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4 Simple Strategies to a Sustainable Spring
It’s a cold Thursday morning here in Northwest Ohio. As I write this, the snow is coming down and we had a winter weather advisory last night. (Thankfully, we didn’t get as much as predicted…we rarely do!) While it’s technically spring now, you wouldn’t know it by the temperatures until early to mid-April around here. But that doesn’t stop us from preparing for the warmer weather and attempting to break free from our cabin fever.
As the weather breaks and you begin to get out and about more, it’s a great time to think about how you can personally live with the intention to be more environmentally conscious this year. Below are a few examples of changes you might consider.
Take Fewer Road Trips
We’re very fortunate at Lyon Software that because of the nature of our work, we’ve been able to remain a work-from-home company since 2020. Because of this, we’ve been able to significantly reduce the amount of pollution we’re putting out through our vehicles. It’s also helped us to cut out a lot of unnecessary spending.
Not everyone has this opportunity to work from home though, and I get that. Especially our amazing clients in the healthcare field who are at their hospitals every day caring for their communities. While you may not be able to work from home, you can reduce some of your drive time.
One practice I have done for years (well before the pandemic) is to batch my trips. If I have to be on the far end of town for an appointment, I’ll make sure to make additional stops with it. Even if it means waiting a week or two. No sense in driving across town twice!
Mow Less
Last year in my neighborhood, there was a house that didn’t cut their grass for the entire month of May. They called it “No Mowing May”. They even had a sign in their yard that they were observing this to allow bees to pollinate the flowers. As you can imagine at the height of growing season, their lawn was a disaster from an appearance perspective. It was refreshing to see someone who wasn’t worried about what others thought about that.
This was their way of encouraging positive growth in the animal kingdom. Maybe you’re like me, and aren’t ready to commit at that level. That’s OK. Instead of skipping for a month, we can commit to one mow per week from April to July, then shift to once every other week from August to November.
Donate Your Old Clothes
One popular springtime activity that you may be doing soon is going through your closet and updating your wardrobe. Whatever clothing is still usable, make sure you donate it instead of throwing it away. Whether you’re taking it to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or giving it to a friend, giving your clothes a second life is always a great, environmentally conscious idea.
Set Up an eBay Account
I’ve written about this before, but selling on eBay is a great way to live sustainably by giving your items a second home. It’s also a great way to boost the economy, since you’re earning extra coin and spending with a shipping service. You’re also keeping old items out of the landfill.
If you’ve never done this, you would be amazed at what will sell on Ebay or Facebook Marketplace. When I first started at Lyon Software, we had 15 old multi-line phones sitting in a cabinet that could have easily been thrown away. I offered to sell them on eBay. A week later, I shipped them off to their new owner after receiving a bid of $287.
What Will You Do?
This is a fairly surface level overview of a few simple ideas for living a more environmentally conscious lifestyle this year. I hope this gives you some motivation to participate. I’d love to hear what else you would add.
Please leave a comment letting all of our readers know what you plan to do to be more sustainable this spring. I look forward to reading about it!
My Thoughts on This Year’s GCSHE Conference
October is International Campus Sustainability Month. Last year, I wrote about my memories of BGSU Can Recycle – the campus environmental awareness program at Bowling Green State University in the late 1990s. That was my first real exposure to the sustainability movement.
This year, I’m attending the Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (GCSHE) to learn about the sustainability practices of colleges and universities across the country. It marks the 6th consecutive year that Lyon Software will be a participating exhibitor at this conference, which is hosted by AASHE (The Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education). GCSHE is once again in a virtual setting, and this year, has attracted over 2,000 attendees from all around the world.
One of the reasons we enjoy this conference so much is the ability to learn what new developments are happening in the area of campus & corporate sustainability. It’s also inspiring to see so many students working to advance the green initiative on their home campus.
The Urgency of Now
This year’s theme is The Urgency of Now. Every session has done a terrific job of capturing the spirit of the theme. Each presenter has focused on the changing physical and social landscape, and how important it is for all of us to come together for a better future – and sooner rather than later.
We began with a spirited keynote address from Tyson Yunkaporta on October 18th. He talked quite a bit about the changing landscape of the world, and how university and campus life fits into that. Then yesterday, Kumi Naidoo gave an inspiring talk about the need for going beyond the solo approach and working together for a better world. GCSHE wraps up on Thursday, November 3rd.
A Great Way to Connect
It’s been over 20 years since I left campus as a college graduate, so for me, this conference is a wonderful way to interact with students and faculty about an emerging topic. It’s amazing to learn about all the great work that is happening on campuses all over the world to advance environmental sustainability initiatives.
My favorite part of the conference is getting to interact with so many of the attendees online. Face-to-face isn’t my game, but I can keyboard warrior with the best of them. I find that people are much more interested in what you have to say when they can respond at their own pace. It allows us all to be more thoughtful in our communication.
Make Plans to Attend Next Year
If you’re considering attending a sustainability conference to learn about the best practices currently happening in a higher education setting, I strongly recommend putting GCSHE on your calendar for next year. It will likely be in October and continue in a virtual format. If you do decide to attend due to reading this blog post, be sure to stop by and say hi to me. I’m sure Lyon Software will be back in 2023.
Quick Question: Will you plan to attend the Global Conference for Sustainability in Higher Education in 2023?
Let me know in the comments below.
So much to be Thankful for in 2021
Thanksgiving Week has always personally been my favorite time of the year. To kick the week off right, I wanted share what our entire staff is thankful for in 2021.
