Sustainable Business

I recently went to the Positive Business Conference facilitated by Michigan Ross School of Business. It was a two day event focusing on positive culture in the workplace, case studies of great places, places that turned things around, research studies, and workshops to better understand why this is so important and how to ensure that your workplace is living up to this standard. It was so awesome and inspiring to be in a room full of such empowering people and hearing them speak about their journeys and the thing that struck me the most as the level of authenticity in everything they said. There was no hidden agenda, they were open with their personal experiences of hardship and depression and also with their business practices because they are all wonderful people doing wonderful things!

I was also struck by how much they talked about sustainability and how it is the only purpose that fits every business in the entire world. That it is no longer a sideline issue and for companies to succeed, consumers are forcing them to care more about these issues. Yes, that's right. WE, the consumer, are making a difference by acting with our wallets. Every time we buy something we are sending a message about the kinds of things we want and what type of product we are interested in and every time we buy something that is more sustainable than our alternatives, we are sending the right message - and they are listening!

Since Unilever bought Seventh Generation they have vowed to increase their sustainability efforts across all their product lines which I think is a massive step in the right direction. I always try and support small and local businesses where I can, but seeing a huge company make a commitment to being sustainable means that so much more of a difference could be made. I have realised from these comments from the conference, that I am making more of a difference being one person in a huge institution trying to make a difference by joining forces with other like minded individuals that I would be if I left and created my own perfectly sustainable company. I feel inspired to make even more of an impact during my time here and to keep that goal in mind as I move through my career. My three take aways: Be Authentic, Be Sustainable, Be Positive. What wonderful words to try and live by.

Plastic Straws are the WORST!

OK so maybe not THE worst, but they are pretty fricking terrible. A guy at work just came and asked me when we would be getting more plastic straw coffee stirrers and when I responded with 'never' he said he'd just bring in his own instead. As the person responsible for our office procurement I am fortunate enough to be able to have a lot if not 100% of the influence on what we as an office consume. Now that the straws are gone there are only a few knives my predecessor bought and then we will be done with any single use plastic items. (Woohoo!) But people bringing in things from outside is something that is much harder to influence.

When he left my desk, I sent him an email with a link to The Last Plastic Straw which is a project to eliminate all plastic straws from being used, ever! The damage to the ocean and the ecosystem is mind blowing and so many people remain so ignorant of it. Straws are also so hard to avoid. Every time you sit down at a bar or restaurant they bring you water with a straw in before they even introduce themselves and give you a chance to say "I don't want a straw!" To try and cut down on this as much as possible I will always try and catch our server before any water is delivered to request our table doesn't have them and I carry a stainless steel straw with me everywhere in case I even want or need one (my teeth are pretty sensitive to cold!) and have a little brush to clean it with also which is super handy!

When discussing this interaction with a friend I found out the UK is planning to BAN STRAWS!! How awesome is that! Even McDonald's is on board and has begun phasing out their plastic straws, replacing them with paper ones. The UK is even going a step further to try and eliminate all single use plastics and disposables such as wet wipes that just never break down and more often than you'd hope end up in the ocean. I'm not sure I've ever felt quite so proud of a decision from Theresa May and sincerely hope this comes into effect soon! More countries should definitely adopt this measure, did you know that the amount of straws used in the US per DAY could wrap around the Earth 2.5 times??? That's 62,253 miles. Of straws. That individually are generally only around 8inches long. Mind. Blown.

My Introduction to Zero Waste

I've always recycled. In my house growing up that was just what we did. We did things we thought were more environmentally friendly such as walk everywhere we could and turn the lights off when we didn't need them. These things are something I took with me when I left home. Ways I thought I was helping with the ever growing concern that there are way too many people out there not caring enough about the environment or are perhaps under the illusion that using more and more of the earth's natural resources will not have a significant impact on it's future.

About 16 months ago, while searching for sustainable, fairly manufactured clothing after watching True Cost (a documentary available on Netflix about the fashion industry - if you haven't seen it add it to your list, it's eye opening!) I came across a blog by Lauren Singer called Trash is for Tossers. From there, I found Zero Waste Home and Bea Johnson. How I had not heard about her before this I do not know, and I felt awful to be so behind on something and someone who was clearing making a much bigger impact than I was. Both of these bloggers, and many others, have adopted a zero waste lifestyle where as little as possible goes to landfill. This blew my mind. There was so much they were doing that I could have been doing too. I decided right then to change as much of my life as possible to waste as little as I could. Turns out recycling is great and all, but a terrible place to stop.

These past 16 months have been a fun and sometimes extremely frustrating journey. I'm still not where I want to be (I mean, I don't even compost!) but overall I've made great strides and love living the way I do. People often ask me about zero waste and sustainability and I see small changes in their lives just because we had a conversation about something they saw me doing. Last September I started a new job where the amount of disposables used and trash produced blew my mind and honestly made me question if I could even work here. Then, instead of turning away, I stepped forward and asked if they had thought about in office composting in our building as I knew other buildings did it. They were completely surprised but amazingly receptive and now we compost, as well as recycle, all disposables we use are compostable, all our office purchases are the greener choices and all our events are 97% zero waste.

Everyone thinks that one person can't change enough to make a difference. One person is plenty.