 866-448-5816;
•    The National Wildlife Federation is working with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, and is encouraging anyone in the southern Louisiana area looking to help to reach out through its website;
•    The International Bird Rescue and Research Center has sent a team of specialists to the region to help with any oiled wildlife. If you spot oiled wildlife, call the Wildlife Reporting Hotline at 866-557-1401. Please note that oiled birds (or any other oiled wildlife) should not be captured, but reported to the hotline;
•    The National Audubon Society is recruiting volunteers to be trained to respond to the oil spill. They are also encouraging members of the public to contact the Interior Department and encourage them to halt the expansion of offshore oil drilling in the eastern United States;
•    Alabama residents are asked to contact the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program at 251-431-6409;
•    Or contact the Mobile Baykeeper at 251- 433-4229 to volunteer anywhere along the Gulf Coast;
•    Save Our Seabirds is a Florida bird rescue group that is looking for volunteers as its response team prepares to help oiled wildlife. To help, call 941-388-3010;
•    OilSpillVolunteers.com also needs volunteers to assist with the cleanup.
 
Personalizing sustainability is about addressing the environmental concerns of carbon, water, and energy on a smaller scale: your life.  Committing to sustainability in your personal life is holding yourself accountable for the very commitments we are asking our leaders and businesses to make.

Earth Day started as a way to recognize that the Earth needed help and many use the annual celebration to kick off new environmental goals and commitments.  Fortunately, many businesses and individuals now look to Earth Day to celebrate success milestones and more importantly, build on that success for the future. Reducing waste in our daily practices is one way to ensure a more sustainable future not just on Earth Day but every day. 
 
What does reducing waste mean?  When you avoid making garbage in the first place, you eliminate the disposing of waste or recycling it later.  It's the first component of the sustainability concept of the three R's: reduce, reuse, and recycle. 
 
As a green living consultant, I oftentimes ask clients, "What is in your garbage?"  Your garbage can give you clues as to how to reduce waste not just for Earth day, but every day. 
 
Clue #1:
This is an easy one.  If you look in your garbage and notice paper, plastic, aluminum, kitchen waste and more all combined together, then your first step towards building a personal sustainability program is to embrace the sustainability concept of recycle.  Separate the paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum into bins and begin a recycling program. 
 
Clue #2:
Inspect the paper and plastic in your garbage.  Are the paper products you are using made from recycled content?  Do you receive a lot of junk mail? Are you using reusable containers?  What kind of garbage bags do you use?  Take eco action and make a difference.  Address each area and explore ways to reduce your waste as well as make more environmentally friendly choices. 

Following are some suggestions from our eco friendly training classes:
 
Reduce Food Waste:
•    Pre plan your meals, buy in bulk, and prepare what you need.
•    Compost and turn your old food into healthy soil.
 
Reduce when you shop and shop with the environment in mind:
•    Purchase products that are returnable, reusable or refillable.  Use reusable and refillable containers in your home instead of disposable items.
•    Purchase products with the least amount of packaging.
•    Get the most out of what you buy by comparing warranties and cost to repair or replace the item.
•    Look for products designed with the environment in mind.  Organic clothing, sustainable furnishings, and solar powered products are just a few examples.
•    Rent or borrow instead of purchasing.
 
Reduce items at home:
•    Reduce paper consumption- go paperless.
•    Find new life for old furnishings, appliances and clothes.
 
By evaluating the contents of your garbage, there exist the opportunity to make more sustainable purchase choices, to reduce your waste, and to modify behavior to support the environment.  

Do you know why the recycling symbol has three chasing arrows? Each arrow represents one step in the three step process that completes the recycling loop.  The first arrow is the collection step. The second arrow is the manufacturing process in which recyclable materials are converted into new products and the third arrow represents the step where consumers purchase products made with recycled content.
 
We've found in our eco friendly training, that most people living a sustainable lifestyle help the recycling effort by putting materials in their recycling bin but fail to realize the importance of completing the recycling loop by purchasing recycled products.  Another way to close the loop is to reuse products before they are recycled.  Give them a second life. 
 
