Meaningful Ways To Celebrate Earth Day In The Workplace

One thing we all have in common is our home, Earth! 

Earth Day, a day meant to celebrate our planet and raise awareness of its struggles, is a great opportunity for your company to gain positive brand recognition, make a positive change, raise awareness among employees, and create purpose for the work employees do. 

So honor our home planet and your employees with these amazing Earth Day ideas for work. From planting trees to green charity events, these thoughtful activities will bring purpose and joy to your company

When Is Earth Day?

Earth Day is on the 22nd of April of each year and is celebrated around the world. 

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. It was created by Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was inspired by the American youths’ anti-war and civil rights attitudes. However, the catalyst for Earth Day was the oil spill in Santa Barbara, a crisis that devastated the natural world. 

Soon after the spill, the first Earth Day was celebrated.

The goal has stayed the same since 1970 – to raise awareness and educate the public about environmental issues that are devastating our planet. While the initiative was initially meant to target Americans, predominantly American consumers, the Earth Day initiative has spread far and wide. 

Annually, Earth Day unites more than a billion people. The initiative is bolstered even more with social media. It has also become a popular initiative among corporate workforces. 

Why Celebrate Earth Day At Work?

Earth Day is an important opportunity for your company to celebrate the planet with employees and to raise awareness about environmental issues. It’s also a great way to showcase the company's values to customers and employees. 

The pandemic has shifted attitudes toward wealth and meaningful work. Modern consumers are more likely to support sustainable and environmentally conscious brands, even if it costs more. In addition, more and more employees are looking for jobs that have meaning or align with their values. 

For many, that means only working for companies that care about the health and well-being of humans and the planet. 

When companies align with their goals, employees feel like they belong and can feel proud to be a part of the company. And, as has been proven time and time again, employees who feel like they belong are more engaged, which, in turn, increases productivity and revenue. 

All in all, celebrating Earth Day with your employees showcases a positive, responsible, and self-aware attitude. It helps employees find meaning in the work they do, increasing engagement, productivity, and profit. 

7 Earth Day Ideas & Activities For Work 

Here are fun and meaningful ways you can celebrate Earth Day in the workplace with your employees:

1. Plant Trees With Employees

Earth Day is about celebrating the natural world and bringing awareness to current issues. One of the biggest issues the world faces is pollution and how it affects the air we and all other living beings on earth breathe. 

An effective way to combat this issue is by creating more green spaces, especially in cities. Trees provide many benefits, but the most notable is increased CO2 absorption and oxygen production.

There have been countless initiatives to restore vegetation that has been ruined by industrialization. 

But as important as these big initiatives are, change on a smaller scale is just as important. 

Get your team involved and plant trees to restore deforested land. 

If you’d like to make the initiative more intimate, plant trees and flowers in the company garden or courtyard. Even after Earth Day, employees can use the space to rest, recharge, and reflect on everything they learned on Earth Day. 

2. Do A Meatless Challenge

Food production and overconsumption are big contributors to high carbon emissions and global warming. Meat production is especially carbon-heavy. 

Unfortunately, many people, whether due to dietary needs, budget constraints, or cultural and religious beliefs, can’t make the move to a completely plant-based diet.  

However, cutting back on meat products alone can make a difference. Just reducing your meat consumption, even one day a week, could reduce deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil degradation. 

Encourage employees to go meatless for Earth Day. You can also incentivize employees with a meatless program and reward employees who choose to do a meatless day every week. 

3. Host A Clean Up Event  

Whether it be a local neighborhood, a beach, or a nature reserve, keeping our environment litter-free is important for a whole host of reasons. 
A cleaner planet is better for our mental health. It’s better for wildlife, who often mistake litter for food. Removing litter is also essential in preventing land and water pollution. 

Hosting a clean-up event is also a great way for employees to see real-time, tangible change because of their actions. 

Organize a local clean-up event with your team for Earth Day. Invite your team, and the whole company, or turn it into a local clean-up event and get more people involved. 

4. Host A Green Charity Event 

Earth Day and charities go hand in hand. There are hundreds of climate initiatives that need resources to restore natural habitats and build clean energy systems in underdeveloped communities. 

As part of your Earth Day workplace activities, host a charity event for your employees’ favorite green initiatives. Employees can vote on the charity they want to support in the company name or you can offer to match their donation to whichever charity they donate to. 

