Let's focus on the bigger picture in South Africa at the moment. We are facing a global social crisis of on-the-clock load shedding — with more to come if the rumours are true.
So, why not take the chance and go for greener pastures?
And we quite literally mean greener pastures.
Going green in 2023 is the best method for organisations: Not only will you be saving money in the long run, but you'll also be saving the earth. Bonus, right?
Speaking of the earth … to make this article a little more interesting,
2023's different Earth Day goals have been used as the premises of goals to achieve this year.
Curious to know how we did this? Well, let's go a little greener with these five goals here:
1. Look to climate literacy
Climate.gov describes climate literacy as "an understanding of your influence on climate and climate’s influence on you and society."
The importance of businesses being climate literate is essentially due to the financial benefit and because of the sustainability benefit.
Research shows that companies that receive training in climate literacy have the ability and capacity to lower their carbon footprint by 15%.
And in a country where load shedding is eating up your finances … It might just be better, in the long run, to invest in some climate literacy and see where your organisation can make the great green changes.
2. End plastics
According to
WWF, South Africa generates 2.4 million tonnes of plastic, which is equivalent to 41kg per person
yearly.
Now you might be thinking that the waste pickers that we frequently see on garbage collection days get most of the plastics and ship them off to be recycled. But unfortunately, they can only pick certain plastics. The rest of the plastics are up to us to reduce and eradicate.
The importance of ending plastics does not only lie in the
recycling but in the
management and
production of it.
Multiple organisations saw the importance of this and joined the
SA Plastics Pact to reduce the toll they were placing on the South African environment and have taken strides to better their sustainability.
3. Plant trees
Want to sign off on some CSR goals and create a better environment? Well, reforestation is still a big thing even in 2023.
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 7.3 million hectares of forest are lost roughly every year.
Afforestation and reforestation are great for an organisation's PR campaigns Not only do they meet CSR goals, but they have short-term and long-term benefits for companies and sustainability initiatives. And who
doesn't like seeing a bunch of trees grow year by year?
4. Vote for Earth
By 'Voting Earth', the Earth Day foundation is not saying quite literally 'Vote for Earth', what they are saying is:
vote for community leaders who place a focus on:
- sustainability
- green energy, and
- climate crises control strategies.
As much as organisations can make a
major difference in the South African realm, the bigger fish in leadership positions can make even bigger strides. But for this to happen, individuals need to consider voting for earth.
5. Global clean-up
The great thing about global clean-ups is that it is an
all-year-long opportunity for businesses to invest in:
- green campaigns
- their communities, and
- the general wellness of local tourism.
Global clean-ups do not just have to be for employees or volunteers, though.
Research shows that buyers are shifting their stance on supporting corporations that are not sustainability friendly.
So, involving stakeholders, board members and even potential clients in clean-up campaigns will spread the word about the green pastures you are pursuing.
Do you know of any green campaigns worth mentioning? Leave their names down below in the comment section below for us to answer.
*Image courtesy of Canva