Many people think that being a better Citizen is to help save the planet is about getting our company ESG in place, reducing waste and using less fossil fuel based products. Simplified to getting our fav Carbon Counting App downloaded and we're set...
The truth is that we can do way more to reduce waste & carbon and improve our ESG position without lifting a finger to an App or buying expensive organic, vegan, palm oil free products not made by slaves. We simply need to lift an eyebrow - not for waxing, but to think. To think about the stuff we buy that we don't need - and frankly, that doesn't even work.
It is actually way more powerful and cheaper to STOP doing things we don't need to do, rather than START to count what we already do. Counting the carbon footprint of what we do isn't the way to better understand what we shouldn't be doing. We eat, drink, slap on, wear and live in so many products that we not only don't need, but which do nothing for us - and even make us sick.
Let me give you an example. Anti-aging products. Most of us know that anti aging products simply don't work. They literally make no difference to our lives.
One of the biggest lies marketing ever sold us - that looking old bad - is one of the world's big wasters. By creating a world that is focused on being, looking and seeking young, we have created an endless ecosystem of unnecessary stuff and services: ingredients, products, packaging, transport, psychologists, clinical care, shelving, recycling, digital media, paper media and and and... Billions and billions of jars of stuff, ads and crazy claims. Hours of time agonising over which product will work this time - or at the therapist (who is probably wondering the same thing.)
When you add in clinincal procedures, the global anti aging market is worth over $200 billion and is set to achieve $442 billion by 2030. That's a big pile of wasted money and resources right there. And it's just one example.
I am not suggesting that you stop buying things that bring you joy. But the stuff that adds zero value to your life - and which you secretly or openly know. Leave it on the shelf. Vote for a better planet by not buying things that use resources and create waste.
You won't have to count the carbon for the purchase and it will prop up your bank balance and reward you in spades of satifaction as you walk right on past.
You got this.