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What is your eco-choice for 2009?

When I asked the audience at the end of my presentation to think and write on a piece of recycled paper what three new year’s resolutions could they commit to that would be good for the planet, there was a great amount of energy, discussions and ideas in the room. At the time of sharing, the audience enthusiastically read their resolutions with great pride. It seemed like by writing them and telling to others that “next year I commit myself to...

....buy a Christmas tree in its pot so that I will be able to replant it…... to buy a hybrid car…. to tell my husband to turn to recycled paper in the office…to buy a machine that makes my water fizzy so that I don’t have to buy anymore bottled water…20% of the job was already done, a sense of relief was in the air.

Reduce, reuse, recycle, doing the right thing for the environment and its inhabitants are in principle quite straightforward resolutions. In  practice, however, is not that simple. I have realized that eco-dilemmas raise some interesting questions that confirm that the black and white vision is far from being effective. To buy a machine that makes the water fizzy instead of buying plastic water bottles is really better for the planet? I depends…as my law professor used to say. Where has the machine been produced? Where the labor standards respected? Is the material recyclable? Does it tastes better? How many tonnes of CO² are accounted for design, marketing and manufacture? Where the labor conditions and fair trade respected? Does the machine functions with batteries, electricity? The systemic impact of something we buy can be much greater than we think.

An interesting article in the New Scientist of 15 November  2008 - “Dumb eco-questions you were afraid to ask for” - gives a small taste of the difficulty to answer with a yes or a straight no to questions like:

• If I switch the light on and off every time I enter and leave the room, does this use more energy than leaving it on all evening?
• What’s the worse, the CO² by gas-fuelled cars or hybrid-car batteries?
• Is it worth ship our waste to be recycled in China?

I have been myself quite surprised by some of the answers in the article. But what do you do if you’re not a scientist or an environmental specialist?  What’s right?

Like in any good planning it’s helpful to create a framework of principles, letting your mind go through 5 steps before doing or buying anything. This creates decision-making criteria, defines your goals, aligns your values and vision for the good of the planet. Here  my framework for this year. Create your own one!

1. Do I really need what I’m buying? Is this going to be an added human value to me and to the persons who are producing it or receiving it?
2. Is what I’m buying using material coming from non-renewable resources? Is the good recyclable?
3. Do the good that I’m buying may lead to natural resource depletion e.g., overfishing?
4. Are the products in some way certified e.g., Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), organic, etc…?
5. For every new product that I buy, which from the old ones could be useful to others

If you cannot answer to the question yourself, ask the vendor, ask the producer, ask the specialist. This is also a way to raise awareness. As I  suggested to the audience of my presentation, let's review our eco-choice next year, same day, same time and do even better.

Have a great, inspiring and sustainable 2009!

« Dans la vie il n'y a pas de solutions, mais des forces. Crèons ces forces et les solutions suivront »

Saint-Exupéry

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