Sustainability Tips from Nasdaq’s Green Team
- By Global Green Team
As the world's first electronic exchange, Nasdaq was a pioneer in the sustainability space. Using technology to produce a more efficient market reduced the resource burden, with material benefits for people, the environment and the planet. Our listed companies have a long and rich tradition of innovation, sustainability, and dedication to environmental causes.
Today our Global Green Team continues to promote our responsibility to sustainability by communicating with Nasdaq employees on new, sustainable innovations and green tips to practice at home. Even from afar, we can all make a difference in big and small ways when it comes to being more sustainable. Here are just a few ways:
Plant tress and plants
Planting trees and plants benefit people, the environment, local economies, and the bees, which are a vital part of our ecosystem Here’s ways to get started:
- Get creative with a can of sprouts in the kitchen, a pot of basil on the window sill, some herbs in a box outdoors, or a larger scale garden together with your friends or neighbors.
- Plant trees with every online search via Ecosia. Ecosia is like any other internet search engine, with one major difference: it uses profits to plant trees. Bookmark ecosia.org for your online searches.
- Get the whole family involved and watch "A Bee Movie" from Dreamworks, an animated movie that humorously explores the relationship between humans and bees!
Use Green Materials
In your clothing:
- Choose better cotton. Cotton needs a lot of water to grow and is a very pesticide-intensive crop. There are several initiatives to label better choice cotton. Find the best you can and ask in the shop for guidance!
- Skip the fabric softener when doing laundry. They often contain chemicals and weaken fibers in your clothing. A popular alternative is buying reusable dryer balls.
While working from home:
- If you have to use paper, opt for recycled paper and envelopes that have been processed and colored using eco-friendly methods.
- Pens and pencils can also be made of recycled materials, and refillable pens and markers are preferable to disposable ones.
- It is often free to recycle printer cartridges and recycled replacements are better for the environment.
Around the house:
- Use biodegradable soaps and recycled paper or cloth towels in the bathroom and kitchen.
- Buy in bulk to reduce shipping and packaging waste, and reuse the shipping boxes. Check out LOOP (loopstore.com) and Give Back Box (givebackbox.com) for great resources on how you can reuse shipping package and keep home staples in rotation.
Think & Shop Locally
Your shopping habits might not be the first thing you question when you are coming up with ways to reduce your carbon footprint, but what people buy has a big effect on the environment. How a product was made, where it was made and how it was packaged all play a role.
- Look into manufacturing processes. Was it made with sustainable materials, or did its production involve the use of plastics or other chemicals? Product manufacture is also responsible for using (and wasting) a lot of water, so this is an important question to ask.
- Check labels to see how far items have traveled to get to you. If it had to travel by boat, plane, and truck to get to your store or door, a lot of gas was burned to allow you to purchase the product. See if you can find a good replacement that is created closer to your home.
- Buy the ugly fruits and vegetables. Often times fruits and veggies have small cosmetic defects and become waste, although they are perfectly fine to eat!
- Trust your nose! Many products have “best before” dates but are often safe for a period of time after that. Use your sense of smell to help decipher whether or not to throw away a perishable item that may be passed the “best before” date.
- Getting delivery and takeout almost inevitably ends with a miniature mountain of packaging waste. When placing orders, be sure to request no disposable cutlery/napkins. Have a favorite restaurant and order frequently? Combine your Monday and Tuesday dinner into one order and save on the excess food packaging. If easily accessible, opt for pickup instead of delivery so you can stretch your legs.
- Set a goal to dedicate “x” amount of meals a week to meatless dishes. Animal products produce much higher emissions than vegetable-based foods. Planning weekly meals is key here! Set yourself up for success by planning ahead.
- DONATE! Have foods in the fridge and/or pantry that you know you won’t eat in time? Check out local charities accepting donations to lessen the amount of food tossed away.