Essay on Go Green for Students and Children in 1000 Words

Essay on Go Green for Students and Children in 1000 Words

In this article, you will read an Essay on Go Green for students and children in 1000 words. This includes what effort needs to save earth , its importance, precautions, and 10 lines on Go green.

So, Lets start this Go Green Essay for Students…

Table of Contents

Introduction (Essay on Go Green)

Nowadays, many people are thinking about environmental issues and the environmental condition of the Earth.

Why has this issue become so relevant? What do we need to do to protect our future?

People understand that their irresponsibility hurts the natural environment. Our planet suffers from many problems, which result from excessive human activity.

The entire planet is suffering from pollution , global warming , deforestation , and endangering wildlife species. These problems are very relevant and require fast and comprehensive solutions.

The solution for these problems is the change in the attitude of mankind towards nature and the natural resources that are being used unrestrictedly. People have to value the environment and nature for their survival. Put, people should go green to save the Earth.

What efforts we should take to go green and save our earth?

We cannot grow a forest within a year; people understand that. But very few people are taking the important steps to change their lifestyle, which will affect the environment in a few decades.

People need to be more educated about the harm that is being done to the environment and the planet earth because of industrialization and pollution.

We should encourage people to plant trees that will grow in ten to fifteen years. Even though our generation might not enjoy this, but our future generation will. It’s like investing in a small firm which develops into an enormous company and will provide profits.

Educating people, the consequences of deforestation, and polluting the water bodies should be done on a large scale, which is possible in this age of the digital world. Every year the average temperature of the planet is rising due to global warming. We should encourage people to use energy-saving appliances, turn off the lights when not required, turn off the taps to avoid water waste age, and drive less.

We need to use more public transport as it does not release any harmful gases that can cause the greenhouse effect and global warming. Subsequently, industrialists must use special filters in plants, factories, and power plants to reduce the number of toxic emissions in air and water. Also, people should stop cutting trees as they are the lungs of the planet.

Consideration of Future Generations by Go green mission

For the wellbeing of the future generation comprising our children and grandchildren, it is the responsibility of the current generation to take care of the environment and not create problems that will be a burden for the future generation.

Many people have thought about why they should think about the planet as they will not be alive till then, and it is a problem for the future generation to solve.

Precautions to take for Go green

Public transportation provides a significant chance to integrate with the community and know your colleagues better too. Also think to buy organic foods and make an organic meal beneficial for both human and environment.

Use natural light instead of the fluorescent light bulbs, which consume more energy. Before leaving the office, see that we switch all your computers and the lights off. Encourage people to recycle and use eco-friendly products.

People don’t care what will happen, and if there is any problem, future generations will solve it. This thinking results from greediness and consumerism.

People have become greedy by nature and value only their comfort. For this comfortable life, nature is being exploited by the current generation, and the future generation will face the effects of this.

It is a little ridiculous to think people are destroying the forest and polluting the rivers so they can gain profit. Even though people require fresh air and water to survive, they do not appreciate it, which is provided by the forest.

But nowadays, many companies have become environmentally conscious and encouraging their employees to be more environmentally friendly. The companies are arranging activities like planting trees, collecting plastics, arranging seminars for employees to increase their knowledge regarding the environment and forests.

10 Lines on Go Green

  • Offices are going paperless; more and more work is being done on a computer. With introducing the cloud, people can share their work with their colleagues through this.
  • The greenest way to reduce energy consumption is to switch off the lights when not in use.
  • Before opting for the recycling , see if you can re-use the substance. For example, printing on both sides of the paper or re-using scrap paper for taking notes.
  • Another way of going green is recycling.
  • If possible, it will cut unnecessary travel, save money, and consume petrol and diesel, which is one of the principal reasons for air pollution . Nowadays, meetings are conducted with the help of the various video apps available.
  • Water needs to be spared at any cost. Use only one bucket of water while taking a bath. Plus, you can also use dual flush toilets or water-saving devices at your homes.
  • If possible, use public transport or share cars while commuting towards the office.
  • Bring your lunch to the office in a reusable box instead of ordering and eating packaged foods.
  • Rainwater harvesting is another option through which you can collect the water and use it for watering the lawns and gardens.
  • Encourage everyone near you to keep the city and your neighborhood clean and green.

As you can learn from the above points, there are many ways to go green, which are easy to follow and have many advantages for mankind and the environment. If you care about the future generation and of planet earth and want to make a difference, follow the above suggestions.

If we don’t stop this unwise activity, we will lose many priceless natural resources like freshwater, fresh air, plants, animals, birds, fish, etc. If people do not change their lifestyle, this will lead to deforestation and global warming, leading to the destruction of this planet. Hence it is necessary for this generation to go green to save the planet for the future generation.

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Advantages of Going Green

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Advantages of Going Green

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘going green’ as it relates to saving the environment. But why go green?What are the advantages of going green, what does it even look like, and how can you actually do it? 

Going green is a term for finding a way to live your life in an environmentally-friendly way and altering your behaviors and spending habits in such a way to help preserve the planet and limit your personal impact upon it.

This could be in the form of developing simple eco-conscious habits, such as recycling or composting , or it could involve more dramatic changes like completely revamping your energy-consumption habits. 

There are many ways of going green – and we’re going to explore these and discuss their various advantages.

Looking for more information about sustainable living? These best books on green living will tell you everything you need to know.

What does going green mean?

As we’ve already touched upon, going green means embracing a way of life that helps preserve the environment by reducing, reusing, and recycling items. It can also involve us moderating our own behaviors to have a smaller impact on the environment. 

Adopting a ‘greener’ way of living means adopting an environmentally-mindful lifestyle that contributes to protecting the environment. This means the preservation and conservation of natural resources , habitats, and biodiversity.

Explained very basically, going green means adjusting your life to find a balance between living your life, and having as little of a negative impact on the environment as you possibly can. 

The aim of going green is to:

  • Reduce pollution – it’s no secret that pollution is incredibly bad, not just for the environment, but also for human health , so reducing pollution should be top of the list for any eco-conscious person.
  • Reduce resources consumption – many of our resources on earth are finite, so reducing consumption and eliminating waste is also important.
  • Conserve natural resources and forests – forests absorb greenhouse gases, help to stabilize the climate and are key to helping tackle climate change.
  • Promote eco-friendly living and personal responsibility – going green isn’t just about saving the environment, it’s also about learning to live with less, recycle more, and foster a caring attitude toward the planet we all share. 

What are the advantages of going green?

Going green has numerous benefits at home, in the workplace, and to the economy at large. Brands and businesses have made shifts toward greener practices – from eliminating the use of plastics in certain products and packaging to growing organic foods.

plastic free food storage containers

The advantages are numerous, and while it might seem like common sense – it’s worth highlighting the many changes that regular people can make right now for a greener way of living.

Some of the environment-friendly practices that we can embrace include:

  • Reduce energy costs and consumption through the use of renewable energy alternatives (like wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy)
  • Opt for quality appliances with low energy consumption
  • Purchase eco-friendly household items 
  • Recycle biodegradable products and create DIY items
  • Eat green, sustainably farmed, and ethically produced organic foods
  • Choose a greener mode of transportation (like carpooling)
  • Use green cleaning and skin products
  • Use recycled materials when building or renovating a house
  • When purchasing a new home consider a greener option, such as a prefabricated house

Three advantages to going green

The advantages of going green can fall into three major categories:  economic, health, and environmental benefits.

Let’s dive into these major categories and how you can do your part in going green.

Economic benefits of going green

A significant economic benefit of going green is that it helps lower costs and save money. The use of renewable energy helps reduce energy consumption, which in turn helps save money spent on electricity bills (which is a benefit to the individual).

Going green at home helps reduce water and power bills significantly. Avoid under-filling the ashing machine, add water-saving appliances in showers and washrooms, and opt for low-flush toilets if you can – it all adds up!

earthship home

Recycling is another way to go green – this can mean recycling your household items – like bedding and pillows , appliances, and even carpet – but it also means opting to buy recycled products where possible. 

Buying recycled products can be cheaper, and it obviously helps save on production costs (since it would have been more costly to use virgin raw materials). Waste reduction also helps save the costs associated with waste disposal.

Another advantage of going green is that one can receive discounts and incentives for green living , for instance, some states offer incentives to those that opt to live in green homes. Green homes create ways to consume less energy, which helps reduce utility and maintenance costs.

Health benefits of going green

Going green has collective benefits for our health. It reduces dependency on fossil fuels and other depleting resources. Organic farming boosts the economy and means that we can eat local, organic, and seasonal produce which is much better for our health.

brussel sprouts microgreens

Going green by reducing or eliminating air pollutants obviously increases the quality of the air we breathe. Just like an adage goes, “prevention is better than cure,” – reducing pollutants is cheaper than trying to clear pollution from the environment if we allow it to spread.

According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution causes around 2 million premature deaths every year globally. 

It’s therefore essential to strive for green living! 

Environmental benefits of going green 

In addition to the health and economic benefits already mentioned, going green has numerous environmental benefits. Going green through organic farming leads to responsible farming practices and land use.

The cumulative effects of going green, as outlined in this article, can ultimately lead to less deforestation – which is crucial for the environment. Embracing paperless practices at home or in the workplace, for example, means there is less demand for paper, so fewer trees are cut down, and it just might mean that the rainforests have a fighting chance!

a view of Amazon rainforest with parts of deforestation

The environmental benefits of going green are almost too obvious to list here – it’s no secret that the cumulative effects of being kinder to the environment will help to preserve and protect the earth, and all those who live here. 

Going green is only the way to go

It is essential to practice green living. There are many advantages of going green and, not to sound too dramatic, but if humans don’t clean up their act soon then we’ll be in serious trouble. All the things we take for granted like clean air, drinking water, and food, will no longer be available to us. It is crucial for us to improve human-environmental interaction . 

When we strive for green living, then we significantly reduce the impact human beings have on the environment. All of these small changes really add up to a significant result, so the next time you buy single-use plastics, or under-fill your washing machine, spare a thought for the planet we all live on. And next time you get the opportunity, be sure to keep sustainability in mind and make a conscious effort to go green.

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Going Green Essay Example

Go green essay introduction, going green essay main body, going green essay conclusion.

What can you do to save the environment? Keep reading to find out! Learn about the importance of going green with this essay on go green to save environment and take your essay writing on the next level.

Currently, there is evidence of extreme weather changes and global catastrophes due to global warming, environmental pollution, erosion, depletion of natural resources, and diminution of the ozone layer. As a result, the planet earth is dying little by little because studies show that the plants, animals, rain forests, and water sources that were once the definitive characteristic of different ecosystems are no more (Greenberg 86).

Therefore, there is the paramount need for man to take bold steps in terms of conserving the environment, and guaranteeing the survival of the present and future generations. Thus, the spirit of going green entails getting different people in the world to become aware of their decisions and activities that hurt the environment and the world at large (Greenberg 87). This essay presents a discussion on the various steps individuals can take to go green, and the importance of Go-Green programs in conserving the limited natural resources for future generations.

Therefore, relative to the current global climatic and economic changes, there are several simple steps that each individual should take to enhance environmental conservation. Here, environmental conservation begins with an individual’s initiative to conserve the immediate environment such as at home.

These individual initiatives can then extend to the workplace, the national level and finally to the global arena (Greenberg 88). As a result, going green at home entails saving energy through compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), switching-off all lights before leaving home, using power bars to switch-off idle electronics, and purchasing energy-efficient appliances.

These activities are beneficial to nature in terms of lowering energy consumption rates per household, and as a result, the total energy savings in different homes can contribute to low rates of energy consumption at the national level (Greenberg 89).

Another bold step in going green entails saving water at home and at the workplace. Here, it is advisable for one to take shorter showers, use low-flow showerheads and toilets, use delay-timers on the dishwashers, and planting drought-resistant flowers and plants in the garden.

Subsequently, individual initiatives in conserving water play a major role in contributing to conservation of natural water resources at the national and global levels.

Furthermore, individuals can play a central role in controlling environmental pollution through walking more than using motor vehicles, and using renewable energy resources such as biogas instead of fossil fuels. Overall, these two initiatives are imperative to environmental conservation because they reduce the carbon footprint in the environment (Greenberg 90).

Conversely, many critics of Go-Green programs have raised concern over the overall implications of going green on the environment and the economy in general. Here critics argue that individual initiatives in conserving the environment may not have any significant impact in the global arena.

Furthermore, these groups of people posit that some initiatives proposed by Go-Green programs may hurt the global economy through reducing profitability because most of these initiatives entail advising people to refrain from buying and using certain commodities such as fossil fuels and plastic bags (Greenberg 95).

However, looking at the idea of going green from a wider perspective, it is obvious that the overall positive implications of Go-Green programs outweigh the negative implications. For instance, apart from these initiatives rallying for conservation of natural resources such as water, forests, oil, and other energy resources, they also contribute to environmental conservation though indirectly.

Furthermore, through clean and more sustainable environments, which provide unlimited natural resources to all inhabitants, it is probable that the world population will increase due to low mortality rates, and increased rates of life expectancy. As a result, there will be additional workforce, which translates into economic growth.

This essay presents a discussion on various ways of going green and the overall importance of Go-Green programs. Therefore, the discussions above show that going green entails being aware of one’s activities and decisions that can hurt the environment and the world at large.

In addition, the essay provides various initiatives, which can be undertaken by individuals at home and the workplace to mitigate environmental pollution and wastage of natural resources.

Therefore, it is obvious that taking small steps at a time in terms of changing from different wasteful habits into less wasteful and more sustainable ones enable individuals to set an example that produces various changes at the national and global levels.

Furthermore, environmental conservation is no longer a choice but a responsibility that the current generations must fulfill to guarantee the survival of future generations.

Greenberg, Nadivah. “Shop right: American conservatisms, consumption, and the environment.” Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press Journals 6.2 (2006): 85-111. Print.

