Final Thoughts

Well, as the quarter is ending, so is this blog. I thought it would be nice to kind of wrap up my thoughts in one final blog post. So here it goes!

At the beginning of the quarter, I was what I like to call "ecologically illiterate", I barely recycled and if I did, it was probably wrong. I was using plastic water bottles everyday, not carpooling or riding the bus, and a bunch of other harmful actions that I didn't even think about.

Through just one quarter, my entire thinking about sustainability has changed. It isn't something that only liberal "hippies" should be concerned with. It is something that affects EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THIS PLANET. If we don't do something to change our unsustainable practices now, there may not be a later for generations to come.

With all that preaching, I will end on this thought: if we as citizens of this planet can unify and practice sustainability on a micro level, it will all add up to a huge difference on a macro level. So please, be kind to the earth and leave it in good shape for the next generation.

That's all for this blog, thanks for reading!

Nick

Saving the World One Wipe at a Time

Yesterday, my sustainability group presented our life cycle analysis of luxury toilet paper. We explored the detrimental effects of toilet paper to our environment. To help spread the word, I've created a brief summary of our findings:


27,000 trees are cut down EVERY DAY in order to make toilet paper. These companies are using virgin wood fibers, when in all reality they could easily be using recycled inputs, saving those 27,000 trees daily. 


Here were our Study Objectives:
   -Determine the environmental impact of luxury toilet paper
   -Assess whether recycled or virgin fibers are less environmentally harmful
   -Develop Specific Recommendations for Kimberly Clark


The current LCA showed that just ONE roll of toilet paper had an Okala impact factor of 60.


We had these recommendations to lessen toilet paper's impact:

   -Switch from virgin wood fibers to 100% recycled fibers

   -Use single ply, rather than double ply

   -Use low density recycled polyethylene, rather than low density virgin polyethylene for packaging

   -Remove the cardboard roll completely

   -Remove the entire chemical bleaching process (Removing Chlorine)

   -Use less harmful agents such as peroxide, oxygen and hydrosulfide 

By following these recommendations, we were able to reduce that number by 2/3rds to just under 20.


So as you can see, toilet paper is currently not very environmentally friendly, but if the big brands are willing to make these changes, we can drastically reduce this necessary item's impact.

A Social Media Agency that Focuses on "Green"

Recently, I came across a digital/social media agency who is focused solely on marketing green products. I found this extremely relevant and useful. It would be a great opportunity for those of us who are interested in saving the earth while still being a marketer! Check it out:

Sustainable Marketing Solutions

As you can see, these are some of the things that the company does to be sustainable internally, so that they can help their clients also achieve their green goals:

A Company With Sustainable Values

As more sustainable businesses focus on the Triple Bottom Line – People, Planet, & Profit – they understand the importance of aligning their vision with a socially and environmentally responsible provider. When you work with Sustainable Marketing Solutions, you can rest assured that we follow a sustainable business model:

*Our website is hosted with Green Energy.

*We run paperless offices with the help of online services such as EchoSign and Freshbooks.  Most of our marketing collateral is shared online.  When we print, we use 100% recycled, post consumer paper.

*Little or no commute. Most client meetings and communications are conducted via email, phone or chat.

*A percentage of all profits are donated to our favorite environmental causes:  The Arbor Day Foundation, EarthJustice, and League of Conservation Voters

Global Efforts for Sustainability

The following article is about the sustainability efforts that are happening right now! On March 22nd, water consumption is in the spotlight for World Water Day, and on March 26th, citizens of the globe are urged to turn off their lights for one hour:

Globe goes energy and water conscious in March

14 March 2011

People around the globe will be keeping sustainability and energy saving in their minds this month as March marks two important events: Earth Hour and World Water Day.

Both occasions aim to raise awareness of climate change and the importance of energy efficiency.

On March 22nd, World Water Day highlights the importance of access to clean water and calls for the need for more sustainable water management and water consumption.

The Energy Saving Trust recommends ways to reduce water use in the home by using a water efficient shower head, swapping baths for showers, making sure dishwasher and washing machine loads are full and fixing dripping taps.

And on March 26th, Earth Hour will see homes and businesses around the world turn off their lights at 20:30 local time for one hour.

Organised by WWF, the event saw 128 countries take part last year, with landmarks including Big Ben taking part.

However, this year, the organisers are calling on the public to "go beyond the hour" and think about becoming more energy efficient in other ways than turning off the lights.

If everyone were to participate, the amount of water and electricity saved would be phenomenal! I know I will be participating!

Final Ecological Footprint

Hello All!

This is my update on my ecological footprint reduction experiment. About two and a half months ago, I took the ecological footprint quiz and it said it would take 5.7 planet earths to sustain my lifestyle. Since then, I have been very observant of all of my sustainability practices, and through a lot of work and retraining myself, I have reduced the number to 4.2 planet earths. That is 1.5 planets in only two and a half months! I have initiated recycling in my house, reduced my meat intake, began carpooling/riding the bus, greatly reduced my energy consumption and quit using plastic water bottles. I am very proud of my progress and am glad to have taken this course to change my bad environmental habits around. Here are my new ecological footprint results:

Well, that's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Nick