How to take some positive action this Earth Day… and every day!

Russ Avery • April 22, 2021

Action stations!

The climate crisis, or climate emergency, is exactly that. A crisis. An emergency.

Time is of the essence, so let’s just get straight into it.

Here are some ridiculously easy things you can do to lessen your negative impact on the planet and do a bit of extra good in the world.

🌳 Plant trees

Wait! Don’t worry! We know very well that planting trees is absolutely not “the answer” - and don’t let anyone fool you that it is - but when reforestation and afforestation are done correctly, it can be of great benefit to the planet.

And the good news for those of us who can’t just go outside every day, roll our sleeves up, and do the planting ourselves is that there are lots of organisations, apps and websites that can do it for us. Here are just a few we love and use ourselves here at Avery & Brown.

1. Ecosia - ecosia.org

Ecosia is the search engine that plants trees. It really is that simple. You use Ecosia for your searches, they use ad revenue to plant trees where they’re needed most. Job done.

Start using Ecosia today.

Cost to you: nothing.

2. Refoorest - refoorest.com

“But I can’t use Ecosia - I still need to use Google!” No problem, we hear you. As a digital marketing agency, we also still need to use Google. And luckily, Refoorest has got us covered. This simple plugin works with any browser and helps you plant trees via its 7,000+ partner websites.

Start using Refoorest today.

Cost to you: nothing.

3. Ecologi - ecologi.com

There are lots of similar models popping up, but we are long-time users and fans of Ecologi. Again, it is not “the answer” - no form of offsetting ever is - but Ecologi makes it super easy to plant trees and purchase carbon offsets using a simple subscription model. Signing up as an individual, a family or a business is incredibly quick and easy, and you can choose how much you want to pay per month based on family size, number of employees, how much you travel, etc.

The way Ecologi gamifies the size of your forest is a fun added perk.

Use this referral link to subscribe to Ecologi today and get extra trees in your forest!

Cost to you: subscriptions can start from less than £1.25 per week

4. Treeapp - thetreeapp.org

Wake up and plant a tree!

We love Treeapp. As the app itself says, “Plant a tree for free, every day, in less than a minute.” And that really is the case! Answer a few quick questions about new sustainable brands, then choose where to plant your free tree for the day. Another ridiculously easy way to do a bit of extra good every single day - not just Earth Day.

Start using Treeapp today.

Cost to you: nothing

⚡️ Change your energy to a 100% renewable tariff

The climate crisis is all about fossil fuel emissions, so this one is a biggie.

Switching your energy to a truly 100% renewable tariff is one of the single biggest and easiest things you can do to reduce your household’s carbon emissions. Yes - it really is easy, because they do it for you. It takes you a few clicks. We’re speaking from experience.

There is an increasing number of renewable energy providers out there (certainly here in the UK, at least) but make sure to do your due diligence on where your money actually goes. If you’re in the UK, the best option is Ecotricity as they reinvest their profits into green energy projects.

Switch to Ecotricity today and use code L5A8U6 to receive a £25 voucher to EthicalSuperstore.com

Cost to you: will vary depending on your current provider / current costs / size of property etc, but it could be a few hundred pounds more expensive per year. But a lot of you reading this could still afford that! And that’s a small price to pay for moving away from fossil fuels as a household

Bonus tip! Even if you are on a 100% renewable energy tariff, please remember that you should still try to reduce your energy use by turning off lights and appliances when not in use, for example. Reduce, reduce, reduce!

🥦 Reduce your household food waste

Scary fact: if food wastage were a country, it would be the third largest emitting country in the world after China and the USA.

If that doesn’t blow your mind, nothing will! Seriously, just think about that and imagine how many tonnes of emissions that equates to.

Nearly all of us can make huge improvements in this area, through proper meal planning, smaller portion sizes (which is good for our waistlines too) and better knowledge around the issue of food waste. We are both keen composters here at Avery & Brown, but we can still make some big improvements to the amount of food waste we actually produce in our respective households.

Cost to you: this step could easily save you hundreds of pounds over the year thanks to proper meal planning and learning how to use your leftovers, etc.

🤑 Buy less and vote with your wallet

Just buy less new stuff.

Less of everything. Whatever it is. Books, BluRays, gadgets and gizmos, clothes (especially clothes!), literally everything - we all just need to buy less new stuff!

And when we do need to buy something new, we need to vote with our wallets by choosing to buy from small, local, sustainable, and ethical companies. We have that power! We don’t just vote in elections, we vote every day with our wallets for the products and services we want to see more of. Never underestimate the collective power we have as consumers.

Buy local. Buy small. Buy sustainable. Buy from Certified B Corps. But before you even buy, just ask yourself if you really even need to buy new at all. Do you need it? Or do you just want it?

