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We heard from many people that 2022 wasn’t a year for big resolutions. The rise of Omicron and a second holiday season marked by uncertainty related to Covid certainly sucked some wind from our collective sails. That said, we love the New Year as a time for reflection and goal setting. When it comes to our commitment to going green, we’ll take any excuse to make new changes to protect the earth and move forward towards a sustainable future.

Here are a few ideas for manageable green resolutions to start the year off right:

  1. Meatless Mondays – or any day that works for you or your family! Research shows that meat production contributes more greenhouse emissions and takes more resources that most plant-based foods. By eliminating meat from your diet just one day a week, you can reduce your carbon footprint by over 400 pounds each year. If everyone in the world reduced their meat consumption by one day, it would have the same impact on greenhouse gas emissions as taking 240 million cars off the road.
  2. Reduce Food Waste. One of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint is also one of the easiest: eat all the food you buy. This doesn’t mean stuffing your face beyond the point of comfort at a fancy restaurant – just don’t buy more at the grocery store than you think you’ll need. Meal planning and coming up with creative ways to repurpose leftovers can help – and consider packing leftovers for lunch instead of dining out when you don’t have plans! If you can’t prevent, reduce, or donate wasted food, consider composting. Food in a land fill rot and produces methane gas, while composted food creates healthy soil with improved water retention and reduced need for fertilizers and pesticides.
  3. Say No to Single-Use Plastic. This is a big one, and once you notice it, you can’t stop noticing it. Household goods come wrapped in plastic or are made from plastic, and many are not designed to last. An easy way to start reducing the plastic in your life is to keep a reusable water bottle on hand and stop buying bottled water. If you need a great one, GSG would be happy to send a double-walled aluminum bottle your way! Other ideas include bringing your own bags to grocery stores (including produce bags!), swapping your Ziploc bags for reusable (and dishwasher safe!) silicon versions, and looking for refillable soaps and shampoos.

It can feel like small, individual changes don’t have real impact but when we collaborate and work together, small changes become huge! If you’re interested in the other ways GSG is committing to the environment, please check out the Green Policy we unveiled last year. 


Sarah Capraro has worn many hats in her long tenure with GSG. In her current role as a Senior Client Service Analyst, Sarah partners with Tatenda Mabika, Manager of Client Service and Head of Supplier Diversity and Sustainability, on the GSG Green Policy Team.