My office is having a “No Impact Week” this week. What is a “no impact week?” It is a one-week carbon cleanse and trying to live with as little impact as possible on the environment. If you’re like me who loves all the modern conveniences, then it’s going to be hard. But I’ll give it a try. I have always believed that the “old ways” were better. The modern conveniences that we have do cost a lot of money and contribute much to damaging our environment. What’s our one-week program like?
- Monday: Stop making trash.
- Tuesday: Switch to more sustainable transport.
- Wednesday: Eat local, eat less meat.
- Thursday: Conserve energy.
- Friday: Consume less water.
In addition, there are learning events and forums every day for this week on a variety of topics. Those who signed up for the full week challenge have a longer agenda.
Day 1: Buy less stuff. Stop buying things except for what you absolutely need. You may buy food of course. You’ll find that you’ll have saved more money, have more time to spend with your family, and freed up space in your home.
Day 2: Look at your trash. What disposable items can you do without? Which items may still be reused? Remember, reduce, reuse and recycle.
Day 3: Transportation. What’s your major means of transportation? If you’re like most office workers, it’s likely you drive your car to work. Consider biking, carpooling, taking the train, or walking if your home is walking distance from your office. In addition, take the stairs instead of the elevators especially if it’s only one or two floors. You’ll burn more calories and lose weight. Good for the health too.
Day4: Food consumption. No meat for this week. That includes chicken and fish, not just red meat. This means kind of turning vegetarian. Absolutely no fastfoods.
Day 5: Use of energy. Don’t watch TV. Don’t use the aircon. List all gadgets, appliances, etc. that use energy to operate and see how you can eliminate or lessen its use. Unplug appliances when not in use.
Day 6: Use of water. Look at how you use water. We sometimes don’t realize how wasteful we are. I am guilty of letting the water run while brushing my teeth. Better use a pail rather than the shower.
Day 7: Give back and see how you can contribute the your community.
Interesting isn’t it? Visit the No Impact Project website to learn more. Personally, I’ve already started doing some of the things encouraged by the project like only buying what I need, eating less meat, walking and taking the stairs, reducing clutter and reusing. But there are more changes I need to do particularly in using modern conveniences and water. I’m certainly going to continue this project not just for the week but incorporate it in my life.
Wow, thanks for sharing this! I want to do it, too. I’ll check the site for more info. Thanks again!
That’s a great advocacy. I learned a lot from this post. We do some but still not to a satisfactory level.
A no impact week would be good for larger companies like Microsoft or Google. Then we would see just how hard it is for some to have no impact on the environment.
Great work though keep it up!
wow! ang effort talaga! pero really, small acts really contribute if we all do it… i miss these carbon footprint activities in my old company…
this is cool advocacy.. i shall check the site later…
what an impressive program of your office! sana lahat ng company ganito, it is huge contribution to prevent smashing up our environment…thumbs up!
may major transportation will be mrt and bus.. hehe
anyways, little steps can make a change when it sustain for a long period of time. keep it up!
This is really difficult for me! Maybe, I can try to buy less…mmmm. Still have to try it out.
In my line of work, we deal with high technology machines which we can’t put off while we have patients. But of course, we can still try to conserve energy by other means.
I’ve encountered something like this on the web… I guess a lot are initiating and doing this thing for the environment. Small acts but they do make big impacts collectively.
Great to see that you are doing your part to reduce the carbon footprints. Really environmentally friendly company that you work in.
It is best nga if we leave as little carbon print as possible, pero so hard!
This is a very good practice. I want to try this one. thanks for sharing.
This practice both help the environment and ourselves. We learn old school patience and will power!
You’re starting the year right!
I want to do this someday, but it will take a lot of sacrifice I guess. I can’t let a day pass without eating meat.
This sure is very interesting! I am not sure I could do all, though. Plus, there is a need for the whole family to cooperate, especially with the food consumption.
this is a good start for our environment. It is also made me think to try this one.
Cool idea(s)! I should do something like this at home. hehe
It looks easy but you’re right, we’re so used to with our daily, convenient doings. And that makes these guidelines so hard to do if we don’t have the will. But if we are to do this one step at a time, less carbon a day, then we’ll be living in a healthy world.
It’s time to help save our mother earth for the future of our children.
this is so nice, i like this kind of project
i am also kicking off a green living
This is a brilliant project! I salute the person who is behind this idea. This is really beneficial and worth doing. “Green living” should be or kind of thing now.
This is a great project. I have been “kuripot” always so I walk, I unplug appliances. Water is kept to its minimum level. I am struggling with less trash and less meat diet though.
Our society of consumerism has become very wasteful. That’s a big part of the problem. If we all lived like we did in the old days, we would all be a whole lot better. I don’t call it “kuripot” at all. That’s the right attitude towards living a simple life. I did struggle in the beginning but it’s become a habit. Like unplugging. I used to say it was burdensome to plug and unplug everytime I use an appliance. But it’s become second nature I don’t even notice I’m doing it.
Nice! It’s great that your entire office is part of this project. I think everyone should be a part of it. I’m checking the site out now.
Mahirap ito pero doable naman. I will try to buy less stuffs para less kalat din. Electricity and water conservation too.
Mahirap nga because we got used to modern conveniences pero when I thought about it, wala naman yan mga yan when I was a kid. So it’s doable. Effort lang.
What a wonderful idea to get everyone on board with this project. I think as time goes by, more people will become open to the idea of conservation.
Eliz bc blogger
I didn’t know that project like that do exist. Kudos to your office for participating such thing.
Interesting project! If all companies in the country or maybe around the world do this, it will really create a “great impact” not only in our surroundings but to ourselves as well.
I agree! The shift will be difficult for most people though. I know I’m having difficulty with the trash. I’ve gotten used to using plastic bags to throw trash. Now that groceries don’t use plastic bags, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to buy the trash bags.