Like the clean-up event, you can open the charity event to the public and get more people involved. 

However, be sure to make your employees feel included in the proceedings. For example, collect and match the employee donation pool and thank them by donating in their name. 

5. Educate Employees With The Help Of An Environmental Specialist

Education is key for lasting change. And, since the mission of Earth Day has always been to raise awareness, it makes sense to provide climate and environmental learning opportunities for employees. 

Invite an environmental specialist to your workplace to talk to your employees about sustainable food and waste practices, problems in the natural world, and small ways we can make a difference. 

It’s a heavy subject to talk about. So lighten the mood a little by dedicating a day to the event. We’d even suggest hosting a small picnic or company gathering, one where employees can have fun and learn without pressure. 

6. Go For A Nature Hike Or Walk 

To fully appreciate nature, we need to spend time in it. A trek on the beach or through the woods will get employees out of the day-to-day hustle and bustle and into the present, where they can appreciate Earth, each other, and the team. 

It’s also the perfect opportunity to casually talk about how we can make a difference for the planet. Discuss ethical and moderate consumption, recycling, e-waste clean-ups, effective energy use, and more. 

End the walk with a picnic and let your employees enjoy their time in nature. 

7. Gift Some Plants 

If you don’t have the budget to host a big event (walks and picnics are still relatively cost-effective) and you want to drive the Earth Day point home, then bring nature into the office with plants. 
Whether it be vegetation around the office or small desk plants, a greener office will help employees remember their Earth Day pledges.

A greener environment will also improve employee mental health by lowering stress, anxiety, and depression. 

8. Reward & Recognize Employees Who Make An Effort To Be More Green 

Every workplace has an employee who goes above and beyond for the environment. This is the employee who’s already aware of all the Earth Day initiatives and keeps their carbon footprint small. 

Earth Day wouldn’t mean much without these people. Earth Day also presents the perfect opportunity for your company to recognize the efforts of these types of employees. It’ll also incentivize other employees to join the cause and lower their carbon footprint. 

So, acknowledge employees who consistently make an effort to be more green on Earth Day. You can also reward them with reward cards, sustainable company swag, and other eco-friendly gifts.

9. Volunteer With A Green Initiative

Much of Earth Day is about raising awareness of green causes. The majority of these causes are non-profits that rely on outside funds and volunteers. 

What’s more meaningful than volunteering with your team for an Earth Day cause? 

Offer your team’s labor to a local green initiative for the day. Work on the frontlines with your team to make a noticeable difference. Whichever group you're helping is also sure to appreciate the help. 

Wear branded company swag to raise awareness of your brand and your values. Just make sure you ask your employees if they are okay with physical volunteer work before signing them up and find out which sort of initiatives they would like to be involved in.

10. Build A Company Vegetable Garden

Grow a company garden with your employees this Earth Day. Get everyone involved, create a maintenance schedule, and put employees on the rotation. 

Not only will the garden be a beautiful addition to the company building and a relaxing spot to recharge, but you can also plant vegetables or herbs that employees can use at the office or take home. 

11. Challenge Employees To An Earth Day Trivia Contest

Test your employee's knowledge about Earth Day and sustainability practices with a fun trivia contest. Even if a bunch of employees don’t know much, they’ll learn a lot throughout the experience. 

Of course, make the experience fun. Whether you decide to host a picnic or turn the contest into a prize match, make sure the event is stimulating enough to get employees interested and keep them engaged. 

12. Start A Program To Reduce Waste Internally

The company as a whole is responsible for its carbon footprint. Take responsibility and make a difference by creating a green program to reduce waste in the company. 

Implement strategies like: 

• Only using energy-efficient lights or motion sensor lights. 

• Using natural light where possible. 

• Getting rid of e-waste regularly. 

• Recycling office materials and other waste. 

• Carpooling, biking, walking, or using public transport when commuting. 

These are just a few ideas. Do a green audit of your company, appoint a green team, and implement the program on Earth Day. It’s also a great initiative to carry beyond Earth Day. 

Final Thoughts

Earth Day, an initiative started in 1970, has been raising awareness about environmental issues for over 50 years. The initiative unites billions of people every year and is a great opportunity for your company to make a difference, bond with employees, and bring meaning to your brand. 

From planting trees to adding plants to your office, these meaningful activities are the best way to celebrate Earth Day in the workplace.

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