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E&C

37 Principal Pros & Cons Of Going Green

” Green technologies – going green – is bigger than the Internet. It could be the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century.”

John Doerr, Businessman

Advantages & Disadvantages of Going Green

advantages and disadvantages of going green

Eco-friendly living becomes increasingly important.

Along with this concept comes the movement of going green, which basically aims to improve our ecological footprint in all parts of our daily life.

We have many environmental problems to solve and going green might be a good measure for this.

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However, there are also some problems related to the going green movement.

In this article, the pros and cons of going green are examined.

Audio Lesson

Advantages & reasons for going green, you can save energy, you can save water, waste reduction, more sophisticated recycling practices, protection of our natural resources, you can save money in the long run, you will be full of energy and motivation, reduction in deforestation, fewer mining activities needed, less air pollution, less particle pollution, slowing down climate change, mitigation of water pollution, improvements in overall health, fewer fossil fuels have to be used, energy transition process is supported, increasing value of your home, sustainable form of living, ensures a bright future for the next generations, clean conscience, green travel, you can also go green at work, going green can strengthen a company’s brand, tax advantages.

One important advantage of going green is that you can save plenty of energy in the long run.

Going green implies that you turn off your light and your electronic devices every time you don’t need them.

Moreover, you should also buy energy-efficient household devices in order to make your behavior even more eco-friendly .

Over time, you will notice that your energy bill will be significantly lower and you can not only save plenty of energy, but also large amounts of money since energy will likely become even more expensive in the future.

You can also save plenty of water in all parts of your daily life.

For instance, if you are someone who takes a full bath several times a week, try to reduce it to once a week and replace the other times with showers instead.

Moreover, you should also make sure to use a washing machine as well as a dishwasher that are water-efficient in order to save this precious natural resource .

The importance of water is still rather underestimated by many people but the real value of water will become quite obvious in the future since water will become quite a scarce resource due to global warming.

Another upside of going green is that we can also significantly reduce our waste production at home .

Since waste has to be either burned or disposed into landfills, waste production implies serious adverse consequences for our environment.

In order to go green, you could try to buy things that are not packaged in excessive wrapping material.

Moreover, try to bring your own fabric bag instead of using disposable plastic bags in stores.

If you love coffee, chances are that you often go for a coffee-to-go and use disposable plastic cups.

However, the use of those cups poses a big problem for our environment since it implies the production of plenty of unnecessary plastic waste.

Therefore, with all this in mind, try to adjust your behavior by going green and therefore to avoid waste whenever possible.

Apart from waste reduction, more sophisticated recycling processes can improve your ecological footprint even further.

Thus, make sure that you separate your waste properly so that it can be recycled in the most efficient manner.

Only then will it be possible to use our natural resources in the most efficient manner.

In general, another advantage of going green is to protect our natural resources from depletion.

In our production processes, companies still use large amounts of fossil resources.

However, this use of non-renewable resources implies serious issues since at one point in time, those resources will become entirely depleted .

Since our technological progress is heavily dependent on those resources, we have to protect them whenever possible in order to assure the supply with those precious resources for as long as possible.

Not only can you contribute to the reduction of several environmental problems by going green, you can also save significant amounts of money in the long run.

Electricity and water will become even more expensive in the future and it would also make sense from an economic standpoint to reduce the consumption of those resources in order to save money.

You could either invest those savings or spend it on your hobbies.

Either way, our planet as well as your finances will both win in the long run by going green.

Once you noticed how good it can feel to act in an eco-friendlier manner, chances are that you will get up every morning full of energy and with the motivation to protect our planet from destruction.

This boost of energy will not give you the motivation to behave green, it will also help you in all other tasks of your daily life since success and motivation are closely linked and if you have a higher level of motivation, your chances for success in life will vastly increase as well.

By going green, you can also reduce the deforestation problem .

Deforestation implies several serious environmental problems , including global warming, habitat destruction and many more.

Thus, it is crucial to protect our forests.

Deforestation is often caused by mining for natural resources.

Therefore, you should reduce your consumption of material goods as well as save energy whenever possible since you indirectly also reduce the deforestation issue due to those measures.

In general, mining is a significant problem for our planet. It is needed to extract excessive amounts of resources out of the ground.

Since our world population is growing at an alarming rate and also our average consumption levels increase, this also implies an increase in the need for mining.

Thus, it is crucial to save as many resources as possible by going green in order to avoid all kinds of adverse effects related to mining .

By going green, we can also reduce the air pollution problem to a certain extent.

This could be achieved by refraining from using your car and going by public transport instead.

Even better would be if you walk or take your bike for short distances.

By doing so, fewer amounts of harmful gases will be emitted into the air and our air quality would improve.

Especially at rush hour, big cities are often literally covered with smog.

However, smog can be quite harmful to our health and can also imply significant visual pollution .

It is therefore important to reduce the smog problem by going green.

You can contribute to reducing smog levels by commuting by alternative means of transport instead of your car.

This could mean using public transport, but it could also mean going by electric scooter or by other vehicles that do not emit harmful gases into our air.

The use of conventional cars also implies the combustion of fossil fuels, which in turn contribute to particle pollution .

Particle pollution can cause all kinds of health problems, including serious pulmonary diseases and cancer.

Thus, we should also try to reduce particle pollution by reducing the use of our cars and by using alternative means of transport instead.

By living in a green manner, we can also slow down climate change to a certain extent.

Since many studies have shown that greenhouse gases are one main factor when it comes to global warming, we can reduce the global warming issue by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

This can be achieved by reducing our consumption and also by refraining from the use of our cars.

Water pollution is quite a serious environmental problem.

Large areas of our ocean surface are already covered with waste.

In addition, large amounts of microplastics pollute our lakes, rivers and oceans .

By going green, we can reduce the water pollution problem by producing less waste.

We should also try to refrain from buying items that are made out of plastic since part of this plastic waste will end up in our water bodies and will take a quite long time to decompose.

Since going green also implies to learn about our environmental issues and the related adverse effects, people who want to go green are often also more aware of how their actions and their consumption affect our planet as well as our health.

Thus, those people will be more eager to engage in healthy food consumption and their overall health tends to be better due to this information and awareness advantage.

In general, by going green, we should try to avoid everything that is made or produced with the help of fossil fuels.

The use of fossil fuels is bad for our environment since it implies large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, as the name tells us, fossil fuels are non-renewable and may become depleted in the near future.

It is also crucial that we transit from fossil to renewable alternative energy sources as soon as possible in order to slow down global warming and to reduce the pollution problem.

By going green, we can support this mission.

For instance, we could install solar panels on our roofs or use other renewable power sources.

Going green can also have a positive impact on the value of your house.

Since people become increasingly aware of the importance of saving our planet, many of them prefer to buy a home that is eco-friendly.

Thus, by installing solar panels or other devices that support the going green movement, you can significantly increase the value of your house and do good for our planet at the same time.

Another benefit of going green is that it encourages lifestyles that are sustainable in the long run.

We as humanity currently only have one earth and we have to protect this precious living environment at all costs.

It is therefore necessary to take action to make our lifestyles more sustainable.

There are several ways to make your life more sustainable which are quite simple to implement in your daily life and everyone should take efforts to do so.

We should also feel the responsibility to sustain our planet as well as a high quality of life for the next generations. It is easy to exploit everything we have and just also waste the future of our kids.

However, this is not a good idea from an ethical perspective and everyone of us should feel obligated to protect the beauty of our planet.

Imagine that at one point in time, your kid asks you why our planet has become a garbage dump.

Would you be happy to answer that you had also been contributing to this mess?

By going green, you can also assure a clean conscience.

For instance, if you do not act eco-friendly, you might always think about it subconsciously and may feel a high level of guilt deep inside.

However, by going eco-friendly instead, you can have a much better conscience, which will likely translate into overall improvements of quality of life.

Going green also implies traveling as green as possible .

Sure, in some cases when you have to travel quite long distances, using a plane might be unavoidable in many cases which will be rather bad for our environment.

However, there are still many other ways how you can make your travels greener and you should definitely check this out since many of those tips are really easy to implement.

Going green is not confined to your leisure activities, it can also play an important role when it comes to your job.

Many companies recognized that being eco-friendly can provide many chances and therefore, many companies even encourage eco-friendly behavior.

Thus, make sure to also behave eco-friendly at work in order to further improve your ecological footprint.

In our nowadays age, it is quite important how consumers perceive a company’s brand.

For instance, if a company is known to treat their employees quite poorly or that it does not care about our planet at all, many customers might refrain from buying from this company.

Thus, it is quite important for companies to go green in order to strengthen their brand and to stay competitive in the long run.

Another financial advantage of going green is that in many countries, there are quite generous tax advantages for green energies.

Thus, if you own a house, installing solar panels may be quite profitable since you could save plenty of energy on conventional fuels while getting tax subsidies at the same time.

essay about go green

Disadvantages of Green Living

Going green takes some effort, may need significant initial investments, may be time-consuming, you might have to inform and educate yourself, organic products are more expensive, social isolation, green infrastructure might be missing in some regions, can be costly for businesses, confined variety of products, you may have a hard time finding industry experts, companies may misuse the term green for their purposes, high level of motivation needed to stay green.

Although going green has many important advantages, it also implies some downsides.

One disadvantage of going green is that it takes some effort to implement eco-friendly tasks and changes in your daily life.

The more you want to improve your ecological footprint, the more effort you have to put into it, which may be quite hard, especially if you work in a demanding job and you come home tired every evening.

Thus, do not expect it to be too easy. Even though some measures for going green might be quite simple, others may take more effort to implement.

For some eco-friendly devices, you might also have to spend plenty of money.

For instance, installing solar panels on your roof might not be cheap.

Thus, even though it might amortize in the long run, those initial costs have to be financed somehow and you might take a loan in order to be able to afford those changes.

Going green does not only imply serious efforts from your side, it can also be quite time-consuming.

For instance, you might have to buy some eco-friendly devices and install them.

Moreover, the separation of waste may take longer now if you do it in a green manner.

Thus, there are many things in your daily life which might take a little bit longer.

Still, you should go for it since the price of a bright future for the next generations should be worth some additional effort from all of us.

Going green also implies to inform yourself about how your actions affect our planet and what measures you can take in order to improve your ecological footprint.

Even though this information is basically free and you can access it through the internet, it will still take time and a high level of self-reliance from your side to do so.

Thus, this information does not come to you easily, you have to inform yourself and actually take actions and may people may struggle to do so.

Going green can also mean buying organic instead of conventional foods.

Even though those products are generally quite good for our health and also protect our farm animals from poor living conditions, organic food products are often much more expensive and especially if you are on a budget right now, you might not be able to afford switching to organic food at this point in time.

Depending on the region, going green might also be quite difficult from a social standpoint.

If you live in an area which is quite conservative and where people do not like changes at all, you might have a quite hard time to live eco-friendly since many shops will not provide eco-friendly devices.

Moreover, you may even become socially isolated if you do not join local customs that imply an eco-unfriendly behavior in some regions.

Another problem related to going green is that the overall infrastructure to behave eco-friendly might be quite bad.

For instance, if you live in a small village, chances are that the public transportation system will be quite bad and you might have to rely on your car, no matter if you want it or not since you will not be able to get to work in time otherwise.

Thus, especially in remote regions, it might be quite hard to actually go green.

Going green is also an important task when it comes to businesses.

However, the initial investments in green tech may also imply a serious drop in profits in the first years.

Thus, if the board of directors is compensated in a short-term manner, decision-makers in those companies may rather refrain from going green since they fear to lose their high bonuses.

Although the variety of eco-friendly products significantly increased over the past decade, the selection of eco-friendly products is still relatively confined and you might have a hard time in some regions to go green.

This may imply that you have to go shopping in many different stores in order to get everything you want, which can be quite time-consuming.

Since going green has become popular over the last few years, there are still not too many industry experts around in this field and you might have a hard time finding competent workers who are able to fix your green devices in case they break down.

This may be a serious issue, especially in remote rural areas and you might have to acquire plenty of knowledge to do repairs by yourself.

Since the term green sounds good to customers, companies may misuse this term for their advantage.

For instance, some companies may claim that their products are in line with the concept of going green, while those products may not actually be eco-friendly at all.

Thus, make sure to inform yourself so you can detect misleading claims before buying certain products.

It is relatively easy to start going green.

However, to actually stay green over a long period of time may be quite exhausting and requires plenty of motivation.

Many people might not have this motivation and may quit the green lifestyle sooner or later.

essay about go green

Top 10 Going Green Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should you make efforts for going green.

As we can see from the previous argumentation, there are many advantages of going green and you should definitely make efforts to behave more eco-friendly in your daily life.

However, there are also some problems with this green lifestyle.

Thus, even though you might not be able to implement all measures that are related to a green lifestyle, every green measure counts and you should keep this in mind in order not to give up your green lifestyle too early in case you face some problems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentally_friendly

https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalieparletta/2019/05/14/going-green-whats-good-for-the-planet-is-good-for-business/#63417b043201

https://www.greenjournal.co.uk/2018/04/is-going-green-a-trend-or-is-it-real-change-in-our-world/

essay about go green

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.

As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.

After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.

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Illustration of a tree made up of plastic bottles, old clothes, etc

50 simple ways to make your life greener

Expert tips on how to be kinder to the planet – from cooking and cleaning to fashion and finance

  • 1 Clean up your kitchen
  • 2 All green on the home front
  • 3 Let the garden grow
  • 4 Reboot your wardrobe
  • 5 Learn to mend
  • 6 Give the bathroom a makeover
  • 7 Save to save the planet

Clean up your kitchen

Love your leftovers Look at what basics you’re binning. “Chefs talk about what to do with carrot tops or whey from cheese, but that’s not where we need to make changes,” says Feast food writer Anna Jones. “It’s the milk poured down the sink and stale bread – the items we don’t put as much value on.” Jones tears up bread to freeze for instant croutons, or whizzes it into breadcrumbs for adding to croustades, pastas and salads. If oats have already been made into porridge, follow Claire Thomson, chef and author of The Art Of The Larder (Quadrille, £25), and substitute for some of the flour and water in bread dough .

