4 Earth Day activities for work to create a vibrant working environment
Earth Day is a day to celebrate our planet and the natural beauty that surrounds us. It’s also a day to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect it for future generations. In the past, Earth Day has been used as an opportunity to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage people to take action at home, work, school, and in their communities. In recent years, it has also become a day of political activism focused on climate change and other environmental issues.
What are some Earth Day activities?
Earth Day activities for work can be as simple as planting a tree or they can be more involved, like organizing a clean-up of your neighborhood - and should be simple, fun, and educational. Here are some Earth Day ideas for work.
Have a recycling competition with your coworkers
There are many ways to get involved on Earth Day, and one of the most popular and easiest is to have a recycling competition at work. You can set up a competition with your coworkers to see who can recycle the most. Make it creative and encouraging so that the winner gets bragging rights, and the loser has to buy lunch for everyone. A prize could be something like $5, or it could be a free lunch or a free coffee. The more creative the prize, the better. This is great because not only are you getting your coworkers to recycle more, but you are also providing them with an incentive to do so.
Share facts about the environment with your colleagues
A lot of people are unaware of the environment and how it is changing. As a result, the environment should be discussed more often. There are many ways to educate people about the environment and one way is to share facts with your colleagues. This can be done by sending messages on Slack, scheduling meetings (in-person or virtually through Zoom), organizing an Earth Day trivia, or by simply bringing up a topic in casual conversations. Here are some facts about the environment to share with your colleagues.
● The world’s population is expected to increase from 7.6 billion to 8.7 billion by 2030, which will put more pressure on natural resources.
● The United States is the second-largest consumer of energy in the world, and it has one of the highest per capita rates of emissions worldwide.
● In 2017, global carbon dioxide emissions increased by 1.6% and were up 29% since 1990 levels.
● The ozone layer has been depleted by over 10% since 1970.
● Over one-third of all marine life has been killed off by pollution in the last 50 years.
● There are now over 5 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans, which weigh about 250,000 tons.
● It’s estimated that there are over 100 million pieces of plastic per square mile on the ocean floor.
● The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of clothes and other textiles each year.
Organize an event at work to help raise awareness about the earth’s issues
The environment is a topic that is on the minds of many people. It is important for us to be aware of what is going on in our world, so we can make changes for the better. There are many ways that you can help raise awareness about environmental issues at work. You could start by educating your employees on how they can make minor changes in their day-to-day lives that will have a big impact on the environment.
You can organize an in-person or virtual event to create awareness about the environment and the various ways to protect it. This will help educate your team about the many ways in which they can live a greener life - from turning off lights when you leave the room and using less energy to switching to eco-friendly cleaning products and generating less waste.
Volunteering at an animal shelter or a nature preserve
Volunteering at an animal shelter or a nature reserve with your team on Earth Day is a great way to get your team out of the office and working together in a new environment. This type of volunteering is also very rewarding because you know you are making a difference in your natural environment and contributing to a better future. It’s the perfect Earth Day office idea for a team that loves being outside and participating in hands-on activities.
How can we engage employees on Earth Day?
As you can see above, there’s a ton of different ways to celebrate Earth Day at work. Depending on your employees’ interests, choose one of the ideas above and your Earth Day employee engagement will surely outlast beyond even just this one day. If organizing an event on your own seems like a big feat, you can book a live-hosted virtual Earth Day trivia game and we’ll take care of all of the details for you.
