Ideas for Incorporating Sustainability into Your New Year's Resolutions

By: Keith Schneringer  |  January 4, 2013

Happy New Year!

You did it – you survived the holidays and the New Year has begun!

As you get back into the routine at the office, you may be excited to have already resolved to do some things a bit differently in 2013 – or perhaps you have made a New Year’s Resolution is to stay far away from any resolutions. 

No matter what description above best fits your mood at the beginning of this year, please read on for a few suggestions to help you to incorporate sustainability into your routine in 2013. 

A Few Ideas to Bring Sustainability into 2013
Thanks to ideas from the Nature Conservancy, Green Living and Green Seal, here is a mashup of suggestions to help you bring sustainability into the New Year:

• Give back – think about supporting the causes you believe in. Every little bit helps, and just think of the impact which could be made if everyone you knew did just a little something. From local causes and charities to national disaster recovery relief efforts, you can make a difference.
• Donate unused items – you can “recycle” your unused items by donating them to charity or to other entities within your city – your donation will help someone else in need, give these unused items a whole new purpose and help you to clear out some clutter. Go ahead – you weren’t really going to wear that jacket again were you?
• Get outside – take your family for an outside adventure instead of shopping or playing video games – after a holiday season that perhaps was filled with too much shopping/video game playing, treat yourself and your loved ones to the wonderful outdoors.

• Garden – get outside and plant native plants and perhaps some produce for your kitchen table (eat local!).
• Plant a tree – trees help to clean the air and fight pollution – and help to beautify your surroundings. “I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree.” – Joyce Kilmer
• Re-Charge up – replace conventional batteries with rechargeable ones – billions of batteries are disposed of each year – using rechargeable batteries saves money and helps the environment.
• Unplug – be aware of energy-wasting appliances and electronics and unplug them whenever possible.
• Use cold water – many laundry and professional cleaning chemicals are now designed to work just as effectively in cold water – using cold water instead of hot water saves the energy usually expended to heat the water, saving you time, money and energy use.
• Conserve water – find ways to conserve, re-use or recycle water, or not use it at all. See if you can use recycled water for the plants, produce and trees you just planted.
• Clean green – use third-party certified green cleaners which have been tested to verify claims of biodegradability and reduced human health and environmental impacts, and incorporate them into a comprehensive green cleaning program for your property.
• Get a reusable bag – when you are ready to go back to the store (after taking your family for an outside excursion of course!), bring a reusable bag with you – some stores may offer a small discount for using your own bag, and others are now charging for the use of disposable bags. Save money (and waste) by bringing your own.
• Lead – share at least one sustainability-related news story or article with your friends, family or network – and inspire them to do more in 2013, too!  

Keep watching this space for more updates on sustainability in 2013.

Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

Keith Schneringer is WAXIE’s Director of Channel Marketing + Sustainability. He is a LEED AP O+M and CIMS-GB ISSA Certification Expert who has been a consultant on a variety of LEED and CIMS-GB projects, and has presented to audiences at USGBC, BOMA, IFMA and CHESC events (among others). He enjoys learning and sharing information on topics related to sustainability and green cleaning and can be found on Twitter @kschneringer.