Treat “food waste” as ingredients, says Ollie Hunter, chef and author of 30 Easy Ways To Join The Food Revolution (Pavilion, £14.99). “It’s easy to turn it into something else; aquafaba (chickpea water) can be made into a vegan mayonnaise; fry squash seeds in oil and sprinkle with salt for a snack; cut courgette stalks into penne shapes and cook like pasta. You need to find creative ways to use everything up; wasting food is down to a lack of imagination.”

Use tech for good Apps are taking the fight to food waste. Olio connects neighbours and local retailers so surplus food can be shared; Too Good To Go enables cafes and restaurants to sell uneaten meals at reduced rates; while Farmdrop connects you with sustainable local farmers. To recycle kitchen scraps, find neighbours with a compost bin (or chickens) at sharewaste.com .

Carrot top cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Shop little and often A lot of waste comes from doing big shops, putting two-for-one “bargains” in the trolley and buying on repeat rather than planning meals. “I’m always clear about what we will eat at home and when,” says Skye Gyngell, chef and founder of Spring in London, which runs a “scratch menu” using waste. She shops little and often, supported by a store cupboard of wholegrains, olive oil, vinegars and mustards to bolster meals. “Working out what kind of cook you are is also useful,” says Jones, “then reverse engineer how you shop. There is no point doing a weekly shop if you like to decide what you’re going to make for dinner at 6pm, like me. I shop in small increments, and I find I waste less this way, too.”

Seeds cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Buy half your food locally The shorter the food chain, the less waste created before it reaches your kitchen. Hunter subscribes to buying 50% of food grown within 30 miles of where you live. “It’s an achievable figure,” he says, especially when producers, such as Hodmedod’s in Suffolk, are reviving homegrown pulses including British lentils, quinoa, carlin peas and fava beans (which Hunter ferments to turn into miso and soy sauce). The nutritional value of fruit and veg lasts for only a short time, adds Gyngell, so how far your food has travelled matters.

Pick your own “Foraging solves many problems,” Hunter says. “You’re getting into the countryside, engaging with nature and the community, and finding food that has a different flavour.” Start with herbs, grasses, berries, wild garlic and, a favourite of Hunter’s, nettles (“They’re so underrated”). Use to garnish pies, in risottos and soups; wear gloves to avoid stings and wash thoroughly in salted water. Ensure foraged ingredients are identifiable before eating – check woodlandtrust.org or wildfooduk.com .

Switch your flours Crops can’t be grown every year in the same soil without replacing nutrients taken by the plants, and switching the flour you use can help. “Spelt or wheat is often grown in rotation with rye and clover to replace lost nitrogen,” says Hunter. “Eating rye supports the farmers’ rotation; I use spelt and emmer flour as an alternative to wheat because they have similar baking properties, while being beneficial to the soil.”

Befriend a butcher “There is no way around it, eating meat sustainably requires a little more effort on our part,” says Fergus Henderson, chef and godfather of nose-to-tail eating. His first rule is to “hug” your butcher: “Support them and ask questions – they are your way in to a positive supply chain. They will also give you access to the insides and extremities, such as kidneys, shanks, feet and glands, which offer so much more possibility and flavour than the fillet.” Whole-animal eating is not about blood and guts, but “respecting the animal enough to realise that, if it has died for you, the least you can do is make use of every part”.

Compost on the go Compost isn’t just for the garden – think about reducing your food waste when you’re on the go, too, says Lindsay Miles, whose book Less Waste, No Fuss Kitchen: Simple Steps To Shop, Cook And Eat Sustainably (Hardie Grant, £12.99) is out in June. “A reusable coffee cup makes a great impromptu container for your lunch scraps – take apple cores or bread crusts home to compost.”

Plan ahead Make the most of seasonal gluts and preserve vegetables in oils, vinegars, chutneys, ketchup and marinades, or freeze them. “Blitz and freeze tomatoes in containers for passata all year round; make kimchi from cauliflower stalks and leaves; use beetroot in jams, vinegars and oil, then chop stalks and leaves to top pastas, pizzas, curries and dal,” says Hunter.

Minimise packaging Look for loose fruit and vegetables, and take your own containers to shops and markets. “If you are buying packaged food,” says Miles, “look at where the product comes from and try to choose the more local option – oat milk from Scotland will have a lower carbon footprint than almond milk from California, even if they have the same packaging.” The most recyclable plastics are PET, found in drinks bottles and fruit punnets, and HDPE, in milk bottles and cereal box liners; so if you can’t avoid it, go for these, then reuse or recycle what you can.

All green on the home front

Washing-up liquid bottle cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Reduce your washing Erin Rhoads’ Waste Not Everyday (Hardie Grant Books, £10) points out that “the majority of the environmental burden caused by fashion happens after we take the clothing home: 82% of the energy a garment will use is in the washing and drying we do each week”. Rhoads suggests spot-cleaning, and neutralising smells with a spritz of diluted vodka or lemon juice.

Clean with castile By making cleaning products (from polish to detergent) you can reduce the amount of plastic entering your home and the level of harmful VOCs (volatile organic compounds), such as formaldehyde, that are released. “Of all the green cleaning ingredients I use, liquid castile soap is by far my favourite,” writes Jen Chillingsworth in Clean Green (Quadrille, £7.55). “Originating from Spain, castile soap was traditionally made with pure olive oil, but is now more commonly produced by mixing vegetable oils such as hemp, avocado, jojoba and coconut.” For a simple, multipurpose kitchen spray, add 50ml of castile soap to 800ml tap water in a spray bottle. Add a few drops of essential oils (tea tree is antibacterial). Spray and wipe with a clean cloth.

Pile of clothes cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Go for plastic -free personal care There is a world of waste-free sanitary protection to explore, and Chillingsworth suggests buying a reusable tampon applicator . “The reusable version fits every size of tampon, is antimicrobial and easy to insert. After use, give it a wipe, rinse and return to the storage box that fits in your handbag. Sterilise in hot water between periods.”

Recycle as much as you can “Most major supermarkets provide plastic recycling collection points in store for stretchy plastic (such as frozen food bags, carrier bags and bread bags) which normally can’t be recycled from home,” says Helen Bird, plastics expert at government waste advisory body Wrap .

TerraCycle rescues hard-to-recycle waste that is not processed by councils. It has free national recycling programmes and also sells zero-waste boxes, which you can fill with most non-hazardous, non-recyclable and non-organic waste, and return for recycling. Search its website for a scheme near you, or set one up.

Look after your electrical appliances The Restart Project is a social enterprise that aims to fix our relationship with electricals and electronics. Cofounder Janet Gunter says the first step in keeping household appliances for longer is regular cleaning. “By simply cleaning and maintaining your white goods, laptop or mobile, you will prolong its life.” Restart runs a nationwide network of skill-sharing workshops as well as promoting a directory of commercial repair options in London. (See also repaircafe.org for events in your area.) “If we don’t have access to spare parts,” says Gunter, “these appliances will be thrown away, which has a huge carbon impact.”

If your electrical appliance really is beyond repair, Rhoads suggests you “call the manufacturer or company of purchase to see if they will take back items or packaging for reuse or recycling”. Not all charity shops accept electrical items, but the homelessness charity Emmaus accepts working items. These are tested before being resold, which makes it a good place to purchase secondhand electrical goods, too.

House plant cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Create clean air “You can never have enough house plants,” says Oliver Heath, who runs a sustainable architecture practice. Certain plants are best for certain rooms: “Mother-in-law’s tongue gives off oxygen at night, which makes it best suited to the bedroom.” According to Chillingsworth, peace lilies and boston ferns thrive in rooms with high humidity and can reduce the mould spores in the air, making them ideal for bathrooms; weeping figs have been found to be the best plant for removing formaldehyde released from carpets and furniture, making them good for living areas.

Change your shower head “Investing in an aerated shower head will make a significant difference to energy and water consumption,” says Brian Horne at the Energy Saving Trust (EST). They inject air into the water stream, limiting water usage. “A water-efficient shower head could save a four-person household £70 a year on gas for water heating, and a further £115 on water bills if they have a meter,” says Horne.

Opt for green energy suppliers There are “shades of green” when it comes to choosing an energy supplier, says Horne. The EST identified four suppliers who clearly listed the renewable sources of their energy on their websites last year: Green Energy UK, Good Energy, Ecotricity and Octopus Energy. “But just because you’re on a green tariff, it doesn’t mean you should stop worrying about how much energy you use,” says Horne.

Practise eco-driving Research by the RAC Foundation has found that eco-driving leads to safer, cleaner and more affordable journeys. Regular vehicle maintenance improves fuel efficiency by as much as 10%. Before a long journey, check tyre pressures (tyres underinflated by a quarter can cause a 2% increase in fuel consumption), remove unused roof racks and boxes, and don’t overload the car (every additional 45kg reduces fuel economy by 2%). At less than 40mph, it’s more fuel-efficient to open a window than use air conditioning. Turn off engines for waits of more than one minute ( 5-8% of fuel is consumed while idling ), and avoid sharp acceleration and heavy braking: aggressive driving can significantly raise fuel consumption.

Draught-proof your home One of the cheapest, most effective ways to save energy and money at home is to draught-proof windows, doors, letterbox, fireplaces and loft hatches, says Dr Sarah Price, head of building physics at Enhabit, a consultancy specialising in low-energy design. Done professionally, it costs about £200, or do it yourself with products such as Gap Seal .

Furniture cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Buy vintage furniture “Reusing furniture is the best thing to do, and so much more fun than buying new,” says Nicola Harding, founder of interior design studio Harding and Read . “Secondhand items come with interesting stories and force you to think creatively, and give you have something far more unique.” To keep mileage down, start at your local auction houses and charity shops (the British Heart Foundation has dedicated home stores and a free collection service ), followed by a targeted trawl through Freecycle and Facebook Marketplace.

Optimise your white goods According to independent energy comparison service U Switch , the cost of running your fridge and freezer equates to about 7% of your total energy bill (they are one of the few household energy devices that are on all the time). U Switch recommends replacing your fridge and/or freezer if it is over 10 years old. Even if it’s working, the cost of a new model will be made up for in energy savings over the years. Keep your fridge at 5C or less (most are kept at about 7C, which means food will go off sooner) and ensure there is a 10cm gap behind your fridge to let heat flow away easily. Make sure the seal is strong – if it can’t hold a piece of paper when shut, it could be letting in warm air, making it work harder.

Let the garden grow

Illustration of a plant in pot, made up of plastic bottles, old clothes, etc

Buy local flowers – or grow your own About 90% of the flowers sold through UK florists, supermarkets and wholesalers are imported , mainly from the Netherlands, but they are also flown in from countries as far away as Ecuador, Colombia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Reduce your floral air miles and find a local supplier through flowersfromthefarm.co.uk , a co-operative of small independent flower growers.

Alternatively, grow your own flowers to bring indoors. Gardener Sarah Raven suggests going for “annuals which are cut and come again: pick above a pair of leaves and the plant will spring back and produce more flowers – and keep on doing so as long as you keep picking”. Sow cosmos, snapdragons, zinnias and rudbeckias on a sunny window ledge in March, pot on and plant out after the last frosts.

Bee cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Encourage bees Honeybees visit only one type of flower in any one foraging trip, says Sarah Wyndham Lewis, author of Planting For Honeybees : The Grower’s Guide To Creating A Buzz. “This is called ‘flower fidelity’ and is what makes them such effective pollinators. So plant large clumps or ‘drifts’ of single species and optimise each of the bees’ trips.” Think swathes of catmint, field scabious and hyssop. “March to September are the key months for honeybees – they will fly whenever the temperature is above 10C, even in winter, so early- and late-flowering plants are especially valuable,” she says.

Spend less, prop agate more Your own plot is the best garden centre there is: collect seed, learn to take cuttings and divide plants to stock your own backup nursery. Gaps can then be filled with home‑propagated stock plants. Increase what does well in your garden to build a healthy community of plants. If you do go shopping, research a plant’s natural habitat to reduce failures.

Lock up carbon In The Garden Jungle, Or Gardening To Save The Planet (out in paperback 2 April, Vintage, £9.99), Dave Goulson explains that although many gardeners don’t have room for large trees, “The basic rule is that the more vegetation you have, the more carbon you are storing.” So the fuller the planting in your garden, the better, even if it verges on overgrown. Don’t be too tidy, either. “Log piles also lock up carbon for as long as it takes them to decay, which can be many years.”

Secateurs cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Let the grass grow Letting your grass grow longer between cuts not only saves petrol or electricity, and therefore reduces carbon dioxide emissions, but also encourages more wildlife into your garden. Longer grass is more drought-resistant, too. Try cutting every three or four weeks and let dandelions, daisies and violets bloom in spring, followed by buttercups, clovers and selfheal in summer.

Encourage hedgehogs Hedgehogs have a voracious appetite for pests such as caterpillars, slugs and snails. They need easy access in and out of gardens, say Helen Bostock and Sophie Collins, authors of How Can I Help Hedgehogs? (Octopus, £14.99). They recommend that neighbours get together to arrange hedgehog holes between gardens. “This is simply a hole cut into the bottom of a fence – it should be around 13cm high and at least as wide, preferably in a sheltered corner.”

Reboot your wardrobe

Set a bar If a year without buying anything new seems too big a challenge, try a month, or buy only secondhand. Livia Firth, founder of sustainability consultancy Eco-Age, follows the “30 wears rule”: ask, “Will I wear it at least 30 times?” before buying.

Find a secondhand that works for you Opting for vintage or secondhand is one of the easiest ways to shop sustainably, but while some fans will extol the virtues of rifling through giant warehouses, this approach is not for everyone. Thankfully, there are other ways. Smaller stores with a curated selection may not offer quite the same bargains as a car boot sale, but they can be less intimidating. Many, such as Paper Dress Vintage or Cow , also have websites.

