What Is Earth Day?
Once a year, over a billion people from around the world come together to honour and advocate for our planet’s health. Today it’s about more than just preservation, it’s about education, community, and empowerment. Earth Day — which falls on 22nd April — acts as the catalyst for essential conversations about the health of our planet and the work that needs to be done to better preserve its natural environments and ecosystems.
What Is Earth Month?
More recently, many have started dedicating the entire month of April to celebrating the strides and continued efforts of the environmental movement. With that in mind, our team have come together with a few tips on how we can all make positive changes, even small ones can make a big difference.
7 Ways to Celebrate Earth Month
🌏 Go outside and enjoy Mother Earth
What better way to show your appreciation for the world around you than immersing yourself in it? Spend some time outside doing an activity you love, going for a run, hiking, or a spot of gardening. With how busy all our lives are, it can be tough to find time to really connect with the world around us. This Earth Month is the perfect time to change that.
🌏 Swap unsustainable items with eco-friendly options
Our society’s reliance on single-use plastics has made a big impact on the health of our planet, but cutting out plastic isn’t the only way we can make our homes and workplaces more eco-friendly and sustainable. Using fewer plastic bags and less plastic wrap will definitely make a difference, but there’s a lot more we can do. For example, many common cleaning products are made with toxic chemicals that are as bad for the environment as they are for the germs they’re scrubbing. The good news is that there are lots of eco-friendly cleaning products you can use instead, many of which come in sustainable packaging as well.
🌏 Introduce sustainable habits to your routine
Whether we realize it or not, we all have little habits and rituals that we carry out every day — and some of them might not have the best impact on the environment. Take a closer look at your day-to-day habits and see which ones might benefit from a little sustainability sprucing! If you find that you love taking extra-long showers in the morning, consider cutting back by a few minutes or using cooler water — this can help you both save water and potentially reduce your utility bill whether you have an electric or gas water heater. Or if you tend to throw away a lot of food at the end of the week, try to make smaller meals or freeze your leftovers to reduce your food waste. And maybe you used to be an enthusiastic recycler but have been getting a little bit lax in your sorting — use this month as an opportunity to revamp your recycling system!
🌏 Take part in The Great Global Cleanup®
The Great Global Cleanup® is a worldwide campaign to remove billions of pieces of litter from our streets, beaches, rivers lakes and parks. As a team we wanted to do something locally to celebrate earth month, we all felt this was something we could all do to make a difference, small efforts amplified globally will have huge impacts on our environment. The goal of this program is to continue with regular clean-ups throughout the year resulting in a brighter, greener and cleaner planet.
Why not organise a local cleanup in your area?
🌏 Switch your energy plan
Green energy is that which comes from natural sources, such as the sun. Clean energy is those types that do not release pollutants into the air, and renewable energy comes from sources that are constantly being replenished, such as hydropower, wind power or solar energy. We believe it is our responsibility to do everything we can to reduce our environmental impact, the electricity we use at B&B Press is now 100% renewable and from hydro and wind sources.
🌏 Recycle your paper
When it comes to recycling, one material comes out on top: paper. With a current recycling rate of 74% in Europe, it’s one of the most sustainable materials in the world.
However without new virgin fibres from trees, the paper cycle cannot be maintained. Recycled fibres degrade after several uses and the paper industry needs fresh fibre from sustainably managed forests to keep the renewable cycle going.
In general, the ink used on a piece of paper won’t affect its recyclability, though there are exceptions, speak to your print supplier if you want to make sure you're choosing the most eco-friendly options.
🌏 Support World Land Trust
World Land Trust and its overseas project partners have been instrumental in the purchase and protection of more than 2,222,247 acres of tropical forest and other threatened habitats, and together ensure that more than four million acres of land is managed under active protection worldwide.
If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change and the biodiversity loss that goes with it, scientists tell us we only have until 2030 to cut global emissions in half. A make-or-break decade lies ahead, and we need to act now. The effects of the climate crisis are evident for all to see, by working with WLT through their Carbon Balanced programme, you can be part of the solution. If you’d like to know more about how you can do this speak to one of our team about Carbon Balanced Print.
Being environmentally friendly won't impact the print quality and it can be a huge benefit for your business. But first, you need to know what to look out for. This checklist is the perfect companion for print buyers and marketing professionals. We've made it easier to decide what you need out of your print to ensure you're making the best decision possible for the planet and your business.
