December 2012 Recap: Ban the Bottle | Ban the Bottle

December 2012 Recap: Ban the Bottle | Ban the Bottle:

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Humane Connection: Beyond Green: Tips for Bringing Humane Choices to Your Office

Humane Connection: Beyond Green: Tips for Bringing Humane Choices to Your Office:

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Image courtesy of OfficeNow.

You’re making positive changes in your life at home in support of a compassionate, healthy, sustainable, just world, and now you’d like to extend your circle of humane choices to your work place. Easy, right? ‘Cause everyone wants a humane world! Actually, not so easy. At work you have to deal with the potentially-conflicting values, knowledge and practices of co-workers, company policies and long-standing traditions of “That’s how we’ve always done it!” and other potential hurdles.

Roberto Giannicola, IHE graduate and founder of Provokare Presentations, an organization that helps businesses and their employees make more socially-responsible choices, says,

“For a company to be socially responsible, and not fall in the “greenwasher” category, then every member of the organization or company needs to begin to act as a socially responsible person. And being responsible goes beyond recycling the can of soda or reducing paper usage, it means learning about how our lifestyle impacts people, animals and the world, and how we can choose to change that.”

Here are 15 general tips for helping you inspire humane choices at your place of work:

1. Start with your own circle of control. What can you affect in your daily work life? Can you bike to work? Recycle all your waste? Find creative ways to reuse supplies? Bring cruelty-free personal products? Wear snazzy work clothes purchased at a thrift store? Bring your own tasty, organic vegan lunch (with a bit extra to share)? Model what’s possible to others.
2. Share your humane messages in a compassionate, subtle way. If nothing else, you can share bits of information about your own choices with curious co-workers. If you have your own office or cubicle, you can put up (office-appropriate) posters or other paraphernalia. Is there a general information board where you can place flyers about upcoming humane events in your community, or veg restaurant guides, or tips about choosing fair trade? Look for logical opportunities.
3. Begin with small changes. Recommend veg, organic food from a local business for the next meeting. Host a “zero waste” contest amongst your co-workers (from increasing recycling, to using double-sided copies, to only printing when necessary, to using technology to decrease use of paper, to bringing your own mugs and dinnerware from home, etc.). Bring a guest speaker to talk about investing in socially responsible companies.
4. Find colleagues who share some of the same interests and concerns that you do and team up to work on small changes. Are both of you crazed over the number of plastic water bottles your company uses? Start a campaign to encourage reusable bottles and water filters. Tired of donuts and junk food? Organize a potluck featuring local, vegan, organic food. Want to bring awareness to fair trade? Pitch in together to supply fair trade coffees, teas, sugar, and other products.
5. Increase your knowledge about humane business practices by reading resources such as Cradle to Cradle, Sustainable Industries, and looking for resources such as Sustainable Business and the Rocky Mountain Institute.
6. Examine every aspect of your workplace (not all at once!) and ask yourself how the company’s policies and operations, and the actions and habits of employees, can be tweaked to do the most good and least harm for all people, animals, and the planet. Look for opportunities to introduce positive change a bit at a time. Alternative transportation? Low-tox, cruelty-free office, kitchen, and bathroom supplies?
7. Provide credible data and positive solutions. If you want to replace a product, service, practice, or policy, offer several specific positive alternatives that will meet the need as well or better. If you’re trying to change a company policy, write up a proposal, showing how making certain changes will save time, money, resources, etc. – the sorts of criteria that bring joy to the hearts of managers and CEOs.
8. If your company produces a product or service for citizens to purchase, consider how you can make that product or service more MOGO (Most Good). People are increasingly concerned about the impacts of their choices – and about the practices of the businesses they patronize. If you can provide them with compassionate, sustainable, just alternatives, you could well increase your business.
9. Network with other businesses and community organizations to investigate how you can share resources and collaborate. Can you go together to buy sweatshop-free uniforms? Recycled or tree-free paper? Establish reciprocal business relationships with local/regional companies, so that profits stay in your communities.
10. Be ready for “No.” When co-workers or employers tell you something isn’t possible because of x (it’s too expensive/complicated/time-consuming/radical, etc.), challenge yourself to investigate and develop creative solutions that can facilitate a “Yes.” Pull from the expertise and interests of others to help you.
11. Explore ways that other businesses and employees are bringing the humane philosophy to the workplace and find out which ideas are right for your office. If another business is already doing it successfully, you're more likely to get a "Yes."
12. Volunteer to coordinate a “Humane Office” group to work on steps toward sustainable, just, humane goals.
13. Provide educational opportunities for your co-workers. Initiate discussion courses, such as those available from organizations like the Northwest Earth Institute, (or IHE's own online courses) or start a brown-bag lunch series and invite in local speakers to talk about ways to live a humane life. Be sure there’s sufficient interest among colleagues.
14. Use technology as a strategy for humane choices. Can your next meeting use web conferencing? Is document-sharing or the use of wikis a possibility? How about telecommuting at least part of the week?
15. Remember to keep the journey toward a humane workplace fun and engaging and empowering for everyone.