Shpping basket cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Shop in person – and alone That said, shopping in person – especially if you walk there – is usually greener than online. Clothes shipped across the world have a significant carbon footprint, and often come packaged in plastic. You are also less likely to return things you have tried on.

It can help to ditch your friends. “When you ask a friend if you should buy something, you already know the answer will be yes,” writes Lauren Bravo in How To Break Up With Fast Fashion (Headline, £12.99). “It’s an unwritten rule of sisterhood.” Think of it as the new version of not going supermarket shopping when you’re hungry.

Rolls of fabric cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Choose materials wisely Some fabrics age better than others; the Guardian’s styling editor, Melanie Wilkinson, recommends looking for leather when shopping secondhand. Leather jackets, shoes and belts last for years and often look and feel better once they have been worn in. The environmental impact of denim – another durable fabric – means jeans are also best bought secondhand.

Unsubscribe and unfollow “If someone wants to quit fast fashion, I recommend unsubscribing from all the emails,” says writer and fashion consultant Aja Barber. “A brand that is constantly introducing new products might be sustainable in name only. Sending emails and pressuring consumers to buy, buy, buy is not sustainability – that’s fast fashion.” The same goes for influencers and brands on social platforms such as Instagram. Deleting fast-fashion shopping apps can help, too.

Get swishing Clothes swaps – known as swishing – are one of the greenest ways to refresh your wardrobe. They offer credits based on the value of the items you bring, which can be swapped for items brought by others. Avoid trends and hunt for quality pieces you’ll wear for years. Find one near you at swishing.com .

Learn to mend

Scissors cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Make your clothes fit Layla Sargent, founder of The Seam , a website to connect you with local tailors, seamstresses and embroidery artists, says: “If it doesn’t fit well, you’re never going to wear it. Even by making trousers just the right length, or altering a waistband slightly, we will be inclined to wear them more.” The service is currently only in the London area, but coming to Manchester and Birmingham this year. Meanwhile, start with your local dry cleaner.

Learn how to sew on a button How many shirts and jackets do you keep unworn at the back of your wardrobe because they are missing a button? Sewing on a button is a simple skill that everyone should have. There are lots of online tutorials; try one by the environmental activist Wilson Oryema for Fashion Revolution .

Make your own apron from a pair of old jeans Turn a pair of old jeans into a denim work apron by unpicking the inside leg seams and stitching them together. This is one of many hacks from The Great British Sewing Bee’s book on Sustainable Style (Quadrille, £27, published on 26 March).

Darn your socks “Once a life skill, darning has skipped a generation (or two),” says Emma Mathews of Socko ( socko.shop ), which makes socks from repurposed yarn. “But we can learn a lot from the way things were done in the past.” Sew small running stitches up and down the area around the hole and then turn the repair around and stitch perpendicular to them, weaving the thread together until you have covered the hole. Highly therapeutic.

Primp your trainers This is a growing service industry. Gråel in Liverpool is a small business that specialises in cleaning “coveted footwear”, offering laces cleaning (£3), a deep clean (£15) and the meticulous premium package from undersole to insole (£35). Meanwhile, Jason Markk offers premium shoe care from branches in LA and Carnaby Street in London, where your trainers will be brought back to life by the brand’s sneaker-care technicians.

Give the bathroom a makeover

Beauty dropper cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Recycle in there While 90% of us recycle our kitchen waste, we recycle only 50% of our beauty packaging – probably because our recycling bins are in the kitchen. Joseph Joseph makes an attractive split-waste bathroom bin for £20. You can reduce what ends up inside further by switching to bar soaps and shampoos (I love social enterprise Beco , from £2.50 at Co-op, Boots and supermarkets) and plastic-free handwash such as Soap Co ( £19, 300ml , or £110 for a whopping 5l biodegradable container that should last a year).

Cotton plant cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Lose the disposables A staggering 20,000 litres of water are needed to create only 1kg of cotton – that’s enough to make just one T-shirt and a pair of jeans, so any cotton you buy should count. Replacing cotton wool is a good start. Remove the initial bulk of makeup with a reusable disc, such as Face Halo (£7), soaked in plain water. These do an astoundingly good job, even on waterproof mascara. Follow with a cleanser and a wet terry-cotton flannel; both flannel and disc should last for hundreds of washing machine cycles. For toners, exfoliants and nail polish remover, use washable bamboo pads. A pack of 18, plus washbag , costs about £10.

Pick the right package There’s no justifiable excuse for packaging short-use, everyday beauty products in virgin plastic. There are now a large number of brands packaging in post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR), from the luxury ( Aveda , REN , Biolage ) to the mid-range ( Soaper Duper , Lush), to the mass (all Simple and Dove bottles are now 100% PCR in Europe; L’Oréal Elvive, the world’s bestselling haircare brand, is rolling out 100% PCR bottles this summer – the caps are recyclable but not made from PCR – saving 7,000 tonnes of plastic globally a year). Alternatively, you could opt for products packaged in glass that haven’t travelled too far. Neal’s Yard mostly uses glass where safe, and distributes from Dorset.

Don’t be tempted by minis Those pick’n’mix bars of travel-sized beauty products are so alluring, but cause a huge amount of waste for no reason and very little product. Instead, make a one-off investment in refillable travel bottles and pots from Muji (from 95p) or any high street chemist, and decant your favourite full sizes – or, even better, wash out and reuse any mini bottles you already have. Remember that active skincare such as vitamin C or retinol serums are best left in their original packaging to safeguard their stability, but anything else can be decanted for travel. And if you have so many minis left over from flights and hotel stays that you won’t use them all, take them to your nearest homeless shelter , where their clients need them.

Tap cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Embrace baths Baths have long been seen as more wasteful and less responsible than showering, but some research shows that modern, pumped power showers can use more, not less, water than bathing. It is possible to enjoy a luxurious, but environmentally considerate, bath. Use sulphate-free oils, salts or foams and relax (I’ve even been known to wash posh, delicate bras while I soak). You can save more water by washing hair over the bath before climbing in, allowing the water to fill the tub – the shampoo will create bubbles, too.

Save to save the planet

Save water and lower your bills Consider switching to a water meter, so you pay for only the water you use. Invest the money you save into water-saving devices and plumbing, such as rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling systems . Get free water-saving products from savewatersavemoney.co.uk . If you live in England and Wales, you can get a water meter fitted for free, but you may need to pay £300 if you live in Scotland. A number of investment funds have clean water and sanitation as their dominant theme, says Becky O’Connor of Royal London. For example, Parvest Aqua and RobecoSam Sustainable Water are recommended by ethical financial website good-with-money.com .

Tiny green house cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Get a loan to improve your home’s energy efficiency Some lenders provide cheap green mortgages and loans for energy-efficient improvements. Ecology Building Society offers discounts to customers borrowing for this. Nationwide says it will start offering low-interest loans of up to £25,000 to homeowners who want to retrofit existing properties with energy-efficiency measures .

Choose an environmentally friendly current account Nearly £150bn has been invested in fossil fuels by UK banks since the Paris climate agreement was adopted in 2016. Ethical bank Triodos, which has the backing of Friends of the Earth , invests only in projects that create positive cultural, social and environmental outcomes. To review your bank’s track record, see lobbying organisation BankTrack , which reports on the activities that banks finance worldwide.

Pound coins cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Invest wisely “Look at funds with sustainability in mind,” says Alice Evans, co-head of the BMO Global Investment’s responsible investment team. “Invest in funds that are described as ‘responsible’, ‘SRI’ (socially responsible investment), ‘ethical’ or ‘dark green’. These have the strictest criteria and avoid investing in any company that may have a poor record on environmental, human rights or other ethical grounds.”

Evaluate your pension “For many people, their workplace pension will be their largest investment,” says Rich Mayor of research and analysis company Fundscape. You have the right to know where your money is being invested. “Ask your HR department or pension provider what funds you’re invested in and whether there is a sustainable or ethical option,” says Jon Dean, head of retirement strategy for financial services consultancy Altus.

Smiling man in green tie cut-out inside green-rimmed circle

Get a green financial adviser Last year, a new financial advice firm called The Path was set up to invest only in portfolios that have a positive impact on the planet. “You don’t need to be a millionaire to invest your money wisely,” says founder David MacDonald. “With very little effort you can make a significant difference, moving from harming the planet with your money to sustaining it.” Some research suggests that making sure your investments are sustainable has 27 times more impact than all the other things you could do to reduce your carbon footprint added together. “If you put the maximum annual ISA contribution of £20,000 into a positive-impact fund, it would be the carbon equivalent of taking one car off the road ,” MacDonald says.

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Holton, Going Green

The following student essay, “Going Green,” argues that colleges should make every effort to create green campuses.

GOING GREEN

SHAWN HOLTON

Introduction

Thesis statement

Over the last few years, the pressure to go green has led colleges and universities to make big changes. The threats posed by climate change are encouraging campus leaders to push beyond early efforts, such as recycling, to become models of sustainability. Today, in the interest of reducing their environmental impact, many campuses are seeking to overhaul their entire infrastructure. Although many students, faculty, staff, and administrators are excited by these new challenges, some question this need to go green. Is it worth the money? Is it promoting “a moral and behavioral agenda rather than an educational one”? (Butcher). In fact, greening will ultimately save institutions money while providing their students with the educational opportunities necessary to help them solve the crisis of their generation. Colleges should make every effort to create green campuses because by doing so they will improve their own educational environment, ensure their own institution’s survival, and help solve the global climate crisis.

Body paragraph: Background of green movement

Although the green movement has been around for many years, green has become a buzzword only relatively recently. Green political parties and groups began forming in the 1960s to promote environmentalist goals (“Environmentalism”). These groups fought for “grassroots democracy, social justice, and nonviolence” in addition to environmental protections and were “sel f- consciously activist and unconventional” in their strategies (“Environmentalism”). Today, however, green denotes much more than a political movement; it has become a catchall word for anything ec o- friendly. People use green to describe everything from fue l- efficient cars to fum e- free house paint. Green values have become more mainstream in response to evidence that human activities, particularly those that result in greenhous e- gas emissions, may be causing global warming at a dramatic rate (“Call for Climate Leadership” 4). To fight this climate change, many individuals, businesses, and organizations are choosing to go green, making sustainability and preservation of the environment a priority.

Body paragraph: Definition of green as it applies to colleges

Greening a college campus means moving toward a sustainable campus that works to conserve the earth’s natural resources. It means reducing the university’s carbon footprint by focusing on energy efficiency in every aspect of campus life. This is no small task. Although replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones and offering more locally grown food in dining halls are valuable steps, meaningful sustainability requires more comprehensive changes. For example, universities also need to invest in alternative energy sources, construct new buildings and remodel old ones, and work to reduce campus demand for nonrenewable products. Although these changes will eventually save universities money, in most cases, the institutions will need to spend money now to reduce costs in the long term. To achieve this transformation, many colleges ar e— individually or in cooperation with other school s— establishing formal “climate commitments,” setting specific goals, and developing tools to track their investments and evaluate their progress.

Body paragraph: First argument in support of thesis

Despite these challenges, there are many compelling reasons to act now. Saving money on operating costs, thus making the school more competitive in the long term, is an appealing incentive. In fact, many schools have made solid and sometimes immediate gains by greening some aspect of their campus. For example, by changing its parking and transit systems to encourage more carpooling, biking, and walking, Cornell University has saved 417,000 gallons of fuel and cut costs by $36 million over the last twelve years (“Call for Climate Leadership” 10). By installing geothermal wells and replacing its old power plant with a geothermal pump system, the University of Central Missouri is saving 31 percent in energy costs, according to a case study in Climate Neutral Campus Report (Trane). These changes were not merely a social, or even a political, response, but a necessary part of updating the campus. Betty Roberts, the UCM vice president for administration, was faced with the problem of how to “make a change for the benefit of the institution . . . with no money.” After saving several million dollars by choosing to go green, Roberts naturally reported that the school was “very happy!” with its decision (qtd. in Trane). There is more to be gained than just savings, however. Oberlin College not only saves money by generating its own solar energy (as shown in Fig. 1) but also makes money by selling its excess electricity back to the local power company (Petersen). Many other schools have taken similar steps, with similarly positive results.

Body paragraph: Second argument in support of thesis

Attracting the attention of the media, donors, an d— most significantl y— prospective students is another practical reason for schools to go green. As one researcher explains, “There is enough evidence nationwide to detect an arm s- race of sorts among universities competing for green status” (Krizek et al. 27). The Princeton Review now includes a “green rating,” and according to recent studies, more than two thirds of college applicants say that they consider green ratings when choosing a school (Krizek et al. 27). A school’s commitment to the environment can also bring in large private donations. For example, Carnegie Mellon University attracted $1.7 million from the National Science Foundation for its new Center for Sustainable Engineering (Egan). The University of California, Davis, will be receiving up to $25 million from the Chevron Corporation to research biofuel technology (“Call for Climate Leadership” 10). While greening certainly costs money, a green commitment can also help a school remain financially viable.

Body paragraph: Third argument in support of thesis

In addition to these practical reasons for going green, universities also have another, perhaps more important, reason to promote and model sustainability: doing so may help solve the climate crisis. Although an individual school’s reduction of emissions may not noticeably affect global warming, its graduates will be in a position to make a huge impact. College is a critical time in most students’ personal and professional development. Students are making choices about what kind of adults they will be, and they are also receiving the training, education, and experience that they will need to succeed in the working world. If universities can offer time, space, and incentive s— both in and out of the classroo m— to help students develop creative ways to live sustainably, these schools have the potential to change the thinking and habits of a whole generation.

