As Scott mentioned in a previous post, at Viator.com we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Earth Day, and about how we can make a difference. For a lot of us at Viator conservation is no new thing, we’ve been involved in our own personal efforts for years. It’s tempting to become complacent and think that if you recycle, or take the train to work, you’re doing your part and that’s good enough. Being environmentally responsible isn’t just about doing one or two simple things, it’s about doing a lot things, and there’s always more you can do to make a difference. Keep up the good work, but consider adding a little more effort this year by doing something new to help the Earth.
Need some ideas? I do too, so I turned to my co-workers at Viator and asked what they do to have an positive impact on the environment. Here’s a rundown of some of our personal efforts:
- Recycling - If you’re not recycling, that’s probably the number one thing you should start to do, pretty much everyone I talked to at Viator about this topic recycles. And to go a step further, a lot of our staff cut down on packaging, bags, and the like, to reduce the amount of resources they need to recycle to begin with.
- Composting - A cousin of recycling, all that food and garden waste can be put to good use. Luckily, for those of us in the San Francisco office, the city picks up our compost every week, but you can make your own compost for your garden.
- Drive less - Most of the staff at Viator take public transportation to work, but quite a few of us also bike (go Jeff, our new VP of Engineering!) or walk to work a few days a week. Special props to Dominique and the other Viator peeps who don’t own a car.
- Cut down on paper bills & mail - This one is even easier than recycling, and another popular favorite at Viator. Opt in for online billing and stop getting those statements by mail. This has an added security benefit, stolen mail is at the heart of a lot of identity theft and fraud. And I’m sure you’re no fan of junk mail, sign up to stop receiving credit card offers and other junk mail (I did two years ago, it’s awesome!).
Increase Energy Efficiency - Several members of the product team are big fans of the energy saving light bulbs, and Suzann even went so far as to get LED Christmas lights. We run our washers only when they are full, and stick to Energy Star rated appliances. And probably the easiest thing you can do is to just remember to turn things off - our Sydney office recently participated in the 60 Earth Hour. Besides the warm, fuzzy feeling you’ll get from helping, all these things will lower costs on your energy bills.- Rainwater Harvesting - Emma of the product team wins a prize on this one, at her house they have a water tank that catches and stores rainwater off the roof for use in gardening and it even connects to their toilets.
This list sounds impressive, but we’re not saints. I also asked folks at Viator what they couldn’t give up. Some people just love their cars, air conditioning (with Sydney summers, I’m not sure I can fault anyone there), their speedboat (Jeff does bike to work, so cut him some slack), and we all love to travel, which usually involves a plane. Some of us at Viator have been purchasing carbon credits to offset the emissions we just can’t give up, and we’re excited that Viator is now partnering with CarbonFund.org to offset all our corporate travel. And through Viator’s partnership with CarbonFund, you can also offset your emissions.
Talking to my co-workers about their efforts was really inspiring, and surprising (who would’ve guessed about Emma and the rainwater?), and I hope that you also draw some inspiration to add a bit more sustainability to your lifestyle this year and beyond.
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