Sustainable Celebrations

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I look forward to celebrations—like birthday parties and the Super Bowl, and this week’s blog will combine my love for a good party with my passion for sustainability. My friends and I celebrated my February birthday this weekend with eco-friendly wine and a delicious meal at one of Dallas’ new farm-to-table hot spots. My friend Holly even gave me a really eco-friendly gift: the experience-based present of a cooking class!

How about sharing other ways to have a more sustainable celebration? I came across ECHOage, an online birthday service that promotes children giving to charity. In that same vein, one can reuse gift bags, tissues, and wrapping paper (as I try to) or give locally sourced gifts. The Schneider Electric Green Buildings team threw a colleague a green baby shower last year—we convened via conference call and gave an online gift card to a local green baby store. I’ve also given gifts of planted trees as holiday gifts to clients!

I read this piece about Sunday night’s Super Bowl going green, and I was pleased to hear that environmental impact was a part of the big game. I always like to see how major to-dos like this huge sporting event can incorporate clean energy and carbon offsets into its planning efforts. Our watching-party incorporated some other eco-friendly steps: recycling bottles and letting the cool night air condition the room, instead of the air conditioner.

Another teammate recommended more sustainable celebration tips on Eartheasy’s website. The next big celebration is Valentine’s Day, and instead of sending cards in the mail, I plan to spend time with those near and dear to me. By thinking about some of these concepts, I realize that I can always be more conscious about conserving our planet’s resources. And doing more with less is quite possibly the best gift of all.