Refutation of first opposing argument

Many critics of greening claim that becoming environmentally friendly is too expensive and will result in higher tuition and fees. However, often a very small increase in fees, as little as a few dollars a semester, can be enough to help a school institute significant change. For example, at the University of Colorad o– Boulder, a studen t- initiated $1 increase in fees allowed the school to purchase enough wind power to reduce its carbon emissions by 12 million pounds (“Call for Climate Leadership” 9). Significantly, the students were the ones who voted to increase their own fees to achieve a greener campus. Although university faculty and administrators’ commitment to sustainability is critical for any program’s success, few green initiatives will succeed without the enthusiastic support of the student body. Ultimately, students have the power. If they think their school is spending too much on green projects, then they can make a change or choose to go elsewhere.

Refutation of second opposing argument

Other critics of the trend toward greener campuses believe that schools with commitments to sustainability are dictating how students should live rather than encouraging free thought. As one critic says, “Once [sustainability literacy] is enshrined in a university’s public pronouncements or private articles, then the institution has diminished its commitment to academic inquiry” (Butcher). This kind of criticism overlooks the fact that figuring out how to achieve sustainability requires and will continue to require rigorous critical thinking and creativity. Why not apply the academic skills of inquiry, analysis, and problem solving to the biggest problem of our day? Not doing so would be irresponsible and would confirm the perception that universities are ivory towers of irrelevant knowledge. In fact, the presence of sustainability as both a goal and a subject of study has the potential to reaffirm academia’s place at the center of civil society.

Concluding statement

Creating a green campus is a difficult task, but universities must rise to the challenge or face the consequences. If they do not commit to changing their ways, they will become less and less able to compete for students and for funding. If they refuse to make a comprehensive commitment to sustainability, they also risk irrelevance at best and institutional collapse at worst. Finally, by not rising to the challenge, they will be giving up the opportunity to establish themselves as leaders in addressing the climate crisis. As the coalition of American College and University Presidents states in its Climate Commitment, “No other institution has the influence, the critical mass and the diversity of skills needed to successfully reverse global warming” (“Call for Climate Leadership” 13). Now is the time for schools to make the choice and pledge to go green.

Works Cited

Butcher, Jim. “Keep the Green Moral Agenda off Campus.” Times Higher Education , 19 Oct. 2007, www.timeshighereducation.com/ news/ keep-the-green-moral-agenda-off-campus/ 310853.article .

“A Call for Climate Leadership.” American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment , Aug. 2009, www2.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/ html/ documents/ ACUPCC_InfoPacketv2.pdf

Egan, Timothy. “The Greening of America’s Campuses.” New York Times , 8 Jan. 2006, www.nytimes.com/ 2006/ 01/ 08/ education/ edlife/ egan_environment.html?scp=1&amp%3Bsq=The&_r=0 .

“Environmentalism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online , 2015, www.britannica.com/ topic/ environmentalism .

Krizek, Kevin J., Dave Newport, James White, and Alan R. Townsend. “Higher Education’s Sustainability Imperative: How to Practically Respond?” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education , vol. 13, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1- 33. DOI: 10.1108/14676371211190281.

Petersen, John. “A Green Curriculum Involves Everyone on Campus.” Chronicle of Higher Education , vol. 54, no. 41, 2008, p. A25. ERIC Institute of Education Services , eric.ed.gov/ ?id=EJ801316 .

Trane. “University of Central Missouri.” Climate Neutral Campus Report , Kyoto Publishing, 14 Aug. 2009, secondnature.org/ wp-content/ uploads/ 09-8-14_ClimateNeutralCampusReportReleased.pdf .

Going Green

Get ideas for how you can "go green" in your home, school, or community.

Earth Science, Experiential Learning

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Get ideas for how you can "go green" in your home, school, or community. Go beyond recycling and turning off lights—really work to make a difference.

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Beach Pick-Up

Clean up an ocean beach or the beach of a lake or pond.

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Fix Leaky Faucets

Watch for drips in any faucets in your home. Ask an adult to fix them.

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Use Rechargeable Batteries

Recycle them when they can no longer be recharged.

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Donate Things

Collect things you no longer use and clothes you've outgrown. Give them to charity.

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Plant Trees

Plant trees in your neighborhood or community.

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Pick Up Trash

Clean up litter on your street.

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Use Fluoresenct Lightbulbs

When traditional lightbulbs burn out, replace them with compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

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Borrow Before Buying

Borrow books and movies from a local library instead of buying new copies.

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Creative Wrapping

During the holidays, recycle wrapping paper and ribbons. You can also wrap presents in the comics section of the newspaper.

Picture of a shower.

Conserve Water

Research ways to save water, such as watering the lawn early in the morning or late in the day, using drip irrigation, and using a bucket instead of a hose to wash the car.

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Throw Out Harmful Products

Under the supervision of an adult, investigate how to safely use, store, and dispose of cleaning products, fertilizer, oil, and other harmful substances. What types of products are safe for the environment?

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Prevent Erosion

Plant shrubbery, trees, or other plants to help prevent erosion on hillsides or land without enough plant life to keep the dirt in its place.

Picture of gas jars.

Clean up a vacant parking lot or piece of land in your community.

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Start a recycling program in your community.

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Water Clean-Up

With an adult, clean up a stream, river, or other body of water in your community.

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Test the water and soil in and around your home.

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Green Your Yard

Practice backyard conservation, such as planting vegetation, cleaning up green spaces, or hanging a bird feeder in the backyard.

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Create a Compost Pile

In layers, add “wet” waste, such as kitchen scraps or grass clippings. Add “dry” waste, such as dry leaves or hay. Add some water as you go. Fruit and vegetable material is great for compost; never add raw meat, eggs, or human or pet waste. Consider getting worms to help with the project.

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Start a School Recycling Program

Ask a teacher to help you get bins for recycling in the lunchroom. Ask the principal to buy recycled paper.

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Calculate Your School's Daily Water Usage

Use this online tool to help. Start a school-wide campaign encouraging everyone to use less water.

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Shop Locally

Encourage your family to shop locally. Always bring reusable shopping bags to stores.

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Research Your Local Water Supply

How do the people who live upstream behave? Are they aware of those downstream, or do they contaminate the water? Do you do things that might pollute water for others? What are some steps your family could take to minimize its impact on air and water quality?

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Before You Recycle, Upcycle

Take something that you would otherwise throw out and find a way to make it into something else that you can use. For example, make a bag with fabric from clothes you don't want. Or turn a broken bowl into a plant pot.

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Instead of throwing away items such as margarine tubs, jelly jars, or milk cartons, think of other uses for them, like pots for house plants.

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The Go-Green Programs: Saving the Environment

Currently, there is evidence of extreme weather changes and global catastrophes due to global warming, environmental pollution, erosion, depletion of natural resources, and diminution of the ozone layer. As a result, the planet earth is dying little by little because studies show that the plants, animals, rain forests, and water sources that were once the definitive characteristic of different ecosystems are no more (Greenberg 86). Therefore, there is the paramount need for man to take bold steps in terms of conserving the environment, and guaranteeing the survival of the present and future generations. Thus, the spirit of going green entails getting different people in the world to become aware of their decisions and activities that hurt the environment and the world at large (Greenberg 87). This essay presents a discussion on the various steps individuals can take to go green, and the importance of Go-Green programs in conserving the limited natural resources for future generations.

Therefore, relative to the current global climatic and economic changes, there are several simple steps that each individual should take to enhance environmental conservation. Here, environmental conservation begins with an individual’s initiative to conserve the immediate environment such as at home. These individual initiatives can then extend to the workplace, the national level and finally to the global arena (Greenberg 88). As a result, going green at home entails saving energy through compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), switching-off all lights before leaving home, using power bars to switch-off idle electronics, and purchasing energy-efficient appliances. These activities are beneficial to nature in terms of lowering energy consumption rates per household, and as a result, the total energy savings in different homes can contribute to low rates of energy consumption at the national level (Greenberg 89).

Another bold step in going green entails saving water at home and at the workplace. Here, it is advisable for one to take shorter showers, use low-flow showerheads and toilets, use delay-timers on the dishwashers, and planting drought-resistant flowers and plants in the garden. Subsequently, individual initiatives in conserving water play a major role in contributing to conservation of natural water resources at the national and global levels. Furthermore, individuals can play a central role in controlling environmental pollution through walking more than using motor vehicles, and using renewable energy resources such as biogas instead of fossil fuels. Overall, these two initiatives are imperative to environmental conservation because they reduce the carbon footprint in the environment (Greenberg 90).

Conversely, many critics of Go-Green programs have raised concern over the overall implications of going green on the environment and the economy in general. Here critics argue that individual initiatives in conserving the environment may not have any significant impact in the global arena. Furthermore, these groups of people posit that some initiatives proposed by Go-Green programs may hurt the global economy through reducing profitability because most of these initiatives entail advising people to refrain from buying and using certain commodities such as fossil fuels and plastic bags (Greenberg 95).

However, looking at the idea of going green from a wider perspective, it is obvious that the overall positive implications of Go-Green programs outweigh the negative implications. For instance, apart from these initiatives rallying for conservation of natural resources such as water, forests, oil, and other energy resources, they also contribute to environmental conservation indirectly. Furthermore, through clean and more sustainable environments, which provide unlimited natural resources to all inhabitants, it is probable that the world population will increase due to low mortality rates, and increased rates of life expectancy. As a result, there will be additional workforce, which translates into economic growth.

This essay presents a discussion on various ways of going green and the overall importance of Go-Green programs. Therefore, the discussions above show that going green entails being aware of one’s activities and decisions that can hurt the environment and the world at large. In addition, the essay provides various initiatives, which can be undertaken by individuals at home and the workplace to mitigate environmental pollution and wastage of natural resources. Therefore, it is obvious that taking small steps at a time in terms of changing from different wasteful habits into less wasteful and more sustainable ones enable individuals to set an example that produces various changes at the national and global levels. Furthermore, environmental conservation is no longer a choice but a responsibility that the current generations must fulfill to guarantee the survival of future generations.

Greenberg, Nadivah. “Shop right: American conservatisms, consumption, and the environment.” Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press Journals 6.2 (2006): 85-111. Print.

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1. IvyPanda . "The Go-Green Programs: Saving the Environment." November 24, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-go-green-programs-saving-the-environment/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Go-Green Programs: Saving the Environment." November 24, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-go-green-programs-saving-the-environment/.

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What Is the Difference Between Going Green and Sustainability?

What-Is-the-Difference-Between-Going-Green-and-Sustainability

Nowadays, it seems like everyone is talking about sustainable living. But they are also talking about going green, being eco-friendly, earth-friendly, and many other buzzwords! How can you know what is the difference between going green and sustainability? We’ll tell you exactly what to know, and how to start living both green and sustainably right now.

Going Green: What Does it Mean and How to Start

“Going green” is all over the news, commercials, our social media feeds, and in stores as well. But just exactly what does going green mean? The better you understand what it means to go green, the better you will be successful at helping to make a difference .

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1. going green: a pr campaign.

“Going green” can be used by some companies as a PR campaign to hide other not-so-earth-friendly practices. They may look at their supply chain and make a few small changes while not looking at the bigger picture.

For example, a clothing company might create a sustainable line of clothing, while neglecting the fact that by being a clothing company in today’s world of fast fashion, they are inherently causing damage to the earth by being a consumption-based company.

However, there are many companies that do try to make a genuine change, and you can too!

2.  Conserve Resources

The earth’s resources are being consumed faster than we can sustain them — the trees that make paper, houses, and furniture, the water we drink, and the natural metals and compounds that create the things we use for living are examples of earth’s resources we use every day. An important part of going green is to conserve resources we consume.

3. Reduce Pollution

In our everyday lives, pollution is a part of living. From the soap that goes down the drain, to the food packaging we throw out, and the gas that is emitted during transportation — we are polluting all day long. Try to become cognizant of times when you are releasing chemicals or products into the environment, and think of ways you can reduce the amounts.

4. Conserve Energy

In recent decades, humankind has come to realize that many of our current energy sources (natural gas, coal, water) are finite. There are also still some issues with sustainability harvesting sunlight as an energy source as well (solar panels contain toxic materials and need to be frequently replaced). The best thing to do for the earth right now is to conserve your energy use overall.

5. Reduce Consumption

Recycling alone just won’t cut it anymore. If you really want to be as green as possible, you need to start by reducing overall consumption.

When purchasing something, ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” Think about if you already have something similar that you can use instead of buying new. If you definitely need something new, see about buying used or borrowing from a friend.

6. Reduce Waste

When you reduce waste, it means using items until you absolutely cannot use them anymore. Ultimately, that means less items end up in the landfill, and there is less need for production of replacement items.

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability can be defined as, “the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.”

Sustainability is about remembering that the earth is made up of finite sources, and taking steps to maintain that the earth will be able to sustain itself over the long-term. It is not just about plants, but also includes the welfare of the global community.

Define Eco-Friendly

Being eco-friendly means thinking about the ecology of the earth and making sure the products you consume, and the practices you keep, have a minimal impact on the earth itself.

Eco-Friendly Products

Many products will be labeled as eco-friendly, but what exactly does that mean?

First of all, the products should be non-toxic. This means that they are made without toxic materials or toxic pesticides and herbicides. Eco-friendly products may be made with recycled materials such as glass, wood, metal, or plastics that have been broken down from a wasted item and reconstituted into something new.

Eco-friendly products should contain ingredients that were sustainably grown or manufactured — which means to be done so with minimal damage to the earth and community where they come from.

Greenwashing

Unfortunately, some companies participate in “ greenwashing ” which is to label a product as “eco-friendly” or “environmentally friendly” without doing due diligence to make sure that is correct.

Other companies may produce “eco-friendly” products to cover up other not eco-friendly practices within the supply chain. To avoid falling for this, make sure to thoroughly research a brand before you buy. Don’t just believe labels unless they are certified statements.

Misconception: Why the Confusion?

Many industries have started noticing their impact of their sourcing, manufacturing, and distributing on the earth. While many companies have traditionally worked towards a sustainable future, they may not have environmentally-friendly or “green” practices.

What Can You Do?

Start with these tips, and you’ll be living greener in no time.

