Yes, it’s that time of year when corporations of all sizes and shapes paint themselves green and brag about their environmental friendliness. On April 22, thousands of press releases will spread like vines across the internet – touting everything from the latest non-toxic pure-as-water cleaners, to big checks to plant forests in faraway lands, to feel-good tips for saving the planet.
As a proponent of all things sustainable here at UPS, I should be grateful for the rising chorus of environmental advocates. But I’m not. I resent them – every single one.
The reason is that some people sincerely do live a green lifestyle; some companies take environmental stewardship seriously enough to make it part of their operations every single day, not just on April 22.
Yet dozens of market-savvy companies will grab the headlines this month and get labeled as a green company – stories that will last on the internet forever. So here’s my Earth Day Challenge to all of you. Take a visit to those companies’ websites in July or August or December. Check it out: Are their environmental efforts really embedded in their products and operations? Do they transparently report on their environmental impact? Do they have a sustainability report that comes out EVERY year, not just every once in a while?
And once you are convinced that they are sincere about sustainability, buy their products. Reward them for their commitment to the environment. Every Day. Not Just Earth Day.
Show them you care.
Celebrate Earth Day 2010 with Adafruit – we’ll have posts all day and night with fun power/earth/green related projects and we’re having a one-time only sale on solar panels! Get a 2W solar panel 6V, 330mA out for $20, today only!
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Thanks for sharing the Earth Day challenge from our blog! We’re always glad to hear how sustainable business practices make a difference for our customers.
Thanks for sharing the Earth Day challenge from our blog! We’re always glad to hear how sustainable business practices make a difference for our customers.
Debbie Curtis-Magley
UPS Public Relations