If the arrival of 2022 has you feeling motivated to grow your business with a greener approach and operate with purpose, you’ll want to keep reading! We’ve pulled together six must-read tips from The Good Green Summit, which took place online last fall. Watch the recap video below to see what we covered!
Designed to bring together like-minded changemakers who strive to protect our planet and build brighter communities, we heard from 23 amazing speakers who shared their expertise in sustainability, diversity, accessibility, and more.
1. Push Perfection Aside When it Comes to Purpose and Positive Change
Many conversations surrounding purpose and positive change are all too often associated with perfection.
Hannah O’Donovan (Lovedey) and Romina Kwong (Eco-Friendly Events) set the record straight by opening their session with this essential myth-busting statement:
“We don’t believe that perfection is required to pursue purpose and sometimes it’s ineffective because it can suppress attempts to make positive change.”
Something we can all remember when feeling overwhelmed about going green! On top of all the other challenges we face day to day, just doing what we can one day at a time is amazing.
2. Help Tackle the Climate Crisis By Telling Your Stories
As a keynote speaker for the Summit, Kristy Drutman (aka. @BrownGirl_Green) came with a loaded webinar about the power of storytelling when addressing the climate crisis. Joining The Good Green Summit from her hotel room in Glasgow where she was attending COP26, it was crystal clear that change needs to come collectively – not just from political decision-makers.
Kristy explained that by sharing different perspectives, traditions, and cultural practices from all intersections of life, from all areas in the world, we’ll improve our chances of doing what’s needed to help the planet.
Kristy suggests digging deep into your environmental history, from generations and ancestors’ past, and to start sharing stories about what you discover!
3. Circular Economies are Full of Opportunity and Can Help Reduce Co2 Emissions
Erin from Impact Zero brought a presentation full of insights and shock-factor stats about waste and the circular economy. Including the eyebrow-raising financial gains to be made by shifting from typical economic models to a circular economy (hint: It’s Trillions!)
The idea is to move towards business practices, and lifestyles in general, which keep things in circulation. We need to shift from Linear products that use virgin materials, which are only used once, to looping items back into a circular economy where we can extract value, and $, from creating other things.
Mind-blowing stat: Shifting from 9% circularity (as recorded in 2019) to 18% circularity, it’s estimated that we can reduce Co2 emissions by 39%!
4. Running Sustainable Events has no Rules for Doing It Right!
Professional event planners Natasha Thom (Clearwater Events) and Wendy La (WLA Events) reminded us that there are endless ways to run greener events. Both with experience and expertise in sustainability, they shared dozens of tips and sustainable swaps to consider, depending on the event, the budget, the location, and the client/brand.
Remember, every event planner will have their own priorities, which should align with what’s most important, and realistic, for you – or the company hosting the event, or the couple planning their wedding!
Leading with values and purpose is the key to finding sustainable solutions that fit the event and make an impact.
5. No Matter How Hectic Your Schedule Is, Self-Care Can Fit into ANY Schedule
As business owners with endless to-do lists, it’s all too common to lose touch with our own wellbeing, which is why The Good Green dedicated a whole Track to wellness! Meghan Bonhemme (aka. @The.SelfCareQueen) broke down the forever underestimated power of “fluffy and icky self-care”. Meghan explains that the key is to learn how to plan + prioritize YOUR self-care without guilt. When you find what works for you, whether it’s bath bombs or walks in the forest, you’ll be surprised at how self-care can fit into any schedule…even if you only have 5 minutes during your lunch break.
6. Why Learning to Be a Safer Driver can be likened to Running a Better Business
In a show-stopping session about creating inclusive content, Jenny Jay (aka. @JustAskJenny) shared her Five C’s for mindfully planning and producing content that is considerate of the many intersections of inequality and diversity. An area that feels particularly overwhelming for a lot of small businesses and content creators.
When concluding her session, Jenny shared a fantastic analogy that any of us can find comfort in…
“We shouldn’t feel guilty about mistakes, but we should feel called to do better. It’s a bit like driving on a highway and trying to be a safer driver. In reality, we might not be the safest driver all the time or even realize when we’re being unsafe. But we can always try to be safer.”
Whether you start right now, or next week, make sure your goals for going green in 2022 are realistic and come from your core values! It’s important to acknowledge that your effort to keep trying to do better is really what counts when it comes to sustainability, diversity, inclusion, or any other value you’re focusing on!
We hope these tips leave you feeling motivated to keep doing the work and making time to look after your own well-being along the way. Stay tuned for more resources and special events from The Good Green and sign up for our newsletter.
