The Sustainability Challenge
Our February resolution of taking steps towards a more sustainable future.
Why Sustainability Matters
A few weeks ago in New York City, we had a sunny 60-degree Saturday… in the middle of January. For those not familiar with the NYC seasons, this was VERY out of the ordinary.
Over the past century, our Earth has warmed 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Without a doubt, our climate is changing, and we are seeing the impacts of that firsthand.
Both the public and private sectors are taking action, and we’re starting to see an increasing number of sustainability initiatives.
Sustainability is generally defined as the “study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance.” While it’s important for governments and private organizations to think about sustainability, there are steps that we, as individuals, can take to help.
So, for our February monthly challenge, we have decided to focus on living more sustainably. There are a lot of different ways we can reduce our carbon footprint, but for this challenge we’ve narrowed it down to two focus areas: plastic usage and animal agriculture. Both impact our environment greatly.
By reducing our use of plastic and reliance on the animal agriculture industry, we are taking simple actions towards a more sustainable future.
The details of our February Sustainability Challenge:
Plastic Reduction
- NO single-use plastic products (plastic bottles, Ziploc bags, plastic grocery bags, plastic utensils, plastic straws)
- LIMIT other plastic use
*For when we have to use plastic items, we will keep them. At the end of the month, we’ll see how much plastic we’ve used and identify if there were ways we could have avoided that plastic use.
Rely Less on Animal Agriculture
- NO Meat
- 2 Days plant-based per week
Similar to our January Challenge to reduce our screen time, our February Sustainability Challenge will require a lot of planning and research in order to make these goals achievable.
To help with our goal of reducing plastic reduction, here are some things we’ll be keeping in mind:
As for eating no meat for the entire month and eating plant-based for 2 days each week, the most important thing is to plan ahead. There are a lot of great-tasting, filling meals that are vegetarian and vegan.
Pinterest will be my best friend when looking for vegetarian/vegan options. I plan to do meal prep before the week starts to ensure I have meals that meet(less) my February goal of no meat. I’m also looking forward to trying more of Trader Joe’s vegan meals (I already eat TJ’s vegan Pad Thai regularly!)
The February Sustainability challenge will definitely be challenging, but I think we’ve selected goals that are both manageable and still push us out of our comfort zone
Admittedly, we still have a lot of research to do on understanding the best and most sustainable options. However, through this challenge we hope to become more educated about the impacts of our choices.
We hope you join us for this month’s challenge, and if you do, let us know what you’ll be doing to take sustainable actions!
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*Note: This February challenge is part of a monthly series of new year resolutions I am participating in with my friend Alana Lipson. Read more about the January’s Screen-Less Challenge.