Earth Day ideas for companies: 8 ways to make a lasting impact
If you’re a business looking to amplify your impact, Earth Day is a great place to start. Celebrated in April every year, Earth Day unites individuals, companies, organizations, and governments in actions that safeguard the future of our planet. Since 1970, Earth Day has been the catalyst for landmark environmental laws, ongoing conservation and restoration projects, and important research.
What makes Earth Day so impactful is how it has united so many different groups and entities to move towards a single goal—better protection of the future of our planet. The earth is dying, and the reason is human-made. Up to 81% of European ecosystems are in poor or very poor condition, as well as 63% of protected species. This is not just bad news, it’s leading us towards a dark and unsustainable future.
Why businesses need to invest in nature-based solutions
When it comes to businesses and the environment, a lot of focus has been on reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the impact of global warming—which is no doubt important—but real and lasting impact comes from a holistic approach. More investment in nature protection, rewilding, biodiversity, and reforestation are just as crucial.
Last year, a U.N. financing forum found that restoring Earth's biodiversity would require an annual investment of $700 billion from both public and private sectors through 2035. Current global spending on biodiversity amounts to around $208 billion annually, under a third of what’s needed. Nature-based solutions such as ecosystem restoration and rewilding could deliver roughly one-third of the emissions cuts needed by 2030 to achieve climate targets. Yet despite this incredible potential, these solutions receive only about 3% of global climate funding.
Nature restoration is not just a nice-to-have, but it has enormous economic value. Ecosystems like mangrove forests, coral reefs, and prairies provide essential services worth an estimated $125-145 trillion annually. Nature underpins the global economy, and every business and financial entity around the world depends on a healthy planet. Nature capital—investment into the world's stocks of natural assets such as geology, soil, air, water and all living things—treats nature much like traditional capital. The more we invest in it, the more value it creates.
8 Earth Day ideas for companies (who want to make real impact)
The most crucial step towards sustainable business is to integrate actions into your core business strategy, rather than treat them as optional extras. Earth Day can inspire a change, but long-term commitment takes time. Here are some avenues to consider to scale up your biodiversity actions.
1. Partner with grassroots organizations
One of the most impactful ways to meet your biodiversity goals is to partner with companies and NGOs who are already doing the work. Many of these organizations need funding, so it’s a simple way for companies to act on their biodiversity promises. Planet Wild works with local and grassroots rewilding projects on the ground who are doing crucial work.
When we choose which groups and people to partner with, we look for the most innovative, impactful, and ambitious projects we can find around the world. By partnering with us, you can fund groundbreaking rewilding missions, showcase your environmental leadership, and create real impact.
2. Reevaluate supply chains
Working with suppliers who use sustainable agriculture methods, practice responsible fishing, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifications, etc is a great place to start when building an environmentally conscious business flow. By auditing your supply chain you can ensure compliance with biodiversity standards and build long-term relationships with suppliers committed to conservation.
3. Create a greener workplace
There are lots of ways you can make your workplace greener. You could turn unused company land into wildlife corridors or native gardens, or partner with local conservation organizations to restore degraded ecosystems near business operations. Earth Day ideas for work include planting rooftop gardens, making recycling easy, going paper-free, volunteering to pick litter, and many more. These small actions are perfect for employee engagement on Earth Day, and while they are lower impact, they can become part of company and office culture, influencing employee mindset and acting as a catalyst for individual action.
4. Consider circular economy principles
The circular economy is a principle that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products so that they will last as long as possible, creating less waste and minimizing resource extraction. Design products for reuse and recycling. Implement take-back programs for products at end-of-life. Use biodegradable packaging materials and eliminate single-use plastics. These actions will have an enormous impact on your company's environmental impact.
5. Make biodiversity part of decision-making
Stakeholders, founders, and COs have the most power when it comes to business responsibility, so making biodiversity part of major decision-making ensures action is baked into the foundation of your business, and isn't just an after-thought or nice extra. Conduct biodiversity impact assessments for new projects or expansions. Include biodiversity metrics in corporate reporting and set science-based targets for improvement. Make nature a part of regular business planning processes.
6. Support indigenous and local conservation efforts
No matter where you’re located, there will always be groups working on rewilding and environmental projects in your town or city. If you have access to indigenous communities, find ways to support them and their work. Indigenous peoples often have generations of knowledge about local ecosystems, and often bear the biggest burden from climate change and ecological collapse. Provide funding and resources to local conservation groups to ensure conservation efforts are culturally appropriate and benefit local stakeholders.
7. Educate employees and customers
Take a leading role in your industry by educating your customers about your rewilding and sustainability initiatives and why they matter. Develop biodiversity training programs for staff, and make them proud to be part of a company that cares about the planet.
Share conservation success stories in marketing and create customer education programs about sustainable choices. For every Planet Wild mission we embark on, we create a professional YouTube video which highlights all the impact created through your donation. Assets like this will multiply impact by influencing attitudes and behavior beyond direct operations.
8. Fund scientific research and monitoring
Scientific research into the impact of biodiversity loss is crucial. Supporting studies into threatened species and ecosystems and investing in biodiversity monitoring technology and data collection help find solutions. This improves our understanding of conservation needs and how measures progress over time.
It’s important to keep in mind that rewilding and species protection will not provide an overnight ROI, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any short-term benefits. A recent study shared that consumers are willing to pay a 9.7% premium on top of purchases to support biodiversity projects and sustainable practices, proving that consumers care about sustainability and back it up with their wallets. All of these long-term actions contribute to the future of the planet, and why decision-makers and business leaders are so valuable in the journey towards a healthier, biodiverse, and wilder planet.