1. Setting Goals

The first step is to set goals for yourself or your organization. Setting goals means that you have something in mind and you take steps to get you there. For example, a goal could be to stop using disposable coffee cups. Start small by bringing your travel mug with you at least once a week, and move up to every day.

Don’t get down if you forget, just try to remember next time! You can start slow by making small changes and work your way up the sustainable, environmentally friendly ladder.

2. The Lifestyle: Living Sustainably

Once you start to learn about all the things you can and should do for sustainable living, it can become overwhelming and you may feel like you could never live fully sustainably. But remember, it is a lifestyle choice and a journey.

You can start small and work your way up to more challenging ways of sustainable living.

3. Reduce Light Usage

Remembering to turn off the lights (or any appliances) when you aren’t using them is an easy way to conserve energy. You can also try to buy energy efficient light bulbs and appliances.

4. Use Less Water

Using less water is another way you can conserve resources and consume less. Turn off the water when you are scrubbing dishes or brushing your teeth. Try taking shorter showers, and avoid unnecessary baths.

5. Drive Less

Use other modes of transportation such as walking or biking instead of taking your car. If you do need a vehicle, try taking public transportation or carpooling to reduce your carbon footprint.

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Reusing items and products is an integral part of living an environmentally friendly lifestyle. By reusing, you are limiting waste, and reducing a need for further manufacturing of new things.

7. Buy Local

When you buy local, you are not only supporting local farms and businesses, but you are supporting the global environment by reducing shipping fuels from foods and supplies that have to travel long distances.

What is the Difference Between Going Green and Sustainability and Eco-Friendly?

Many people confuse going green, sustainability, and eco-friendly — but the differences between the three aren’t so difficult once you look into it.

Simply put:

  • Going green refers to all aspects of environmentally-friendly products from fashion to buildings to the movement as a whole.
  • Eco-friendly means that a product, practice, or activity won’t harm the environment .
  • Sustainability means that what we do today doesn’t deplete resources for future generations.

Buying Green vs Buying Sustainable

Some products may be considered green due to their makeup, but they may not be considered sustainable due to their production.

For example, a product made from renewable sources such as a wooden hairbrush is considered green, however if a life-cycle analysis of the production process showed that it takes a lot of energy to manufacture and ship and there is no way to properly dispose of the hairbrush when you are finished, it is not sustainable.

Ideally, you should try to find brands and products that are both green and sustainable.

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Clean vs. nontoxic vs. organic.

This one is also simple once you learn that “clean” means free of chemicals or materials that are synthetic, and are usually natural ingredients only.

Non-toxic means something does not contain chemicals or materials that are harmful to humans or the environment.

Organic means ingredients are grown without pesticides or herbicides. Organic products have a rigid certification process that varies by country, however the other two claims, clean and non-toxic, do not.

Impact on Future Generations

When it comes to impact on future generations, each is just as significant as the other. Without green and eco-friendly products and practices, the earth will suffer; and without sustainable activities, we may deplete resources.

Online University: The Green Way to Study

University of the People is the ultimate green school — as a fully online university, there is no carbon footprint from travel to classes, no energy used to operate facilities, no physical resources used to build buildings, technology, and books. A truly zero-waste way to get a degree!

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PTE Academic Exam Practice Material

Go Green Essay

Read go green essay for class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Know more about an essay on go green in English for students in 300 words.

Go Green Essay

Go Green Essay 300 Words

Environmental issues and ecological imbalance in nature has resulted in the devastation of various natural resources that has ultimately posed risk to mankind and nature. Our planet earth is suffering from numerous problems like pollution, deforestation, global warming, climatic changes and much more. Therefore, it is crucial to devise some solutions to combat such problems and make the environment green and clean to survive happily. In other words, we can say that we should go green to help nature flourish and prosper.

So here are some ways which can help us go green and increase the green cover on the earth:

We should stop using plastic: Plastic is one of the major contributors to environmental pollution so it is important that we should stop using plastic and switch to wooden based material in our homes. Also, we must use jute or paper bags instead of plastic ones to reduce our plastic footprint on nature.

Recycle and reuse: We can always recycle and reuse products to reduce waste and decrease pollution levels in the environment such as old and discarded items can be used for décor and other purposes in the homes and offices.

Save water: We should conserve water by switching off taps, using a bucket of water for bathing instead of showers. Rainwater harvesting and watershed management are some of the other ways to conserve water.

Planting and saving trees: By using reusable items instead of using toilet papers and disposable towels, printing on both sides of the page, using hand dryers instead of paper napkins, we can contribute to saving a tree. Also, we must plant some green plants and trees around our houses to increase the green cover on the land.

Conserve energy: We must save electricity and use alternative sources of energy such as solar energy, wind energy and tidal energy to reduce the usage of non-renewable sources that take a lot of time to regenerate.

Thus, these are some of the ways to go green and make our earth look more green and clean. If the government and people should come together and take the above steps, we can achieve success in making this earth a healthy and safe place to live in.

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  • Essay on Solar Energy

Essay On Going Green: The Future Of Sustainability

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Solar Energy , Environment , City , Energy , Development , World , Future , Human

Words: 1300

Published: 02/09/2020

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There is one thing that most people agree on when considering the future of the human race: the ways in which the human race are currently utilizing their non-renewable resources and energy sources is highly irresponsible. Humanity has a habit of jumping into new types of technologies, often without thinking of the potential consequences for the future; however, some of the effects of the use of non-renewable resources and “dirty” energy sources were completely unknown when the technologies were developed. Today, humanity is dealing with the effects of more than a hundred years of irresponsible stewardship of the environment, and, looking forward, it is obvious that some large changes need to be made if the planet is to continue to be hospitable to human life for years to come. One of the most important ways humanity will “go green” in the future will, undoubtedly, be the development of clean energies. Burning fossil fuels causes a lot of problems in the atmosphere of the earth, leading to problems like global climate change (Ettinger). There are a variety of ways in which humanity will probably try to utilize cleaner energy in the future. The first is the use of solar energy to complete tasks that burning fossil fuels used to be responsible for-- for example, solar power can be used to power homes and cars (Ettinger). Most experts on green futures agree that changing energy sources is one of the most important things to be done in the fight against global climate change and environmental destruction as a result of human consumption. According to the Associated Press, “‘The biggest near-term opportunity is energy efficiency. How do we cut energy use in our buildings and vehicles? That’s the real low hanging fruit. It’s cost-effective today and now the challenge is how do we move a lot of money into efficiency improvement in our economy,’ said Dan Reicher, former assistant secretary of US Energy” (Ettinger). The problem with sustainable energy sources is not that they are not available-- solar panels and the sun, for instance, are widely available-- but that they are prohibitively expensive for many individuals. If governments want to encourage their citizenry to switch from non-renewable energy sources to renewable energy sources, the citizenry must be rewarded for making this switch, not penalized. If only the upper-middle class and the upper classes can afford this type of technology, then the likelihood of making any real changes in energy consumption for humanity as a whole is very low. However, if the government provides proper opportunities for individuals to participate in using clean energy, these programs could be wildly successful in a very short time. As of right now, making the switch from non-renewable energy systems to renewable energy systems is very expensive, and in some cases, completely impossible, even if the individual feels compelled to do so (Building Green Futures). For example, a homeowner may be able to afford to place solar panels on his or her roof, but an individual living in an apartment in a city does not have this kind of autonomy or control over his or her living space, and must rely on the landlord to make these types of choices. Another often-overlooked aspect of the green future will be the green city. Today, more people live in the cities than live in the countryside; the world’s cities are responsible for the bulk of the pollution that occurs in the world today (Building Green Futures). As a result, it is fundamentally important to find a solution to the problem of cities, and one of the ways in which this could be done is the development of a new type of city planning that encourages the construction of a “green city.” Green cities, will, of course, use sustainable energies throughout the infrastructure, but the idea of the “green city” goes much deeper than merely the inclusion of bike paths and public transport. Green cities, as many experts see them, will not only be environmentally neutral-- they will be environmentally friendly. According to Pilkey et al., the idea of the “green city” was born from the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in the 1990s. Pilkey et al. write: It's uniquely challenging for urban areas to be green. They have a high volume of people, traffic congestion, trash and air pollution to name just a few obstacles. Seventy-five percent of the world's energy is consumed by the world's cities. Green cities have to strike a balance of managing their current needs without compromising the city's (and environment's) future In the 1990s, industrialized countries around the world joined together to make progress against global warming and climate change. Together they drafted and approved the Kyoto Protocol. The agreement aims to reduce the effects of climate change through the reduction of six recognized greenhouse gases. (Pilkey et al.) Different cities have adopted the Kyoto Protocol in different ways, but many cities have begun to utilize different strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for their cities. For example, Seattle, Washington, USA is well-known for its bike-friendly streets; other cities, like Paris and Tokyo, are known for their excellent train systems. However, city planning for a green future cannot stop at public transportation and the removal of car emissions to ensure that the future is green. Architects are also becoming involved in creating green cities, which is an exciting and new prospect. Many new building materials are being developed, which are both sustainable in the long-term as building materials and excellent for the long-term “greenness” of the building itself (Ettinger). Some architects and city planners are even suggesting that cities can utilize vertical space to plant more foliage; it is becoming more and more common to see roofs with plants atop them. This is a new concept in architecture and city planning; the plants act as an insulator and as a way to support the natural ecosystem (Building Green Futures). Supporting the local ecosystem rather than destroying it and driving out the natural wildlife is one of the other goals of many organizations that are concerned with the sustainability of the future. The individual is responsible for the future of the planet as much as those in power are; however, many individuals do not take responsibility for their actions, perhaps because they feel that their actions are small and insignificant. However, research has shown that when people are educated in the small ways to take actions that support the environment and sustainability, they take advantage of them (Building Green Futures). For this reason, educational programs are some of the most important programs that can be developed when considering a green future. Unfortunately, there is no cure-all for the future of the planet. The solution to slowing and eventually stopping the destruction of the environment will be the result of a series of changes made by people who were willing and driven to make a difference. Unfortunately, these changes require participation from a vast number of people who have, as of yet, shown themselves to be mostly apathetic to the problems facing the environment, both today and in the future.

Works cited

Building Green Futures. "Building Green Futures." 2013. Web. 18 Jun 2013. <http://www.buildinggreenfutures.com/>. Ettinger, Terry. "Going Green: The future of green energy." Associated Press, 15 April. 2013: Print. Pilkey, Orrin H, Keith C Pilkey and Mary Edna Fraser. Global climate change. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011. Print. Union of Concerned Scientists. "Greentips." 2012. Web. 18 Jun 2013. <http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/>.

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Speech on Go Green

Go Green’ is a simple yet powerful call to action. It’s about making choices that are good for the planet and its future.

You play a part in this. With small changes in your daily life, you can help keep our Earth clean and healthy.

1-minute Speech on Go Green

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Green is the color of life, the color of our earth. Going green is not just a slogan. It’s a way of life. It’s about caring for our planet, our only home.

We must understand the importance of trees. Trees give us oxygen, which is essential for life. They also absorb carbon dioxide, a harmful gas. By planting more trees, we can breathe clean air and fight climate change. So, let’s promise to plant a tree every year. It’s a small step but it can make a big difference.

We should also save water. Water is precious. Many people in the world don’t have clean water to drink. By using water wisely, we can help them. Let’s turn off the tap when we brush our teeth. Let’s take shorter showers. These small changes can save a lot of water.

Recycling is another way to go green. We all use things made of plastic, paper, and metal. When we throw these things away, they pollute our land and water. But if we recycle them, we can reduce pollution. We can also save natural resources. So, let’s recycle as much as we can.

Lastly, let’s use less electricity. By turning off the lights when we don’t need them, we can save energy. We can also use solar power, which is clean and renewable. It’s good for the earth and for us.

In conclusion, going green is about making small changes in our lives. These changes can help our planet. They can make our future brighter. Let’s go green for a better world. Thank you.

Also check:

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2-minute Speech on Go Green

Let’s talk about the color green. Green is the color of our forests, of the leaves on trees, of the grass under our feet. What if one day, we wake up and all this green is gone? This is why today, we are talking about the very important idea of ‘Go Green’.

The first thing ‘Go Green’ means is to reduce. Reduce what? Reduce the things we use every day. Think about it. Do you really need a new toy when you have so many already? Or a new dress when your closet is full? When we buy less, we use less of the Earth’s resources. That helps keep the Earth green.

Next, ‘Go Green’ also means to reuse. Have you ever thought about using both sides of a piece of paper before throwing it away? Or using a water bottle more than once? When we reuse things, we create less trash. Less trash means less harm to our beautiful green Earth.

The third part of ‘Go Green’ is to recycle. Sometimes, we can’t reuse things. What do we do then? We recycle! When we recycle, we take old things and make them into new things. This way, we don’t need to take more from the Earth. We just use what we already have.

But ‘Go Green’ isn’t just about what we do with stuff. It’s also about how we live. We can walk or bike instead of always using cars. Cars make smoke that hurts our air. Walking or biking doesn’t. It’s good for the Earth and good for us too!

Lastly, ‘Go Green’ means to plant more trees. Trees are the Earth’s lungs. They breathe in bad air and breathe out good air. More trees mean cleaner air for us and a greener Earth.

So, what does ‘Go Green’ really mean? It means to care. To care about the Earth, about the air we breathe, the water we drink, the trees that give us shade. It means to think before we act. Do we really need this? Can we use this again? Can we recycle this? Can we walk instead of drive? Can we plant a tree?

‘Go Green’ is not hard. It’s not something only big people can do. Every one of us, even the smallest child, can help. Every little thing we do, every little change we make, helps our Earth.

So let’s all promise to ‘Go Green’. For ourselves, for the animals, for the trees, and for the Earth. Because without a green Earth, we have no home. Let’s keep our home safe, let’s keep our home green. Thank you.