Not sure how? Check out these top trading websites:

• BookMooch  What’s traded? Used books - hardback, paperback, anything with pages you can turn.
• Bookcrossing  What’s traded? Books. But in the most fun way possible.
• Craig's List  What’s traded? Absolutely everything.
• Freecycle What’s traded? Again, pretty much everything.
• Rehash  What’s traded? Clothes and books.
• Swapstyle (currently getting a makeover, but worth the wait.)  What’s traded?  Clothes, accessories, cosmetics, shoes.
• What's Mine is Yours  What’s traded? Fashion.

 
You can do your part by taking eco action.  Swap and/ or purchase recycled products.  Next time you are ready to buy, educate yourself with eco awareness.  Those choices expand eco awareness within your network of friends and family, positively impact your local economy, reduce your footprint on the environment, and may actually help you save money in the process.

Upon first glance, the idea of a corporate green team may seem fairly simple—a small effort that allows a subset of employees to gather around a shared interest. In practice, however, green teams can be much more powerful than that. They can inspire, activate, and engage employees to create meaningful changes within a company.
 
"Green Teams", a formal or informal group of people in a company who are passionate about environmental issues, are gathering in offices across America to brainstorm solutions and promote ways in which their company's practices can become more environmentally sustainable.  As explained in our sustainability consulting, a green team can reduce paper use, increase recycling, promote energy conservation, and more, making a huge difference within a department or building.
 
A question asked in our eco friendly consulting is, How to we get started?
 

• Start by finding interested individuals, encourage co-workers from different levels and parts of your organization, and meet with management to get approval and buy-in for the idea.
• The best way for your green team to blossom it is to pick an initial project that everyone can get behind. Pick the lowest hanging fruit. The easiest thing to start with is to establish a recycling program or tangible projects that are easiest to benchmark success.
• Remember to set goals and strategies—identify your purpose, whether your goal is to cut costs or to be environmentally responsible, or both.   Create a timeline of how you would like to progress as well as set up future benchmarking activities to ensure that it is being implemented as planned.
• Celebrate success!  Communicate your success to internal and external stakeholders. Ride the momentum of your achievement and look for other pilot projects to expand eco awareness.  Training and educating others is a great way to keep others informed as well as invite them to participate in future sustainable business activities.

 
Once successful, build on that momentum to create more eco awareness in the workplace. 
 

• Lunch and learn sessions
• Monthly or quarterly all-hands meetings
• Daily huddles
• Mentorship programs
• Company intranet green section

 
Green teams help business capture the benefits of sustainable business: reduce business costs, improve business reputation, and attract and maintain top job candidates.  Get your green team started today!  

For many, Good Friday is the beginning of a long holiday weekend away from work or school.  It offers time to spend with family and friends in a usually more moderate climate.  So if you are looking for something to do, why not take the opportunity to engage in some fun eco actions this weekend that won’t set you back a lot of money or hurt the environment?  
 
Here are 24 fun and different eco activities to save some green:
 
1.    Go for a hike in the woods.
2.    Have a picnic.
3.    Take the kids to the park.
4.    Visit a museum -There are lots of free museums and many others take a donation.
5.    Work on an arts and craft projects.
6.    Go paperless for the entire day.
7.    Watch this video on recycling and see how these recycling tips make a big difference in saving our environment while creating green jobs in the process.
8.    Check out fun online games that challenge your eco-socio-political skills.
9.    Look around your home and office and unplug seldom used appliances.
10.    Learn ways to recycle your junk.
11.    Eat an organic meal or purchase some fruits and veggies from a local farmer's market and compost your vegetable scraps.
12.    Do some bird watching.
13.    Go for a bike ride.
14.    Roller blade, Run, Ski, exercise outdoors.
15.    Visit the zoo.
16.    Go camping - enjoy the US National Parks system.
17.    Apply the 3 R’s to your closet: reduce by removing clothes you no longer wear, reuse and recycle by donating to a local clothing donation.
18.    Visit a street fair.
19.    Bake organic goodies.
20.    Make a birdhouse.
21.    Stroll through a public garden.
22.    Work on your own garden.
23.    Take advantage of local cultural events.
24.    Clean out your house and have a garage sale.
 
While there are numerous benefits to green living, a common misconception is that it requires additional effort and costs more.  This is simply not the case.  Our eco friendly training classes and personal consulting offer fun ways to kick start living a sustainable lifestyle.  The first step is simply increasing one’s daily eco awareness.  Why not start this weekend? 