Cost to you: you could quite literally save yourself thousands of pounds per year

There are dozens, hundreds even, more things we can all do to lessen our negative impact on this beautiful planet we call home. But we are deliberately going to leave it there, because we know that overwhelm can be a real issue when it comes to knowing how to take positive action.

The apps, websites, and actions listed above are all easy things to do. Some take less than a minute (e.g. Treeapp), some won't encroach on your time at all because they are actions which accompany what you already do (e.g. Ecosia and Refoorest), and some just take a little bit of thought and planning.

We'd like to leave you with this final thought:

“If we wait for the governments, it’ll be too late. If we act as individuals, it’ll be too little. But if we act as communities, it might just be enough.” - Rob Hopkins, Environmental Activist

Remember those words! Together is how we're going to make a real difference and small actions like the ones above, when multiplied by millions of us, can and will have a huge positive impact.

#EarthDay2021 #RestoreOurEarth

< Older Post Newer Post >

Share the love

Subscribe to 1984, our high-value monthly bulletin..

Farnham marketing agency fights plastic pollution

By Tilly Loader • June 19, 2024

Our background & commitment to Plastic Free Farnham Plastic Free Farnham (PFF) was set up as part of ‘Plastic Free Communities,’ a Surfers Against Sewage UK-wide initiative to tackle single-use plastic pollution. Since November 2022, we have supported PFF in working towards making Farnham a plastic-free community by reducing plastic usage in our office. We committed to two significant changes; replacing plastic coffee cups with reusable ones, and switching from plastic-packaged milk and lunches to plastic-free alternatives stored in lunch boxes. We recently reached our gold level champion status , which proves our commitment to reducing plastic in the business. Why we wanted to help them with this pro bono project Every member of the A&B team is passionate about creating a better future for our planet. We recognise the vital work that Plastic Free Farnham is doing to contribute to this goal. Their mission aligns with our values, so it was an easy decision for us to support and amplify their efforts to inspire as many people as possible to get involved. We helped PFF by designing and building a website to help people learn more about the organisation, find out how to get involved, and raise awareness of those already helping to reduce plastic use in Farnham. As a marketing agency, we truly understand the power of a good website and digital marketing. From content to design development to user experience, we knew that our expertise could significantly help PFF achieve their goals. As a current ‘plastic free champion’ we understand the audience better than anyone. The process Finding out exactly what they want and need Advising them on best practices to get the most out of their site Creating wireframes to show design, layout, and navigation of pages Building the website Showing the team how to edit areas of the site, allowing them to do things like upload blogs

Soaring Hope: Knepp Wildland Foundation and Avery & Brown's Commitment to Conservation

By Russ Avery • May 22, 2024

Read all about Avery & Brown's exciting new partnership with the Knepp Wildland Foundation. And find out what the name Indiana has to do with anything!

A close up of waves in the ocean at sunset.

Avery & Brown Demonstrates Continued Climate Commitment with Independent Verification of Business Emissions

By Russ Avery • April 17, 2024

For the fourth consecutive year, Avery & Brown has demonstrated its climate commitment by having its business emissions measured and independently verified.

Bold Policy Briefing Charts a Regenerative Future for Businesses in Surrey, Hampshire and Beyond

By Russ Avery • April 5, 2024

Visionary report by Avery &Brown and Accelar provides a roadmap for the green transition and a flourishing low-carbon economy.

Avery & Brown, The Better Business Network and OPEN Media Launch The 'Better Business Pioneer' Campaign Celebrating Positive Change Makers

By Russ Avery • October 16, 2023

London, UK (17 October 2023) Three UK Certified B Corporations have launched a new campaign celebrating 'Better Business Pioneers' – individuals in the workplace driving positive change in the face of inaction from world leaders. The campaign, which launches on Monday 23 October 2023, comes in response to the lack of progress on pressing global issues like climate change, biodiversity loss and social inequality. By spotlighting those already driving change, the campaign aims to counter climate doom, inspire more conscious actions, and showcase how we all have the power to shape a better future. The campaign is a collaboration between Avery & Brown, a sustainable brand, marketing and creative agency, The Better Business Network, an inclusive network for purpose-driven business owners and leaders, and OPEN Media, an out-of-home media owner, operating a portfolio of screens across the entire UK.

Reporting on Reporting: How does UKGBC communicate its impact?

By Josh Haughton • September 28, 2023

This is the first in a series of several blogs looking at key brands in the built environment sector and how they approach impact reporting. We’ll be looking at design, outcomes, metrics, audience, insights and much more. Impact reporting is a crucial activity for each and every organisation, but it can also be daunting and overwhelming for a business embarking on its first. The purpose of this blog series is to show the many ways that your company’s impact can be reported and what to look out for along the way. For instance, is an organisation acting upon its insights? Are they communicating their message clearly? And most importantly of all, are they doing it in a way that is sustainable?