One Small Change - from Our Newsletter

Now that January's almost over, those New Year's resolutions that we penned and proclaimed with such optimism can start to feel very, very far away. We've all heard the tips about making successful resolutions - plan ahead, set realistic goals, be accountable - but somehow that doesn't seem to make keeping your promises to yourself any less difficult. So how about it doing the whole thing differently?

The folks over at One Small Change are putting a new spin on old resolutions - and they've been doing it successfully for over a year. What about this? Rather than loading up the pressure to change your body, your life, and the whole darn world onto one arbitrary date, try making one small change every month. One Small Change is an environmental project; in their own words, its founders challenge participants every month to "choose a change that you want to bring into your life that is going to reduce your carbon footprint." The great thing is that no change is too small - because it all adds up.

The blog for the project helps keep participants motivated by offering a forum to share the changes you're making and by raffling prizes monthly, as well by providing a ton of great ideas that will change your life and your carbon footprint. Looking to start big? How about eliminating switching from paper products to cloth, making your own cleaning products, starting a garden, downgrading to one car (or, better yet, to a bicycle). Or maybe something a little smaller? Try reducing the amount of showers you take in a month, looking for options with less packaging in the store, unplugging appliances you're not using, cooking more at home (and doubling up on oven projects), turning off the lights in empty rooms, or finally getting that reusable water bottle and really using it.

At Green Earth Organics, we're always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and practice sustainable business. Our big change recently has been to be more conscious about what businesses we're supporting with our business - and with that in mind, we made the switch to begin banking with Vancity.

Switching banks is never simple; some of the complications involved can make it easy to keep putting off responsible banking. But we're so glad we bothered to make the change.

Not only do we know that our business isn't supporting initiatives that we disagree with, but we actually get to support a greener model of banking, and invest in our local community simply by choosing where we're keeping our money. We like Vancity because it's a financial co-operative with a proactive commitment to take action on climate change and a strong ethical policy. Vancity has lots of great programs that help the environment, foster healthy and respectful communities, and support local arts and businesses. For personal accounts, they offer rewards for the decision to make your home more energy efficient, among other financing options. If you use the Enviro Visa, you probably know that at least 5% of Visa profits are donated to local environmental projects.

What can you do this month to make one small (or big) change? Leave a comment and let us know!