Mojo?   You know that certain kind of magical appeal, called mojo?  Not the mojo popularized by fictional super spy Austin Powers.  Eco mojo.  Do you have it?
 
In his latest book, Marshall Goldsmith defines mojo as the moment when we do something that's purposeful, powerful, and positive—and the whole world recognizes it.   “When I talk about mojo, I’m talking about simultaneously finding happiness and meaning at work and at home,” explains Goldsmith.
 
Translated into the language of sustainability, that means meaningful work, engaged employees, and demonstrating values of eco awareness at home and at work. 
 
While one approach to creating meaningful work is top -down within the organization, another path is a personal sustainability program accentuating personal leadership.
 
As stated in our sustainability consulting, it's a matter of aligning your values, personal sustainability concepts and eco actions of your personal lifestyle and matching those up in such a way that you are demonstrating those values seamlessly at work.  Noted, many businesses and organizations lack direction regarding corporate social responsibility or sustainable business strategies.   That's where personal leadership kicks in:

 
•    Consider your approach to your current position.  No one knows your job better than you.  You have a better chance of discovering ways to improve processes and integrate sustainability concepts than anyone.  Perform your job from the perspective of how can I do my job in a more eco friendly manner.
•    Take eco action in your daily activities: recycle, commit to paperless, share with others what you are doing and why you are doing it and get them involved.
•    Engage management by incorporating sustainability concepts in your personal development plan.
•    Take on new sustainability roles and projects in the organization: start a recycling program, lead a paper free initiative, host a lunch and learn providing local and organic foods
•    Become the “go-to” person for all things green
•    Expand your corporate green network: engage in internal business activities, networking events, internal and external training, professional organizations, and business communities.  An easy option is to engage in your company’s community outreach programs
 
 
Eco mojo is seamlessly integrating our personal sustainability values in all areas of our lives in such a way that it transforms our environment and gives back in a meaningful way.  It is the personal fulfillment and reward of expanding eco awareness through deliberate eco action that generates shifts in business and personal lives.   

Spring is a beautiful, energizing, and inspiring season highlighted by holidays that seem tailor made for eco awareness. Regardless of religion, many celebrate the day by focusing on the rebirth and renewal that springtime inherently brings to us. 
 
For those living a sustainable lifestyle, it's a time to recommit to the sustainability concepts of green living.  Is it living off the grid? Living in a green house? Working at a green job?  What exactly does it mean to be green?
 
At its essence, a sustainable lifestyle, or living green, refers to a lifestyle and set of choices that minimizes a person's environmental impact.  While living green embraces sustainability concepts of efficiency, organics, waste management, and so forth, the mindset is more important than the eco actions.  Why?  Because life is dynamic.    As expressed in our eco friendly training, applying sustainability concepts one way today may not be the sustainable solution of tomorrow.  Your life circumstances change so it's in your approach to life that matters.
 
The gift of springtime is one of renewal.  What better way to share the Easter holiday than to spark the green enthusiasm in others while recommitting to your own personal sustainability program?  Consider, What is the best way to introduce friends and family to organics?  Or recycling?  Do others notice when you practice energy efficient measures?  Are others inspired to bike commute when they see you enjoying the outdoors while running errands? 
 
When others see you living a sustainable lifestyle, and see that you are enjoying it, it inspires them to make similar efforts for themselves.  Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing eco awareness on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.  An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.
 
As mentioned in our eco friendly training, each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater.  The theme of World Water Day 2010 is addressing eco awareness of water quality under the theme "Clean Water for a Healthy World."  In honor of the day, there are multiple eco actions to take, but as an ongoing measure of a personal sustainability plan, we suggest raising eco awareness of water issues on a daily basis through personal conservation.
 
How can you conserve water? 

1. Wash Hands Efficiently: Turn off the water while you soap your hands, and rinse briefly.
2. Brush Teeth Wisely: Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save 4 gallons a minute. That’s 200 gallons a week for a family of four.
3. Use Less Water for Dishes: Scrape your dishes clean to reduce rinsing. Run the dishwasher only when it’s full.
4. Take Hall Full Baths:  Try bathing in a tub that’s only half full to save water and the energy used to heat it.
5. Shorten Your Showers:  Shorter showers save both energy and water—keeping your shower under 5 minutes can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
6. Stop Leaks:  turn off water faucets tightly so they don’t drip and repair leaks.
7. Wash Clothes Wisely: Make sure your clothes are truly dirty before putting them into the hamper. Wash clothes only when you have a full load, and use cold water whenever possible.
8. Water Wisely:  Water the lawn only every 3 to 5 days in the summer and avoid watering driveways, sidewalks, and gutters.

