Little actions to improve sustainability will add up to cumulative impacts. As an individual, your behaviors matter, and as a company, the collective has even more impact. Industry will play an important role in shaping our future environment in the ways industrial companies choose to do business and how they help customers and partners be more sustainable. The 2023 Earth Month Ecochallenge, a global competition focused on implementing science-based sustainable behaviors, can help companies make a difference in April.
Emerson participated in the event last year and this year has challenged its employees, customers and suppliers to go even further. “The power to change our industry and the world begins with us,” said Mike Train, Emerson’s chief sustainability officer. “Our team is fully committed to being part of the solution, yet we can’t do it alone. The best way to achieve impact at scale is to use our voice and global reach to energize action across our entire value chain, from suppliers to customers, as well as neighbors in our communities. The multiplier effect is key to a sustainable future.”
Last year, more than 1,300 Emerson employees from 43 different countries participated, saving an estimated 500 kg of carbon-dioxide emissions, conducting 59 energy audits and making more than 3,000 zero-waste meals, by serving them in reusable or recyclable packaging with no discarded food (Figure 1).
Iacopo Russo, global environmental sustainability manager at Emerson, said last year Emerson teams around the world organized beach and river cleanups and tree-planting events and commuted sustainably to work for a day or a week, riding a bike or taking public transportation. “This year we are planning to expand on that, and a bright example is the Green Team in Costa Rica, who are organizing electric-vehicle test drives for employees, a seminar on the circular economy and a collection point for electrical and electronic waste available during the month of April,” Russo said.
The Ecochallenge focuses on the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs), which span three dimensions: environmental, social and economic. The program is guided by 17 SDGs and broken down into five categories: climate and ecosystems; economy and communities; health and equity; education and livelihood; and basic needs and security.
Under each category, it recommends daily and one-time actions individuals can do, such as watch a documentary about economy, energy or industry, choose light-emitting-diode (LED) bulbs, support public transportation, practice ecological and xeriscape gardening, give up plane travel or calculate your water footprint (Figure 2).
Points are awarded for each action taken, and participants can join teams to compete for the most points. Actions are recorded systematically throughout Earth Month to demonstrate the cumulative impact of global participants.
Emerson said supporting Ecochallenge.org is part of the company’s environmental sustainability initiatives, where it is focused in three areas: improving internal environmental sustainability performance; supporting and enabling customers’ decarbonization and environmental sustainability efforts; and collaboration among important stakeholders in industry, academia and government.
“We chose to participate in the Earth Month Ecochallenge because it is fun, inclusive and science-based and because it allows us to quantify our actions and measure our positive impact,” Russo said. “Anyone around the world, no matter the local circumstances, can feel like they can contribute. This was especially important for a global technology company like Emerson.”
Russo said his personal initiative will focus on sustainable travel. “Choosing to travel by train instead of flying is one of the most impactful actions an individual can take, and this month I’m going on a business trip by train instead of flying,” he said.
Emerson promotes the program internally to its employees with digital and print communications. It encourages employees to invite customers and partners to join via a LinkedIn campaign and is reaching out to suppliers who have participated in Emerson’s environmentally focused supply-chain summits.
Last year, Emerson was among 280 participating companies and is serving as the presenting sponsor of Earth Month Ecochallenge 2023. The challenge begins the first day of Earth Month, April 1, and ends April 30.