Why People are Eating their Own Trash « India's Endangered

Why People are Eating their Own Trash « India's Endangered:

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Grand Prize Raffle

We are excited to announce that BMX founding member and prominent Goan hotelier, Lucindo Faria, has donated TWO generous holiday stays - a two day stay in Portugal AND a 5 day stay in Goa, including breakfasts.  The winner of either prize has the option of extending their stay at either location for an additional 5 days at a 50% discount off the standard rates.


1) Offer for Two nights complimentary double occupancy stay including Breakfast (for two) at Casa
Shantiniketan, Monte Estoril, Portugal PLUS if required up to additional five days at 50% of rack rate. Website www.casa-shantiniketan.com


2) Offer of Five nights complimentary double occupancy stay including Breakfast (for two) at Palmarinha Resort, Calangute, Goa PLUS if required up to additional five days at 50% of rack rate. 
Website www.Palmarinharesort.com

These prizes, which is valued at several hundred dollars each, will be raffled off to raise funds for the BMX(genY) Toronto Scholarship program for children of local BMXers (see sidebar ---> for details)

The tickets for the raffle will be sold at the picnic only at the rate of :

One ticket for $2; three tickets for $5.

The draw will be held after tea at the end of the EnviroAwards draw.

Save the date - July 14th, 2012

BMX going green - NEW RULES FOR ZERO GARBAGE EVENT

Thanks to your friendly compliance, the BMX Annual Family Picnic has become a premier annual event for BMX Alumni in the GTA.

As a trend-setter, we have also been successful at reducing the waste generated at the event by our Green Initiatives. The Toronto Parks Department has a guide to reduce waste in parks and have recently banned single use water bottles in all facilities, four years after we stopped distributing them. We appreciate your co-operation in reducing garbage by bringing your drinks and snacks in recyclable and reusable containers. We would like to congratulate all who participate.  In appreciation we will award you with ONE Raffle coupon for every reusable utensil used (including kid's - plate, cup, bowl, fork, water-bottle) to win exciting eco-friendly prizes.


PRIZES

• Electronic Photo Frame(s)
• Collapsible leaf barrel with cart
• Folding Stainless Steel clothes dryer
• Wheeled shopping bag
• Collapsible thermal insulated cooler
• Collapsible 5 gallon water container with tap
• 10 steel Green Living waterbottles
• 6 BPA free designer water bottles
• Reusable tote bags

Our 2012 picnic will be the 4th year that we have been promoting our Green Initiatives and we look forward to your continued support. Towards that goal, we will be discouraging single use items (plates, forks, cups, water bottles) in favour of reusable items as well as re-usable water bottles for the sports. We will continue to provide R-O filtered & chilled 5 gallon water stations to refill water bottles and a juice cooler for the kid's lunch.  Adults may bring their own cups too for a refreshing treat at lunch (while supplies last ;)

We are aware that due to extenuating circumstances, not everyone will be able to bring their own re-usable items and we will provide them with compostable utensils for no additional charge. Bringing these back for wet recycling may earn rewards.**

However, for the MEAL SERVICE, we will be offering re-usable plastic plates, stainless steel forks and plastic cups for a donation** of ONE DOLLAR PER ITEM towards the BMXgenY Project. This project funds special community and environmental projects developed by dependent family members of the BMX Alumni. Details of this award and criteria for applications can be found on the BMXgenY Facebook Group Page and in the (right) sidebar of this blog. ------------>

BMX EXCLUSIVE picnic kits are being developed:


PERSONAL KIT for a donation of $5.00 which will include:

1 reusable plastic plate
1 reusable plastic cup

1 reusable steel fork
1 cloth napkin
in a resealable Ziploc freezer bag to stow soiled utensils.
5 Raffle coupons


COUPLE'S KIT for a donation of $10.00 which will include:
2 reusable plastic plates

2 reusable plastic cups

2 reusable steel forks
2 cloth napkins

1 reusable water bottle

1 compostable wet recycling liner

1 compostable paper collection bag

1 resealable Ziploc soiled utensil collection bag

1 reusable cloth BMX 10th Anniversary Souvenir tote
10 Raffle coupons

FAMILY KIT for a donation of $20.00 which will include:
4 reusable plastic plates

4 reusable plastic cups

4 reusable steel forks
4 cloth napkins

2 reusable water bottles

1 compostable wet recycling liner

1 compostable paper collection bag

1 compostable waterproof collection bag

1 clear/blue plastic recycling bag

1 resealable Ziploc soiled utensil collection bag
1 reusable cloth BMX 10th Anniversary Souvenir tote
20 Raffle coupons

**VIP RAFFLE

For those attendees who bring their own plates, forks and cups, we will be awarding them one raffle ticket per utensil which will allow them to win environmentally-friendly prizes from our sponsors and donors. They will also be offered a VIP express service at the meal station and a complimentary soft drink in their own reusable cup.

Bookmark this site (you can follow or subscribe to updates by entering your email address in the email field in the right sidebar) and come back often to see the exciting prizes you can win.

The raffle draw will take place after the Bingo game.

2011 Annual BMX Picnic