Have you noticed how "green" is everywhere?  Enter a grocery store, and there are "green" products next to traditional ones.  Billboards on the highways promoting “green" homes.  How do you know which products truly embrace sustainability concepts versus traditional products with a marketing makeover?
 
Frequently discussed in our sustainability consulting is that it is often unclear what a green product is.  Eco labels help but still, there is a lack of uniformity in certifications.  In addition, the environmental claims on packaging vary in credibility.  To help clear up the confusion, within our eco friendly training, we define a green product as one that performs as good as or better than the standard product, has less of an environmental impact, and is cost competitive.
 
Access to information has put the consumer in the driver’s seat and for those living a sustainable lifestyle, there's power in leveraging purchases to support sustainable businesses.  Following are 8 tips to enhance eco awareness for the conscious shopper.  
 
 

1. A comprehensive tool that provides reliable sources of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of products is the GoodGuide.
2. Research before you buy.  For larger more infrequent items, set aside time to research your options.  Evaluate products on the full lifecycle.  How much energy was used in producing the product?   What is the energy consumption of your intended use?  How it will be discarded later? Compare products with eco awareness in mind.
3. Buy local and buy in bulk.  Supporting local businesses eliminates the need for products to be transported far distances.
4. Buy organic.  Purchasing merchandise certified with organic labeling is another way to bring eco awareness to your lifestyle.   Buying organic means less pesticides in our ground water and better health for your family.
5. Buy Fair Trade.  Buying Fair Trade helps to end abuses such as child and slave labor.
6. Buy products from sustainable sources like bamboo.  Purchase products not tested on animals, made from renewable sources and packaged with recyclable and minimal packaging.
7. Electronic purchases: Consider buying "Pre-Owned" goods.  Purchasing previously owned products is a great way to implement the sustainability concept of recycling.  Ebay and Craig’s list are two good sources.  Also ask your electronics store about recycling options for older models.
8. Speak up!  Manufacturers are listening! Use social media to connect with business to communicate your preferences and experiences.  Consumers are the biggest drivers of sustainability changes.

 
With a little education and pre-planning, it's easy to maintain eco awareness in your shopping- even during the most inconvenient times.  Sustainable purchasing  is important because it can help you make better choices.  Those choices expand eco awareness within your network of friends and family, positively impact your local economy, reduce your footprint on the environment, and may actually help you save money in the process.

Whenever you want to improve in a specific area or program, just the process of increasing awareness will yield improvements.  The same applies to living a sustainable lifestyle.  Most of us recognize that change can be tricky:  habits and convenience make it far easier to slip back into the comfortable way of doing things.  However, implementing effective sustainable change does not have to be a laboring process.  The key is conscious awareness.
 
Awareness is the tool used to help discover the personal patterns of behavior that offer low hanging fruit for a sustainable lifestyle.  For instance, are you aware of your habits related to energy?  Consider how and when you consume the most energy in your day?  How could you be more efficient? What inspiring eco actions could you take? 
 
Conscious awareness is key to sparking the eco awareness in a personal sustainability program.  As noted in our eco friendly training, following are aids to assist in raising awareness:
 
•    Consciously notice what is most inspiring to you about living green and take eco action in those areas.
•    Notice your current patterns and invoke curiosity as to which eco actions would be a sustainable substitute.
•    Applaud your efforts: small changes add up.  In fact, daily habits have the most impact.
•    Observe how new changes become the new habit/ norm.
•    Momentum brings visibility to previously inaccessible ideas and behaviors.
•    Gain speed: There is ease in taking more eco action.
•    Inspire by living the example.
 
Each day we are presented with opportunities to expand our eco awareness and make informed choices.  The trick to capitalizing on those opportunities is being aware.  Conscious awareness offers us the opportunity to make changes that are inspiring and manageable relative our current life and the process of incorporating sustainability becomes much easier.  Being aware of sustainability concepts when shopping, or at work and play, contributes to living a more sustainable lifestyle.