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Ways2GoGreen

Essay on Go Green Save Future

essay about go green

More and more people are thinking about the environmental issues and ecological condition of Earth nowadays. Why has this problem become so relevant? What should we do to save our future? In my opinion, people have understood that their irresponsibility causes harm to the natural environment. Our planet suffers from numerous problems, which have been caused by the results of the excessive anthropogenic activity. The entire planet suffers from pollution, global warming, deforestation, extinction of biological species, etc. These problems are extremely relevant and require rapid and intensive solutions. It is possible to defeat these problems if the entire humanity changes its approach towards nature, natural resources and the value of nature for its wellbeing. In simple words, people should go green to save Earth.

Why should we take efforts now in order to save Earth in future?

Very few people understand that it is important to change their lifestyle now in order to see the results of these changes in a few decades. Doubtless, you will not grow a big forest in a year. You can plant a small tree but it will grow to its proper height only in ten or fifteen years. To my mind, this activity resembles investment into a small firm. In a few years, the firm develops into a big company, which will provide you with the solid profit. Consequently, it is not right to say that the idea of going green is useless. When you do not see the results of your activity now, it does not mean that you will not see them in ten years.

Consider future generation

Furthermore, we must not be selfish. It is important to think about the wellbeing of our children and grandchildren. We are responsible for the natural environment and problems, which will become the burden for our children.

I know that many people do not care about the condition of Earth after their death. They say that it is the headache of our future generations. I suppose, it is the main problem. People do not care about future and they do not appreciate what they have.

This approach is caused by greediness and consumerism. People want more money and material values in order to satisfy their needs. They are ready to exhaust the world they live in. They cut down forests, kill animals, birds and fish and pollute rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. They care about their profit and nothing more. No wonder, people open new and new plants, factories and power stations, which cause harm to the natural environment but provide them with money.

It looks ridiculous when people are ready to destroy forests and pollute rivers in order to gain profit. People do not appreciate fresh air and water, though they cannot survive a minute without them. They are ready to live in the unhealthy, terribly-looking and polluted environment in order to receive more money. Finally, they will have to pay for their treatment at a hospital, because they breathe in polluted air and consume contaminated food and water.

There are a number of companies who are already into having a ‘greener’ business system. An example is Movegreen, who are using an eco-conscious approach for doing business. These specialized movers in Orange County are providing excellent services for anyone wanting to move in Southern California.

How can we save our planet from the results of our harmful activity?

To begin with, we should reduce pollution, because it the cause of numerous problems. We must not litter in the street, parks and forests. We should recycle wastes in order to save our priceless natural recourses and we should always responsibly recycle electronics and e-waste , not just dump them in the landfills.

We should use public transport more frequently, because it does not release numerous harmful gases, which cause greenhouse effect and global warming. Next, entrepreneurs should use special filters at plants, factories and power stations in order to reduce the amount of poisonous emissions into the air and water. Then, people should stop cutting down forests, because they are the lungs of Earth.

Moreover, every forest is a home for thousands of animals, birds and insects, which improve the balance of ecosystems.

In conclusion, our unwise and extensive activity causes harm to the natural environment. We lose priceless natural resources, fresh air, water, forests, animals, birds, fish, insects, etc. People should change their lifestyle rapidly in order to stop deforestation, global warming, pollution and other problems, which can destroy the life on the planet. We ought to go green in order to save the life of future generations.

This short essay on such a popular topic is provided by http://smartwritingservice.com writing company which produces custom written essays.

Clay Miller

18 Comments

Informative n comprehensive essay .

it is a very good paragraph.it teaches children good how to keep nature good.i liked it so much.i think you are a very good teacher.so u teach good things to every body.thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I really enjoyed reading these and they helped me in writing my own essay, and Im in highschool! Thanks!

They are ready to exhaust the world they live in. They cut down forests, kill animals, birds and fish and pollute rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. They care about their profit and nothing more. No wonder, people open new and new plants, factories and power stations, which cause harm to the natural environment but provide them with money. It looks ridiculous when people are ready to destroy forests and pollute rivers in order to gain profit. People do not appreciate fresh air and water, though they cannot survive a minute without them.

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Going Green

  • Business & Management

Introduction

“Go Green” is a broadly used term and might mean something different to everyone. According to the US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Nation, going green can be termed as taking steps in conserving energy, reducing pollution and saving money. Today the term “going green” goes above the traditional definition of recycling goods. Therefore, going green might also refer to living a way which is friendly to the environment and the whole earth. Consequently, the term “going green” denotes the contribution towards maintaining the ecological balance as well as the preservation of the planet together with its natural resources and systems (Wagner,2013, p451). Going green is always achieved through simple steps and does not mean skipping showers, selling their car or going to a grocery store.Generally, companies which go green takes the role of minimizing the harm done to the environment.

Going green appears to be the latest trend with various benefits for business owners. For instance, application of green processes in the workplace establishes a healthy environment for employees, reduction of unnecessary waste, as well as recognition of the role, played by businesses in leading the way for social change (Kristie, 2017, para.3). Therefore, the paper aims to discuss benefits, advantages, and disadvantages as well as looking at some of the reputable organizations which have embraced the practice of going green.

Benefits of Going Green

The business of going green for companies are now diverse. For instance, eco-friendly practices applied by canny business owners do not only show bottom line strong results but also manifests themselves in employee morale and productivity as well as brand’s image and reputation(Saini,2013, p63). There are various benefits for the companies which aim at going green. The benefits of going green for any business includes reducing expenses, a gain of customers as well as boosting employee morale.

The first benefit is associated with legal and regulatory compliance. In many countries and states, laws are mandating environmental compliance in several ways and forms to varying extents. For instance, each year more laws are passed on local, state and federal administrations as humans understand the positiveness of going green in earth’s ecology. Therefore, for the companies which are going green, it means that they are getting ahead of the curve because additional laws shall soon be passed (Di Giuli et al., 2014, p168). For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency launched its 2020 Action Agenda which is a genuinely comprehensive approach of reducing carbon emissions, while still promoting sustainability together with having actionable consequences or incentives of being ahead of the green curve.

The next benefit is saving money. Increased energy efficiency leads to saving of utility costs. For instance, reusing of existing material creatively ensures that less money is spent when purchasing new stock for product creation. Besides, streamlining employee transportation saves a substantial amount of money as well as preserving the environment. Despite having a bit of money to be spent in establishing green business procedures, there is a lot of money saved with time. An example, in this case, is that of United Airlines which partnered with Altair Fuels starting to use sustainable biojet fuel(Jim, 2017, para.5). For instance, the purchase of low carbon and renewable fuel for the airline is price-competitive because it allows United Airlines in reducing overall costs.

Marketing awareness is another benefit for companies because it makes customers to feel that it is a trustworthy business. According to a study conducted by Nielsen (2015) where thirty thousand consumers from all over the world were surveyed, sixty-six percent of the consumers agreed that they could pay more for products from sustainable sources. Additionally, the study showed that the number rose to seventy-seven percent among millennial consumers. Therefore, there is a clear demonstration that sustainability is part of the green businesses mission and company culture. For instance, word-of-mouth seems to be the most valuable advertising form and green businesses cannot buy the kind of publicity. Thus, the company existing market is not just bolstered but is extended, meaning that people who might have never heard of such a company are likely topay attention to the one believing in eco-friendly.

The other benefit of going green is an impact on employee morale. Employees will feel safer when working for green businesses. For instance, involving workers in a company’s green initiative boosts their confidence because the employees will think that their health is cared for and that they are not regarded to be expendable commodities. Also, the practice is a good way of reducing turnover since no employee would want to leave a place which considers them to be part of a work community that cares. An example, in this case, is that of the Bank of America. A few years back, the Bank of America established a new incentive program offering employees a discount upon installation of solar panels at their homestead. Consequently, the bank provided about $3000 reimbursement incentive if a customer bought a vehicle proven to be eco-friendly. Through the demonstration of commitment to a healthy environment, companies like Bank of America demonstrates that they care about their employee surrounding which is beneficial to workers morale.

The last benefit for companies has green as a status symbol. Because many more and internationally recognized companies are going green the idea is becoming more tantalizing. It has become a status symbol of being an environmentally friendly business (Noe et al., 2017, p8). For instance, Dell which is a computer company launched a recycling program enabling customers to return for free electronics which are considered notoriously difficult to control. Therefore, going green appears to give small companies an opportunity of engaging with big firms since it is only the most established companies which go green.

The benefits of going green for any business outweighs the negatives. For instance, the time and money needed for establishing new environmentally green protocols are recovered after some period in terms of dividends not only in cash but on the good feeling that the company is kind to the planet.

Disadvantages of Going Green

Going green for any business comes with many alterations and transformations. Greening of a company involves changes aiming to lessen greenhouse gas emissions, using safer non-toxic chemicals in products as well as protecting the ecosystem. Nevertheless, there are several disadvantages for businesses going green because it involves bearing o0f extra costs which are much challenging to absorb.

First, switching going green is an expensive process for businesses. For instance, changing to solar power requires the installation of solar panels at the business facility. The reduced cost in energy savings obtained by companies which go green is not always enough in offsetting the initial upfront conversion costs. Nevertheless, some administrations provide tax benefits which help companies in offsetting the cost of switching.

The second disadvantage for companies going green is pushing up the price of products. There are some cases where using green materials leads to higher costs in the production process or elsewhere in the business facility. For instance, furniture manufacturer switching suppliers in buying only sustainably harvested wood is likely to pay a premium price for his lumber. Therefore, in this case, the enormous cost will be passed to customers as high cost or it might go to the company’s expense leading to the making of small profits on its products.

The next disadvantage is that going paperless means data risking. Many companies consider going green to minimizing or total elimination in using paper which poses some problems. For instance, when employees lose laptop computers, the sensitive information which is usually kept in a locked paper file might fall into the wrong hands. Additionally, a system crash would be disastrous especially if a company does not back up their computer files properly.

The last disadvantage for companies going green is customer backlash. Companies might unintentionally or intentionally make false claims about how their products are environmentally friendly which is a process known as greenwashing. For instance, insisting that a product does not contain added chemical attracts criticism due to the choice of words because even naturally-derived ingredients comprise of chemical substances. Therefore, a company might harm its credibility when consumers know that it is engaging in greenwashing.

Advantages of Going Green

There are various advantages for companies which go green. The first advantage is that going green leads to tax breaks. Considering that many tax deductions, as well as credits, exist for business owners who go green, the decision to make a company more sustainable leads to paying off later after evaluation of business taxes. Therefore, companies should capitalize on any opportunity of improving the Earth-friendliness of their business infrastructure. Various kinds of tax credits exist for eligible business. For instance, one can even change particular vehicles used for business hybrids and get a tax credit for that. Therefore, going green is an excellent way of saving money on taxes for huge businesses as well as small natural supplements company. Else, energy efficiency leads to tax credits. For instance, when an individual is constructing a new building one should use engineering which takes less energy meaning that upgrading an already existing place requires one to switch to energy-efficient appliances.

The other advantage is on public relations. Going green looks good for any company. Therefore, emphasizing on earth-friendly approach to business leads to gaining positive attention from environmentally friendly consumers who are increasing daily. For instance, few people will not think much on any company for making such decisions (Iravani et al., 2017, p277). Companies should try incorporating the going green ideas into their marketing campaigns. Hence, companies should consider mentioning green changes that have been made especially when switching to recycled products or using environmentally safe processes. Additionally, donating some company profit to the green cause gives a similar public relations effect.

The healthier workplace is another advantage associated with companies which go green. According to the Green Business Bureau’s Website companies which promote healthier workplaces usually reports a substantial in the number of employee sick days at an average of twenty percent. Therefore, there is increased productivity, and less money is paid out for sick leave or additional medical benefits. Besides, one of the best ways of keeping a place healthy, environmentally friendly and safe is by using green cleaning products. The other cleaning products comprise of harsh chemicals which hurt the environment together with those working with them particularly if they inhale much or having it on their skin.

Example of Companies Which Have Gone Green

The motivation of companies going green is not increasingly becoming part of various company’s corporate social responsibility rather than an aspect of being relevant in the future business environment. Additionally, there are many environmental concerns which can only be addressed by green initiatives in terms of servicing, production and manufacturing (Beltramello et al., 2013, p12). Therefore, companies are seeking more innovative methods for promoting eco-friendly environments through the integration of green practices in their business functions. Some of the companies which are leading in incorporating eco-friendly practices by going green include the following.

The first company is McDonald’s which is one of the worlds biggest food store. The company argues that by going green, it responds to the customers by setting goals of switching to environmentally friendly packaging materials and providing recycling in all its restaurants. Therefore, the company has established two ambitious environmental goals which it has to achieve by 2025 (Mehta&Chugan, 2015, p77). First, the company aims at getting 100% of their packaging materials from recycled, renewable and certified sources by 2025 with much preference for Forest Stewardship Council certification ensuring that products are coming from responsibly managed forests. Currently, 50% of the company’s guest packaging is derived from sustainable sources and that 10% of the company’s restaurants are recycling. Besides, the company says it is planning to work with local administrations and environmental associations for better packaging designs, new recycling programs as well as customer and employee education plans for reaching their goals.McDonald’s has incorporated the outcome of fast foods on people’s health as they reduce overall energy consumption. Consequently, McDonald’s uses energy-efficient appliances leading to the cutting of energy wastage by twenty-five percent during the business activities (Armstrong&Green, 2013, p36). The company has also set established green parking lots for preserving them for hybrid vehicles. The parking lots have permeable concrete having the capability to recharge and clean ground water.

The other company which has gone green is dell, a leading computer equipment manufacturer. Aiming at limiting environmental impacts, Dell has encouraged safe disposal of their products through coming up with an efficient and effective recycling program. For instance, Dell is now the world’s largest tech recycler with various applications in seventy-eight countries. The company has achieved more than 71% of the way to its objective of recovering two billion pounds of used electronics by 2020.  Besides, much of recycling innovation is coming from the way Dell packages its computers. Also, the company did a pilot program with Newlight Technologies’ Aircarbonin making plastic bags for its notebook computers made from carbon-captured methane gas-based plastics (Laura, 2015, para.4). The startup turns air pollution to plastics. Moreover, Dell also uses wheat straw in most of its cardboard notebook boxes which are shipped from China. For instance, the company allows customers to give back any Dell-branded equipment for free. Therefore, the company enhances safe disposal and decreases the totale-waste count. Dell even accepts printers, computers, and monitors from other companies for safe disposal. Hence, the company proves that social good and sustainability can be a profitable practice for any business.

