A Sustainable Take on New Year’s Resolutions
Happy New Year, Emerson community! With the new year comes much reflection and many resolutions. Here are some resolutions—actions you can take— from Sustainability at Emerson to create a greener 2024. Also find information on upcoming programming at the end of the article.
- Bring reusable utensils, water bottles, and mugs to work.
You can also keep a reusable container in your desk for whenever you can take leftovers home from office parties and other events. - Keep an extra tote bag in your work bag.
Ever run errands on the way home from work? Now you don’t have to use store-provided plastic or paper bags! This way your grocery bags don’t break, you keep another bag out of recycling or the landfill, and you save money if your community charges for store-provided bags. You can even invest in reusable produce bags. - Unplug devices when not in use.
Things like TVs, lamps, kitchen appliances, and phone and computer chargers can all use energy even when turned off. By unplugging your devices and turning off power strips when you’re not using them, you can save energy as well as money on our energy bill! You can try this at home as well. - Commit to more plant-based meals.
If you’re not already vegan or vegetarian, try out meatless meals one day each week or for one meal each day. Mississippi Vegan has the perfect vegan New Year’s Stew to start off 2024 with! - Check out a new environmental podcast, film, or book once a month.
Need an easy way to learn about the environment? Just press play on a podcast, watch a film, or read a couple pages of a book every day! This is a great way to increase your climate knowledge and understand why we even want to make sustainability resolutions in the first place. Here are some of our favorite podcasts, series and movies, and books:- Podcasts: How to Save a Planet, Hot Take (from Crooked Media), Greenbiz 350, The Energy Gang
- Series and Movies: 2040 (2019), Our Planet (2019, 2023), Dr Seuss’s The Lorax (2012), The Hidden Life of Trees (2020) (Based on the book by Peter Wohlleben)
- Books: All We Can Save by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson, Generation Dread by Britt Wray, The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human Centered Planet by John Green, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Committing to one of these simple sustainable resolutions can make all the difference! It’s important to remember that new habits can be difficult to establish. But with some determination and patience, we can make a huge difference.
How to Get Involved with Sustainability Efforts at Emerson
- Check out the Sustainable Emerson blog and subscribe to the monthly Sustainable Emerson newsletter for the latest sustainability updates, events, resources, and tips.
- Properly sort your waste on campus. Check out our comprehensive Waste Guide for more information. At first, it can take some extra time to learn what goes in each bin, but the extra minute to figure things out pays off in the long run! The next time you’re at the waste bins, you’ll know where an item goes and will help Emerson to reduce cross-contamination among different waste bins.
- Earn the Emerson Green Events Certification for all your events.
- Consider taking more sustainable transportation options such as biking, walking, and public transportation. As a reminder, here are the Transit & Parking Benefits from Emerson HR.
Upcoming Programming
January–March: Campus Race to Zero Waste (CR2ZW)
CRZW is an eight-week friendly competition between colleges and universities across the US and Canada to increase waste diversion on campus. Waste diversion is the portion of our total waste that we keep out of the trash stream through recycling, composting, and other methods. There will be a variety of events and programming to participate in throughout the eight weeks. Check our CR2ZW blog page for more information.
March 4–6: Teach-In on Sustainability
More details to come!
Jacqui Moy (Sustainability)