Last week, I sent our employees a 1 question anonymous survey: What are you thankful for? They could answer it however they want. As expected, it received a lot of great responses. The answers covered 3 central themes.
Teamwork makes the Dream Work
I’ve worked for 23 different companies, and have experienced of a wide variety of workplace cultures and management styles. However, I have never witnessed a workplace culture where people sincerely care about one another the way we do at Lyon Software. In my opinion, it is the most unique aspect of our company.
More than just working well together, we genuinely value each other as people first, co-workers second. Many of us have developed friendships with each other outside of the office.
Here is what our staff had to say about our culture:
- I am thankful for the ongoing opportunity to professionally learn and grow with the best team I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. I’m also thankful this same team is equally supportive of the pursuits I follow beyond the confines of our shared workdays!
- I’m thankful for the continuity of our team. The same staff has been here for my entire tenure (almost 5 years), and we continue to grow together. Additionally, I’m thankful that working within our strengths in encouraged – it’s allowed me to grow creatively.
- We have a wonderful team to work with: no drama, no fighting, and always reliable – I love this!
- I am thankful for the family I have at Lyon Software. Everyone is kind and supportive of one and other. My Lyon Software family makes me feel valued because they listen and genuinely care.
Technology is Amazing
Nobody realized just how valuable technology would become for our work until March 12, 2020. That is the day we began working from home.
We are all so grateful that as a company, every person in our office was able to make a smooth transition to working from home. It could be argued that our communication and productivity has actually improved since beginning to work from home.
Here is what our staff said about technology:
- I’m thankful that we can still provide service to clients that meets their needs without interruption, even during a pandemic.
- I’m thankful for web cameras that keep us connected and allow us to see each other’s smiles.
- I’m thankful for the technology that provides me with the ability to see the prospects I work with and talk to them as if we were in the same room.
We Truly Care for our Clients
We wouldn’t be here without all of the wonderful people from client hospitals and senior living facilities that we get to work with every day. We all love that we have developed great business relationships with so many of our clients, regardless of whether they have been with their organization for 30 years or 30 days.
Here is what our staff said about working with our clients:
- I’m thankful that our clients are excited about our newest version of CBISA.
- I’m thankful that our clients are always wanting to improve their community benefit work.
- I’m thankful that we continue to gain new clients and grow those relationships.
- I’m thankful for the opportunity to become friends (outside of business) with so many of our clients.
What would you add to the list?
Comment your thoughts below.
4 Incredibly Simple Actions to Improve Campus Sustainability
Next month is international Campus Sustainability month. Throughout October, colleges and universities will be organizing events to bring awareness to sustainability issues, with the hopes of inspiring students and faculty to be more environmentally conscious and encourage generational change.
Whether you’re on campus or not, if you are in charge of a sustainability program, there are four critical areas that you need to address in order to ensure it has significant long-term success. Thinking back to my university days, these four attributes of their recycling program have stuck with me for over 20 years, even though I wasn’t directly involved in any campus sustainability groups.
Make it Cool
I arrived in McDonald Hall as a freshman at Bowling Green State University (Go Falcons!) in August of 1997. One of the first things I noticed in those few days before classes began were all the recycling containers. It was a huge transition from high school, where recycling wasn’t nearly as top of mind.
What makes the BGSU recycling program memorable for me is that they attached a slogan with a double-meaning to it. BGSU Can Recycle was a creative play on words. Yes, it was obviously an initiative for students to recycle their pop cans. More importantly, it was also a proclamation to everyone associated with BGSU. Bowling Green was committed to doing a better job of recycling and being environmentally conscious. Their motto let everyone on campus know that we all had a part to play.
Make it Convenient
If you’re trying to change the habits of people in your organization or neighborhood, removing as many barriers as possible is crucial. Bowling Green consistently did a great job of this.
Recycling containers weren’t just in dining halls. They were everywhere. If you were walking from the Student Union to Jerome Library, you passed one in the center of campus. If you were farther away, like at the Rec Center, a recycling center was there too. BGSU made it very easy for students to recycle, and we responded accordingly.
Even at massive events like the annual back-to-school campus cookout, recycling containers were prevalent. Yet, if you walked by University Hall even 15 minutes afterward, you would never know that thousands of hungry college students just had lunch, all spread out across the lawn. Keeping the campus clean was important to everyone, so we all did our part.
Make it a Challenge
Nobody likes a problem, but everyone loves a good challenge. I heard Tony Robbins say that once, and it really stuck with me.
When I was a student, BGSU was great at promoting challenges for various causes. These were highlighted at football and basketball games, where Greek houses and residence halls were always highly visible and usually competing for some cause.
Friendly competition gets people involved. More than just saying “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, find a way to put a competitive spin on your program. You’ll be surprised at the results you can achieve through fun competition.
Make it the Culture
As a student, I was always very impressed that Greek houses and residence halls were at the forefront of every large campus-wide initiative. Whether it was Dance Marathon, environmental causes, or special one-day events, they were instrumental in promoting to the rest of campus. Your organization can operate similarly.
Find the influencers in your organization and get them on board with your sustainability initiatives. It only takes a few people taking consistent action to improve the culture and spread positive change.
Times Have Changed
In my research, I found that BGSU Can Recycle was retired quite a while ago. To be honest, I’m not sure if that was ever an official slogan, but it was everywhere on campus and obviously had a lasting impression on me. I’m a very thorough and consistent recycler now, and that likely took shape during my years at BGSU.
You can find more about the Going Green at Bowling Green initiatives (started in 2008) by visiting their Office of Campus Sustainability.