Google is another company which has made tremendous efforts to go green through slashing energy usage and support of green energy products. Google’s efforts are driven not only by the notion of corporate responsibility but also by business imperatives, that is, going green is smart, efficient and possibly profitable which is the only way of ensuring that there is broad adoption of policies. The renewable programs enacted by Google is a part of the initiatives which are designed for reducing and making the company’s energy consumption more efficient. For instance, the company has honed its energy consumption through the use of its data and computing capabilities to ensure its facilities are running in the most efficient way. According to the company’s statistics its data centers now have 3.5 times more computing power from a single energy unit when compared to five years ago (Paul et al., 2016, p.125). Google has constructed the most efficient data center in the world and campaigns for the need for conserving energy as well as using renewable sources and clean energy products. For instance, the company supports and funds green energy projects through purchasing and installing many solar panels and windmills.

Bank of America is another company which went green after realizing the need for promoting a sustainable environment.The bank of America is committed to improving the situation in how it approaches global business strategy, working with partners, supporting of employees, making own operations more sustainable as well as managing issues and governing own activities.For instance, the bank was able to cut its paper requirement by thirty-two percent within five years. Consequently, the bank of America began an internal recycling program where it has achieved success through recycling almost thirty thousand tons of paper annually (Rossi et al., 2016, p368). The annual amount of paper conserved translates to conserving about two hundred thousand trees. Besides, the company provides three thousand dollars cash-back reward to employees shifting to using hybrid cars.

Positive Environmental Effects of Going Green

The green living movement inspires people to live more environmentally friendly and that there are various ways of going green. As most people acknowledge that going green is good for the earth, they might wholly understand the extent of the impacts. Therefore, going green has numerous positive side effects for the environment which contribute to clean water and air, preserving natural resources and reducing global warming impact.

The first environmental positive effect of going green is reducing the pollution entering the water, soil, and air. Through the use of alternative energy sources and avoiding burning fossil fuels, recycling or reducing waste as well as driving more efficiently few pollutants are unconfined to the environment (Ahmad,2015, p.103). According to a study by Environmental protection Agency, the quality of air in the US is gradually improving although as at the year 2008 about 127million Americans were still living in areas having potential hazardous air pollution levels (Diglel&Yazdanifard, 2014, p38).

Besides, few greenhouse gas emissions are another positive effect for the companies which go green. For instance, greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide are imagined to be critical contributing to global warming factors. According to estimates from the US Department of Energy cars release approximately 1.7 billion tons of CO2 every year (Tucker&Faul,2016, p.27). Through reducing the amount of time driven, maintaining a vehicle or operating a green car as hybrid one can help in lowering contribution to the global warming problem.

Resource conservation is also a positive environmental effect resulting from going green. Most of the world’s electric power is generated through the burning of fossil fuels including natural gas, coal, and oil (Flyvbjerg,2014, p.16). Therefore, burning such types of fuels releases greenhouse gases to the air and the limited supply makes them unsustainable in the long-term. Reducing energy consumption by use of alternative energy sources and recycling decreases the strain on such resources and reduces down emissions. For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency indicates that recycling a single plastic bottle conserves energy enough for lightning a 60-watt light bulb for up to six hours.

Moreover, less waste is a positive environmental effect on companies going green. Since going green encourages humans to reduce their consumption, recycle and reuse items it means that less waste will be reduced if all companies follow the practice. Waste reduction helps the environment through decreasing physical quantity ending up in landfills where the waste biodegrades and releases carbon dioxide which enhances greenhouse gas effect (Ghisetti&Rennings,2014, p110). Besides, the Environmental Protection Agency promotes recycling incinerating waste that can produce smoke or even release other potential air harmful pollutants.

The last positive environmental effect forgoing green is the preservation of wildlife. For instance, going green helps in conservation of the habitats for certain wild animal species. According to a study conducted by planet Green, about 137 plants, insect and animal species become extinct daily because of rainforest deforestation (Pagell&Shevchenko, 2014, p.51). Therefore, reduction of consumption of paper products, purchasing recycled ones or recycling whenever it is possiblyhelping in slowing down the extinction rate for species which live in wooded areas. Going green also reduces the threat made to marine wildlife which dies annually due to encountering pollutants or trash in the water supply.

There are many benefits for companies which have gone green. Therefore, every company should consider adopting and integrating sustainability principles and methods into more than one aspect of the business as well as across various organizational levels. Sustainability together with the drive of “going green and conserving” enables companies to attract shareholders, new employees and customers sharing similar values. Therefore, going green improves public views on the company and the products and becomes a positive impact on the business bottom line.

List of References

Ahmad, S., 2015. Green human resource management: Policies and practices.  Cogent Business & Management ,  2 (1), p.1030817.

Armstrong, J.S. and Green, K.C., 2013. Effects of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility policies.  Journal of Business Research ,  66 (10), pp.1922-1927.

Beltramello, A., Haie-Fayle, L. and Pilat, D., 2013. Why new business models matter for green growth.

Di Giulio, A., and Kostovetsky, L., 2014. Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility.  Journal of Financial Economics ,  111 (1), pp.158-180.

Dingell, A. and Yazdanifard, R., 2014. Green Marketing: It’ s Influence on Buying Behavior and Attitudes of the Purchasers towards Eco-Friendly Products.  Global Journal of Management And Business Research .

Flyvbjerg, B., 2014. What you should know about megaprojects and why: An overview.  Project management journal ,  45 (2), pp.6-19.

Ghisetti, C. and Rennings, K., 2014. Environmental innovations and profitability: How does it pay to be green? An empirical analysis of the German innovation survey. Journal of Cleaner Production ,  75 , pp.106-117.

Iravani, A., Akbari, M.H., and Zohoori, M., 2017. Advantages and disadvantages of green technology; goals, challenges, and strengths. Int J Sci Eng Appl ,  6 (9), pp.272-284.

Jim Sicord (2017). Benefits of Going Green for Business Owners. Retrieved from https://thrivehive.com/benefits-of-going-green-for-business-owners/

Kristie Lorette (2017). Why Businesses Should Go Green. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/businesses-should-green-766.html

Laura Lorek (2015). Going Green is Good for Dell and the Environment. Retrieved from http://www.siliconhillsnews.com/2015/10/24/going-green-is-good-for-dell-and-the-environment/

Mehta, K. and Chugan, P.K., 2015. Green HRM in pursuit of environmentally sustainable business.  A search for Environmentally Sustainable Business (June 1, 2015). Universal Journal of Industrial and Business Management ,  3 (3), pp.74-81.

Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M., 2017.  Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Pagell, M. and Shevchenko, A., 2014. Why research in sustainable supply chain management should have no future.  Journal of supply chain management ,  50 (1), pp.44-55.

Paul, J., Modi, A., and Patel, J., 2016. Predicting green product consumption using the theory of planned behavior and reasoned action. Journal of retailing and consumer services ,  29 , pp.123-134.

Pearce, D., Markandya, A. and Barbier, E., 2013.  Blueprint 1: for a green economy . Routledge.

Rossi, M., Germani, M. and Zamagni, A., 2016. Review of ecodesign methods and tools. Barriers and strategies for effective implementation in industrial companies. Journal of Cleaner Production ,  129 , pp.361-373.

Saini, B., 2013. Green marketing and its impact on consumer buying behavior.  International Journal of Engineering Science Invention ,  2 (12), pp.61-64.

Suki, N.M., 2013. GREEN AWARENESS EFFECTS ON CONSUMER PURCHASING DECISION: SOME INSIGHTS FROM MALAYSIA. International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies ,  9 (2).

Tucker, J.L. and Faul, M.M., 2016. Industrial research: Drug companies must adopt green chemistry: Nature News ,  534 (7605), p.27.

Wagner, M., 2013. ‘Green’human resource benefits: do they matter as determinants of environmental management system implementation?.  Journal of Business Ethics ,  114 (3), pp.443-456.

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White House, tribal leaders hail ‘historic’ deal to restore salmon runs in Pacific Northwest

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, third from left, stands with Chair Gerry Lewis of the Yakama Nation, fourth from left, as they and others pose for a photo following a ceremonial signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, third from left, stands with Chair Gerry Lewis of the Yakama Nation, fourth from left, as they and others pose for a photo following a ceremonial signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chair Gerry Lewis of the Yakama Nation, right, signs a document during a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The agreement is between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments in the Pacific Northwest to restore wild salmon populations, expand Tribally sponsored clean energy production, and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River System for agriculture, energy, recreation, and transportation. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chair Shannon Wheeler of the Nez Perce Tribe, left, and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, pose for a photo following a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chair Shannon Wheeler of the Nez Perce Tribe, second from left, passes a document to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, second from right, during a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, as White House senior adviser and climate envoy John Podesta, left, and Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, right, watch. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Fish & Wildlife Committee Chair Corrine Sams of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indians, left, signs her name during a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, as Dr. Rick Spinrad, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, second from left, and Chair Jonathan W. Smith, Sr., of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, second from right, watch. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chair Gerry Lewis of the Yakama Nation, center, hands a pen to Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, left, as Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis signs a document during a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chair Jonathan W. Smith, Sr., of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation speaks during a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek speaks during a signing ceremony in Washington, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. The ceremonial signing is an agreement between the Biden administration and state and Tribal governments to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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essay about go green

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration, leaders of four Columbia River Basin tribes and the governors of Oregon and Washington celebrated on Friday as they signed papers formally launching a $1 billion plan to help recover depleted salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest.

The plan, announced in December, stopped short of calling for the removal of four controversial dams on the Snake River, as some environmental groups and tribal leaders have urged. But officials said it would boost clean energy production and help offset hydropower, transportation and other benefits provided by the dams should Congress ever agree to breach them.

The plan brokered by the Biden administration pauses long-running litigation over federal dam operations and represents the most significant step yet toward eventually taking the four Snake River dams down . The plan will strengthen tribal clean energy projects and provide other benefits for tribes and other communities that depend on the Columbia Basin for agriculture, energy, recreation and transportation, the White House said.

“Since time immemorial, the strength of the Yakama Nation and its people have come from the Columbia River, and from the fish, game, roots and berries it nourishes,’' Yakama Nation Chairman Gerald Lewis said at a White House ceremony.

FILE - A solar farm sits in Mona, Utah, Aug. 9, 2022. On Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, the Biden administration will announce 17 projects across the U.S. to expand renewable energy access in rural areas, particularly for Native American tribes. The projects, which will cost $366 million, are funded by a $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed in 2021. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

“The Yakama Nation will always fight to protect and restore the salmon because, without the salmon, we cannot maintain the health of our people or our way of life,’' Lewis said, adding that Columbia Basin salmon are dying from the impacts of human development.

“Our fishers have empty nets and their homes have empty tables because historically the federal government has not done enough to mitigate these impacts,’' he said. “We need a lot more clean energy, but we need to do development in a way that is socially just.’'

Lewis was among four tribal leaders who spoke at the hourlong ceremony at the White House complex, along with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and an array of federal officials.

The agreement , formally known as the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, “deserves to be celebrated,’' said Jonathan W. Smith, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

The settlement “takes the interests of all the stakeholders in the Columbia Basin into account,’' he said. “It lays out a pathway to restore salmon and steelhead to healthy and abundant levels and moves forward with the necessary green energy transition in a socially just and equitable way.”

Corinne Sams of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation called the signing ceremony a historic moment, not just for the tribes, but also for the U.S. government “and all Americans in the Pacific Northwest. My heart is big today.”

The Columbia River Basin, an area roughly the size of Texas, was once the world’s greatest salmon-producing river system, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead. Today, four are extinct and seven are listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Dams are a main culprit behind the salmon’s decline, and federal fisheries scientists have concluded that breaching the dams in eastern Washington on the Snake River, the largest tributary of the Columbia, would be the best hope for recovering them, providing the fish with access to hundreds of miles of pristine habitat and spawning grounds in Idaho.

Conservation groups sued the federal government more than two decades ago in an effort to save the fish. They have argued that the continued operation of the dams violates the Endangered Species Act as well as treaties dating to the mid-19th century ensuring the tribes’ right to harvest fish.

Friday’s celebration did not include congressional Republicans who oppose dam breaching and have vowed to block it.

Dams along the Columbia-Snake River system provide more than one-third of all hydropower capacity in the United States, said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In Washington state, hydropower accounts for 70% of electricity consumed.

The Snake River dams “helped transform Eastern Washington into one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world,’' including 40% of America’s wheat, Rodgers said in a statement.

She denounced “secret negotiations” led by White House senior adviser and climate envoy John Podesta, saying he and other officials “worked behind closed doors with a select group of radical environmentalists to develop a secret package of actions and commitments’’ that advance ”efforts to remove the four Lower Snake River dams.’'

Biden officials “ignored the concerns of people who live in the Pacific Northwest and who would be significantly impacted if these dams were breached,’' Rodgers said.

Podesta and other speakers at the White House ceremony looked past those concerns, with few even mentioning the dams.

“President Biden understands that the Columbia River is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, for its culture, for its economy and for its people,’' said Brenda Mallory, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

“The historic agreement is charting a new and exciting path to restore the river, provide for clean energy and live up to our responsibilities and obligations to tribal nations,’' Mallory said. “I’m confident we will secure the vision ... of securing a restored Columbia River Basin, one that is teeming with wild fish, prosperous to tribal nations, (with) affordable clean energy, a strong agricultural economy and an upgraded transportation and recreation system.’'

MATTHEW DALY

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